August, 1912.] 



109 



To quote the words of the Chronicle : 

 "The mysteries of the soil are being 

 unravelled ; the garden pests begin to 

 tremble at their impending destruction ; 

 the secrets of immunity from disease are 

 in course of discovery, and though the 

 patient hybridist may even now afford 

 to ignore the laws which Mendel gave 

 us, the time is not tar off when he 

 may discover that the work according to 

 those laws is to achieve his ends more 

 surely than by waiting on the gifts of 

 chance .... Horticultural Science 

 is not a thing apart but a factor, and an 

 increasing factor, in horticultural devel- 

 opment." 



PROTECTION OF INDIAN CATTLE. 



We have received from Mr. K. S. Jassa- 

 walla, President-Pounder of the British 

 Association for the Protection of Indian 

 Cattle, certain publications issued by 

 him with a view to explaining the cause 

 he advocates, and enlisting the sym- 

 pathy of the public in the object he 

 seeks to bring about. 



The following extract will serve to 

 give an idea of the proposed reform :— 

 V The main thing is to improve the agri- 

 culture of India, and to do this it is 

 absolutely necessary to improve and 

 increase the breed of oxen which do all 

 the agricultural work. Now, so long as 

 the slaughter of the cow and the she- 

 buffalo is not prohibited, it is impossible 

 to have a sufficient number and a good 

 breed of oxen to turn out sufficient raw 

 material for the English factories, and 

 to render the factories independent of 

 American cotton-growers. It should be 

 borne in mind that I am not asking for 

 total abolition, but only for the substi- 

 tution of Australian for American beef 

 for British troops." 



CHILDREN'S GARDENS. 



The International Children's School 

 Farm League of New York has tor its 

 ubject to promote and unify a world- 

 wide interest in Children's Gardens in 



suitable parks and vacant lots, in 

 connection with schools, hospitals and 

 institutions, and for children who are 

 mentally or physically weak or deficient, 

 and to urge the employment of teachers 

 trained to garden work. The President 

 and Vice-Presidents of the League are 

 ladies who have in their Secretary (Mrs. 

 Parsons), a lecturer and practical ad- 

 viser. Mrs. Parsons, who conducts a 

 summer course for teachers, defines a 

 children's garden as "a place where 

 children grow flowers and vegetables 

 under the guidance of a person trained 

 to show them Nature's laws in operation, 

 and also to show them how to apply 

 knowledge of these laws in the work and 

 observation of life." This is the very 

 object which our School Gardens, of 

 which there are now over 200 in Ceylon, 

 are intended to serve. 



AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL 

 COLLEGES. 



Since 1910 the number of institutions 

 in the United States concerned with 

 agricultural education has almost trebled. 

 From 864 the number has increased to 

 2,516— an increase at the average rate of 

 76 per mensem. 



The collegiate courses have not appreci- 

 ably increased, and there are at present 

 sixty one of these. 



The largest increase has been among 



INSTITUTIONS OFFERING SECONDARY OR 

 PRACTICAL COURSES 



among which are 40 of privately endow- 

 ed colleges. These do not compete with 

 the State Colleges which number 2,154 

 compared with 360 in 1U10. Normal 

 schools and schools lor Indians have 

 been omitted from the list as their work 

 is of an elementary nature. 



Of purely technical agricultural 

 schools of the secondary grade there are 

 88 private, and 80 maintained wholly 

 or partly by State funds at a cost of 

 780.000 dollars per annum for instruction 

 and maintenance, excluding land, build- 

 ings and equipment. These institutions 



