Miscellaneous. 



576 



[June loos. 



economy which is necessary rationally to 

 direct rural enterprise. While the elementary 

 schools are essentially intended to prepare 

 pupils for occupations involving manual 

 work, it is the development of mental 

 activities at which the secondary school will 

 predominantly aim. Manual work, there- 

 fore, takes a subordinate place in the second- 

 ary school, and is introduced rather to afford 

 a balance in educating powers of mind and 

 body and to provide means for illustrating 

 mathematics and the sciences. 



In the elementary school a foundation of 

 nature-study will have been laid upon which 

 the study of science can be built. In the 

 rural secondary school, it is suggested that 

 chemistry and physics should be dealt with 

 as branches of natural science — that is to 

 say, a knowledge of experimental science 

 should be built up by a progressive practical 

 study of air, of water, mineral substances, of 

 the products of animal and vegetable life, 

 those reactions and substances being used a 

 knowledge of which is important in rural 

 industry. 



Mathematics should be correlated with (a) 

 practical surveying in the held, (6) woodwork 

 from scale drawings, which might be chiefly 

 devoted to making the apparatus and appli- 

 ances required in the science work indoors 

 and out, and (c) mechanics, which should be 

 illustrated by reference to the construction 

 of farm implements and buildings. Book- 

 keeping and correspondence would advant- 

 ageously deal with the ingoings and out- 

 goings of the experimental field, the orders 

 for manures, tools, seeds and sale of produce. 

 Geography, history, literature, a foreign 

 language and drill will complete the curri- 

 culum. Such a course should be graded to 

 the capacity of boys of 12 to 15 or 16 years 

 old, for at 15 or at least 16 the boys who are 

 to follow rural pursuits will usually begin 

 business life. 



Higher Agricultural Education-— The 

 boy who shows such ability as to give pro- 

 mise of a successful career in agricultural 

 science may wisely also leave the secondary 

 school at 16. The next two years may pro- 

 fitably be spent as pupil upon a farm, pro- 

 vided that each winter the pupil attends an 

 agricultural short course, and it is after this 

 that he will enter the agricultural college 

 or university department with the greatest 

 profit. Or again, in lieu of the two years' 

 pupilage on a farm, a year or two years may 

 he spent at a school or schools of rural in- 

 dustry. No country can be held to have a 

 properly organised scheme of agricultural 

 education which does not provide scholarships 

 to enable promising boys with an agricul- 

 tural bent to mount the educational ladder 

 from the rural elementary school to the 

 agricultural department of a university. — 

 Journal of the Board of Agricultue } 

 March, 1908, Vol, XIV,, No, 12, 



CEYLON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Annual General Meeting of the Ceylon 

 Agricultural Society was held at noon on 

 Monday, 15th May, in the Council Chamber. 

 H. E. the Governor presided, and the others 

 present were : — Sir S. D. Bandaranayaka, Dr. 

 J. C. Willis, Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, Hon. Mr. 



F. C. Loos, Hon. Mr. S. C. Obeysekere, Hon. 

 Mr. A. Kanagasbai, Messrs. A. H. Thomas, 

 Dr. Ludovici, R. H. Lock, M. Kelway Bamber, 



G. W. Sturgess, J, Harward, E. Cowan, P. 

 Arunachalam, W. Dunuwila, L. W. A. De 

 Soysa, F. L. Daniel, F. M. Mackwood, W. D. 

 Baldwin, M. Suppramanian, Rev. P. T. Cash, 

 Dr. H. M. Fernando, Capt. J. Curling, Muda- 

 liar A. E. Rajapakse, Messrs. T, Cockerill, 

 Jas. Gibson, H. J. Pieris, A. N. Galbraith 

 W. S. D. Tudhope, &c. 



After the Secretary had read the minutes, 

 His Excellency said : The first item on the 

 Agenda is the presentation of the Secretary's 

 Report. I understand that the Report has 

 been circulated and has been in the hands of 

 members for several days, and it will there- 

 fore be taken as read. But before adopting 

 the Report, I should like members to 

 make any remarks that they may have to 

 make upon the Report in general or any 

 item referred to therein. 



The Hon. Mr. Ferguson had much plea- 

 sure in complying with a request made to him, 

 that he should move the adoption of the 

 Report. He had read the paper just before 

 coming to the meeting and considered it a 

 most satisfactory Report, indicating a great 

 deal of useful work accomplished. It was 

 very suggestive under several heads ; but he 

 would only detain them to remark on the 

 scope that was presented in this island for 

 the saving of money expended to the amount 

 of over a million of rupees annually in import- 

 ing live-stock, especially cattle, sheep and 

 goats from India. In this respect they had 

 lessons to learn from the West Indies, where 

 so many minor Colonies had Government 

 Stock Farms, and freely imported pedigree 

 stock for improving their cattle, sheep, 

 goats and pigs. Dr. Sturgess's department 

 had already done a great deal of good ; but 

 one felt there was room for much more to 

 be effected among the villagers throughout 

 the island who ought to be taught to profit 

 by improved stock, With these few remarks 

 he had pleasure in moving the adoption of 

 the Report. 



Mr. Dunuwilla seconded. 



The motion was carried. 



The Governor's Speech. ' 



H. E. the Governor: — Before putting 

 this motion to the meeting, I should like to 

 say one or two words in connection with the 

 Report. Equally with Mr. Ferguson I find 

 this Report is extremely interesting in more 

 senses than one, In the first place it gives 



