Miscellaneous, 



52 



[January, 1912. 



vide for the investigation of local agri- 

 cultural problems. 



Nature op the Technical Advice 

 to be Supplied. 



In order that the character of the 

 work covered by this grant may be 

 understood, it may be convenient to 

 refer in the fust place to the Memo- 

 randum on the Principles and Methods 

 of Rural Education issued by the Board 

 of Education, Chapter 9, in which it is 

 stated that : — 



"This work (i.e., the provision of 

 technical information and advice for 

 those engaged in rural industry) is of a 

 kind that should fall partly to county 

 staffs and partly to those of Univer- 

 sities and Agricultural Colleges. It is 

 clear that advice of two kinds will be in 

 demand in every district ; in the first 

 place, the kind of advice on the uses of 

 manures, the relative merits of feeding 

 stuffs, on the manufacture of dairy 

 produce, which experienced persons 

 constantly require, and which any well- 

 prepared instructor should be competent 

 to supply ; and in the second place 

 advice in more difficult matters sought, 

 not by the inexperienced alone, but by 

 experienced cultivators, which cannot 

 always be supplied by ordinary instruc- 

 tors, because special knowledge or 

 special investigation is necessary before 

 advice can be given. The county staff 

 should make a practice of ref erring such 

 special problems to specialists." 



The provision of special advice for 

 agriculturists has in the past taken a 

 somewhat minor place in the work of 

 the Universities and Agricultural 

 Colleges, and has usually been dependent 

 on the inclination and qualifications of 

 certain members of the staff. The 

 Board are convinced, however, that 

 there is a real necessity for work of this 

 character, and that its provision should 

 receive careful attention at the hands 

 of University and College Authorities. 

 It is to assist them in supplying the 

 second type of advice referred to above, 

 viz., that of a special character, that the 

 present grant has been made. 



It is not desired that the Institutions 

 should undertake the task of replying 

 to inquiries of a straightforward char- 

 acter which may properly be dealt with 

 by the County Staff, but rather that 

 they should devote themselves to the 

 solution of more difficult problems which 

 demand not merely skill and experience 

 in agriculture, but special scientific 

 knowledge and training. 



It must be recognised that the func- 

 tion of Departments of Agriculture, of 

 Universities and Colleges is not merely 



to provide the highest grade of agricul- 

 tural instruction for their students, but 

 also to act as centres of information and 

 investigation in the counties with which 

 they are associated. 



Arrangements are now being made 

 for the separate expenditure of consider- 

 able sums on Institutions for the pro- 

 motion of Agricultural Research, and it 

 will be necessary that the Universities 

 and Agricultural Colleges should be 

 familiar with the work done under this 

 head, in order that it may be brought to 

 bear without delay on practical agricul- 

 tural questions. In applying the results 

 of research, many problems occur which 

 are essentially of a local character and 

 can only be investigated satisfactorily 

 on the spot. The object of the present 

 Grant is to provide a means of dealing 

 with such local problems. On the other 

 hand, questions not peculiar to any 

 locality can be dealt with more conve- 

 niently, and with a minimum of effort 

 at a Research Institution. 



Cases will no doubt arise where this 

 distinction cannot easily be drawn, and 

 some overlapping may be unavoidable. 

 It is, however, essential that the staffs 

 of the institutions to be aided by the 

 grants under consideration should uti- 

 lise as far as possible the services of the 

 Research Institutions instead of making 

 separate inquiries into subjects which 

 are already wholly or in part under 

 investigation elsewhere. 



Demand for Technical Assistance. 



There is reason to believe that the 

 existing demand for special assistance 

 for the investigation of difficult local 

 problems will very greatly increase in 

 future. 



In the first place, the Board hope that 

 the Instructors employed by Local 

 Authorities will to a greater degree 

 than hitherto refer these difficult pro- 

 blems tc institutions specially equipped 

 for investigation, and will consult the 

 Staffs of Universities and Colleges in 

 regard to questions on which their 

 scientific knowledge and experience is 

 likely to be valuable. The Board of 

 Education have drawn attention to this 

 point in the Memorandum quoted above, 

 and the practice is one which should be 

 generally adopted. 



The grants which will be distributed 

 by the Board of Education in aid of 

 Farm Institutes are likely to lead in 

 many cases to an augmentation of the 

 County Staff, and an extension in the 

 demand for expert advice may be ex- 

 pected as the number of persons employ- 

 ed in Instruction increases. 



