July, 1912.] 



57 



Education* 



- mind in the forming of courses occupying 

 not less than two sessions at institutions 

 devoted to the higher study of agricul- 

 ture, and to report on the main charac- 

 teristics which such courses should 

 possess in order to render them suitable 

 to those students who intend to take up 

 practical farming or the management of 

 landed estates." 



The report points out that the refer- 

 ence is confined to what may be gener- 

 ally described as "long courses," such 

 as are now given at agricultural colleges 

 and university departments of agricul- 

 ture, and does not include the shorter 

 courses which only occupy one winter 

 session or less. The reference further 

 relates to two different classes of stu- 

 dents :— (1) Those who intend to become 

 practical farmers ; (2) Those who intend 

 to manage estates, either as landowners 

 or land agents. 



For the sake of clearness the consider- 

 ation of the requirements of these two 

 classes of students is kept as far as possi- 

 ble distinct from each other, although 

 the courses of etudy for the two classes 

 include many of the same subjects. 



Courses for Intending Farmers.— At 

 the present time all agricultural colleges 

 and departments make some provision 

 for this class of student, but the pro- 

 portion of prospective farmers to the 

 total number of students varies con- 

 siderably at different institutions. The 

 Conference are of opinion that it is 

 desirable that all students attending 

 long courses should have received a 

 good secondary education, and have 

 had at least one year's practical experi- 

 ence and residence on a farm. Sons of 

 farmers able to attend such courses would 

 usually have had sufficient experience 

 of farming to enable them to take full 

 advantage of a two-years' course at an 

 agricultural college immediately after 

 leaving a secondary school, and in their 

 case the minimum age at which they 

 might commence the course would be 16 

 years, In the cases of town lads and 

 others having no practical knowledge of 

 farming it would be desirable that they 

 should devote at least twelve consecu- 

 8 



tive months to farm work before com- 

 mencing their course. In view of the 

 difficulties experienced by students who 

 are not farmers' sons in obtaining the 

 necessary practical experience, it is 

 desirable that the heads of colleges 

 should prepare a list of farmers in their 

 neighbourhood who are willing to offer 

 farm pupils the practical training re- 

 quired, and it might be advisable for 

 agricultural colleges with their own 

 farms situated in their immediate 

 neighbourhood to provide a twelve 

 months' practical farm course, which 

 such students could take before com- 

 mencing the ordinary two years' course. 

 The college farms, which have an area 

 varying from 100 to 460 acres, would; in 

 most cases, afford suitable facilities for 

 such a course. 



The number of students attending the 

 longer course at agiicultural institutions 

 appear to be increasing, and the confer- 

 ence think that the time ha9 come when 

 the Governing Bodies of these institu- 

 tions should require intending students 

 to produce evidence of having received 

 a good general education at a recognised 

 secondary school or to pass a simple 

 qualifying examination in such subjects 

 as English, arithmetic, and mensur- 

 ation. In future all prospective students 

 should also be required to provide 

 evidence of some acquaintance with 

 practical agriculture. 



The aim of courses for intending 

 farmers should be the provision of a 

 thorough grounding in the principles of 

 practical agriculture, and in the sciences 

 on which it rests, in so far as their laws 

 in relation to agriculture have been 

 ascertained and established. Even if 

 progress were limited to securing that 

 the practice of the best farmers of the 

 country became universal, the economic 

 benefits would be very great. The con- 

 ference are of opinion that this fact has 

 not always been sufficiently recognised 

 in the past, and they urge that teachers 

 of agriculture should devote more 

 attention to the study of the methods 

 of skilled agriculturists. 



