402 



Farm Institutes. 



[Aug., 



heavy London clay; approximately 270 acres are arable. The 

 farm is equipped with a silo, and cow-shed for 52 cows. The 

 intention is to determine the most suitable system of cropping 

 for heavy land of this type. 



Dairying. — Three courses of 12 to 16 weeks are given during 

 the year. The dairy is fully equipped with modern apparatus 

 and deals with upwards of 20,000 gallons of milk annually. 

 The students, who are mainly the sons and daughters of 

 farmers and smallholders, receive instruction in dairy farming, 

 clean milk production, butter-making, soft and pressed cheese- 

 making. 



Horticulture. — The course of instruction is given in three 

 terms, viz., an autumn term of 3 weeks, a spring term of 4 

 weeks, and a summer term of 4 weeks, and deals with the 

 principles and practice of horticulture, being intended primarily 

 for persons employed in garden work who propose to take up 

 gardening as a profession. A teachers' gardening class, designed 

 to qualify teachers for managing school gardens, is held od 

 12 Saturdays, from October till May, and during a fortnight 

 in July. 



External Lectures. — Single lectures or short courses of 

 instruction are arranged at centres in the county. The subjects 

 dealt with include agriculture, horticulture, cheese-making, 

 fruit bottling, poultry management and beekeeping. 



Advisory Work. — The Principal (Mr. E. M. Wilson) and 

 members of the staff have many opportunities of co-operating 

 with farmers, market gardeners, smallholders and others in the 

 solution of farming problems which arise in connection with 

 such matters as the cultivation of soils, farm machinery, rota- 

 tions, manures and manuring of crops, food stuffs and feeding, 

 milk production, dairying, breeding, rearing and management 

 of live stock, management of orchards and apiaries, plant dis- 

 eases and insect pests. Well over 1,000 inquiries on these 

 subjects are dealt with annually. Several hundreds of samples 

 of soils, manures, food stuffs, and dairy products sent in by 

 farmers are analysed and reported on every year. The Institute 

 deals with various farming problems through the " Essex 

 Farmers' Journal," which is published monthly and is sent to 

 8,500 farmers. 



Experimental work is carried out by the staff to demonstrate 

 or investigate any matter of special importance to Essex 

 farmers. Many farmers in the county help by providing facili- 



