August, 1910.] 



189 



Agricultural Education* 



which are turned over to local boards 

 known as County Councils to be used 

 for the encouragement of agricultural 

 education, experiments, and demon- 

 strations. These funds are largely used 

 in the countries from which they are 

 derived or are devoted to the support of 

 educational centres which serve two or 

 more counties. These ceutres may be 

 universities, agricultural colleges or 

 special institutions deriving their main 

 support from these funds, or they may 

 be special institutions established and 

 maintained by the County Councils. 

 The second source includes funds con- 

 trolled by the Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries which are used for the encour- 

 agement of agricultural education by 

 making grants to a selected list of insti- 

 tutions giving instruction in agriculture. 

 In several instances the institutions 

 aided by the Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries also derive a part of their 

 support from County Councils. 



The committee in its investigations 

 made a study of the work of six univer- 

 sities and university c alleges, five agri- 

 cultural colleges, two dairy institutes, 

 one fruit and cider institute, one veterin- 

 ary college, and four agricultural or 

 farm institutes, all of which receive 

 grants from the Board, The committee 

 also sought information from every 

 County Council concerning its provisions 

 for technical and practical instruction 

 in agriculture, from nine colleges and 

 institutions which give instruction in 

 agriculture but are not aided by the 

 Board, from two technical colleges for 

 women, and from many agricultural 

 societies, landowners, farmers, farm 

 managers and others who might have 

 opinions of value concerning the subject 

 of their inquiry. In this way a large 

 mass of information was collected, which 

 has been published in Part II. of the com- 

 mittee's report, Part 1. being devoted 

 to its findings and recommendations. 

 The committee also made a considerable 

 study of facilities and methods in teach- 

 ing agriculture in other countries with 

 a view of recommending such features 

 of instruction as would be applicable to 

 conditions in England and Wales. 



In general, the committee found that 

 satisfactory progress had been made in 

 practical and scientific instruction iu 

 agriculture during the past 20 years, and 

 that farmers now take a keen interest in 

 the woik of agricultural institutions. It 

 believes that the establishment of a few 

 more higher agricultural institutions, 

 some of which are now projected, 

 would furnish the country with a suffi- 

 cient number of collegiate centres, but 

 it found that "the facilities for agri- 



cultural instruction of a lower grade are 

 unorganized, unsystematic, and wholly 

 inadequate." 



The committee is evidently convinced 

 of the importance of providing a 

 thoroughly equipped staff of specialists 

 for the higher institutions and well 

 trained teachers for those of lower grade. 

 With reference to the development of 

 existing facilities, the report states that 

 " attention should be given to securing 

 a highly qualified staff. Many institu- 

 tions employ too few teachers or relegate 

 the teaching of important subjects to 

 junior members of the staff. It is of 

 special importance that higher qualifica- 

 tions should be secured In the teachers of 

 such subjects as agriculture, agricultural 

 chemistry, and agricultural botany . , , . 

 f urther developments in agricultural edu- 

 cation will be difficult until a greater 

 supply of well-qualified teachers is avail- 

 able." The committee also recommends 

 the employment of itinerant instructors 

 in agriculture, horticulture, farm hygiene, 

 dairying, poultry keeping, and other 

 subjects in every county, and emphasizes 

 the fact that these instructors should be 

 selected from those who have had practi- 

 cal experience. They should have their 

 headquarters at a centrally located agri- 

 cultural institution, so that arrangements 

 for systematic demonstrations or improv- 

 ed practice can be made. And finally, 

 as regards the teaching force, it recom- 

 mends " that universities and colleges in 

 receipt of aid from the Board of Agricul- 

 ture should provide courses of instruc- 

 tion on subjects bearing on agriculture 

 and horticulture for elementary school 

 teachers." 



Lack of atteution to post-graduate 

 work in agriculture in England and 

 Wales was alluded to by the committee 

 in its recommendation that ''the Board 

 of Agriculture provide or eucourage the 

 provision of scholarships for post-gradu- 

 ate research, and also travelling fellow- 

 ships for teachers, enabling them to 

 study foreign systems of agriculture." 

 It also believes that there should be 

 increased provision for original reseirch, 

 field experiments, fruit stations, and 

 demonstration plats, and recommends 

 that the Board of Agriculture collate 

 the results of« experiments and publish 

 those directly bearing on the improve- 

 ment of agricultural practice. 



As regards instruction in agriculture 

 of a lower grade; which the committee 

 believes to be of vital importance, the 

 winter agricultural school " appears to 

 be specially adapted to the needs of this 

 country." It is believed that within the 

 next ten years from fifty to sixty of these 

 schools will be provided, and that their 



