Agricultural Education. 



138 



[Augctst, 1910. 



schools. Briefly, the points brought 

 out were to the effect that while there 

 is geueral agreement that agriculture 

 should be taught in all public high 

 schools attended by rural pupils, there 

 is also a pressing demand and need for 

 a limited number of special agricul- 

 tural schools for the accommodation of 

 boys who have definitely made up their 

 minds that they want to follow the 

 business of fat ming ; and that while it is 

 true that some of the work in such 

 scbo Is must of necessity be narrower 

 than in the public schools, the introduc- 

 tion in agriculture gains greatly in bre- 

 adth and thoroughness as well as in the 

 superior laboratory equipment, animals, 

 machinery, and other facilities needed 

 in tha teaching of agriculture. There is 

 also abundant opportunity in such 

 schools to provide for short special 

 courses, to meet the needs of the boy of 

 limited time and means. 



Dean Davenport's arguments that such 

 schools would peasantize farmers was 

 answered by showing that the farmers 

 in Germany, to whom he referred, were 

 peasants long before the establishment 

 of agricultural schools in that country; 

 and that they were peasants not because 

 of the establishment of agricultural 

 schools, but in spite of the uplift- 

 ing influence of such schools. It was 

 also pointed out that there is a 

 difference between the influence of a 

 school which pupils are compelled to 

 attend and those which they attend 

 from choice. In this country the 

 greatest freedom of choice is given in 

 the selection of courses by pupils attend- 

 ing city schools; there should be similar 

 freedom for the country boy. The in- 

 fluence of the special agricultural school 

 which the country boy may attend or 

 not as he may choose, must inevitably 

 tend towards the uplift of those who 

 profit by its instruction and subsequently 

 engage in the business of farming. 



The reorganisation of the departments 

 of the National Education Association 

 and their reduction to less than half the 

 former number was undoubtedly a wise 

 measure. New departments had been 

 added one at a time, to meet the demands 

 created by new conditions in our public 

 schools but without much reference to 

 their relations to existing departments, 

 until there were so many departmental 

 meetings and so many conflicts in their 

 programmes as to make it extremely 

 difficult for a member of the association 

 to follow the discussions on even one line 

 of educational thought or endeavour. 

 Under the new arrangement there are 

 departments representing the different 

 grades of schools, the administrative 



affairs of education, and groups of related 

 subjects. Thus practically all general 

 matters relating to the elementary 

 schools will be considered in the depart- 

 ment of elementary education instead of 

 in two departments (kindergarten and 

 elementary education) as formerly. This 

 is largely true also of general matters 

 relating to secondary education and 

 higher education. 



On the other hand ample provision 

 is made in such departments as 

 music education, professional training of 

 teachers, and industrial education for 

 the consideration of important special 

 phas^- of education. For example, this 

 grouping of special subjects brings to- 

 gether those interested in agricultual 

 education, manual training, home econo- 

 mics, and technical instruction who 

 formerly were much inconvenienced 

 by conflicting programmes. This new 

 arrangement ought to be highly satis- 

 factory to all concerned. All of the 

 subjects included in the new department 

 of industrial education are closely 

 related, and their consideration in one 

 department where such relationship will 

 have to be recognised will have a ten- 

 dency to harmonise and correlate work 

 which has thus far suffered from conflicts 

 which were much more apparent than 

 real. 



AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN 

 ENGLAND AND WALES. 



(Prom the Experiment Station Record, 

 Vol. XX, No, 3, November, 1908.) 

 A report of considerable importance 

 concerning agricultural education in 

 England and Wales has recently been 

 submitted by a special committee ap- 

 pointed by the president of the Board of 

 Agriculture and Fisheries. The report 

 comprises a brief history of agricultural 

 education in England and Wales up to 

 the present time, a more extended view 

 of the progress and development of agri- 

 cultural education from 1888 to 1908, a 

 description of existing facilities for 

 agricultural education, and recommen- 

 dations concerning its further develop- 

 ment. The inquiry of the committee 

 did not extend to rural secondary and 

 elementary schools since these are under 

 the control of the Board of Education 

 and are not within the province of the 

 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. 



It seems that in England and Wales 

 there are two main sources of financial 

 support for technical and agricultural 

 education. The first includes funds 

 derived from the Excise Act of 1890, 



