1920.] Drainage of the River Lugg. 109 



increased and that he would become a more inteUigent and a 

 more efficient worker. By means of short courses and exten- 

 sion lectures the needs of farmers and speciaUsed workers 

 who require more than a general knowledge of agricultural 

 machinery could probably be met ; and the Committee recom- 

 mends that Local Authorities should be encouraged to provide 

 instruction in such subjects as tractor driving and mechanics, 

 and the principle of the internal combustion engine. 



It was suggested that short courses of instruction 

 should be provided for farm workers in regard to particular 

 machines, such as the tractor and binder, and one witness 

 referred to a practice of Canadian firms to give free 

 short courses in the use and repair of tractors. Courses on 

 similar lines in this country, conducted by the Local Authority, 

 might be difficult to organise, but the Committee believes that 

 the experiment would be worth trying, and has little doubt that 

 the co-operation of at least some firms might be counted upon. 



One difficulty likely to be experienced in giving effect to 

 these proposals would be the provision of efficient instructors, 

 and in the first instance it would probably be impossible to 

 obtain the services of a sufficient number of men with the com- 

 bination of theoretical and workshop training which the Com- 

 mittee would regard as the ideal. The type of instructor to 

 be aimed at is^ a combination of the engineer and the agricul- 

 turist ; instruction in engineering, including workshop practice, 

 should form the basis of his training, and should be followed 

 by instruction in agriculture. It is to be hoped that at a 

 later stage the proposed Research Institute in Agricultural 

 Machinery will be in a position to take some part, at least, in 

 training of this character, although care must be exercised to 

 prevent teaching from encroaching unduly on the research side 

 of the Institute. 



* * Hi . Hi ❖ 



The Valley of the River Lugg, an important tributar}^ 

 of the Wye, is one of the areas for which a drainage authority 



Draina e of the process of being established under the 



River Lugg ^ Land Drainage Act, igiS. There are 

 within the valley about 25,000 acres of 

 potentially cultivable land at present hable to injurious 

 flooding, and, in addition to the areas which might come under 

 the plough, from 6,000 to 8,000 acres of pasture, which are 

 rendered foul and sour on account of flooding and waterlogging. 



The photographs here shown may serve to indicate some 

 of the more prominent causes of the deterioration of the lands, 



