May, 



405 



Miscellaneous. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR A LOCAL 

 SCHEME OP AGRICULTURAL 

 EDUCATION. 



[Paper read before the Board of Agri- 

 culture ou April 7 by Mr. W- A. de Silva.] 



Any scheme for agricultural education 

 in Ceylon should be based on elementary 

 line?, and a systematic attempt made to 

 give the village children a suitable 

 training to enable them to make the 

 best use of their surroundings. 



The school gardens now in operation 

 have been devised to partially meet this 

 want, and the work in such gardens 

 should be made a regular part of the 

 general work in a primary school aud 

 not relegated to off hours. 



Five hours are now usually devoted in 

 a village school to the teaching of letters. 

 This can well be reduced, and the time 

 thus saved devoted to practical teaching. 



In the first instance, provision should 

 be made to give the teachers in village 

 schools some instruction in the subject 

 to enable them to interest their pupils 

 in agricultural work. This can be done 

 in two ways — 



(a) By short holiday courses of 

 lectures to teachers, 



(b) By training the teachers for a 

 short period at an agricultural school. 



The annual lectures on sanitation 

 given to teachers in grant-in-aid schools 

 have proved to be of very great use to 

 them. Similar courses of lectures and 

 demonstrations in agriculture can be 

 arranged at a very little cost. 



The classes can be held in August and 

 December during school holidays, and 

 should be open to all vernacular certi- 

 ficated teachers employed in Govern- 

 ment or grant-in-aid schools, the number 

 attending a course of lectures and 

 demonstrations being limited to about 

 fifty at a time. 



Those selected to attend the classes 

 should be paid a commuted sum of 

 Rs. 20 to meet their travelling aud living 

 expenses during the time they are 

 engaged in attending the classes. 



Such teachers who pass an examina- 

 tion after the classes should get a certi- 

 ficate, and should be entitled to an 

 annual bonus when they show satis- 

 factory results at the examination of 

 children in their respective schools. 



The following may form the basis of a 

 provisional syllabus for the teachers ' 

 course of lectures and demonstrations in 

 agriculture : — 



First day— The Soil: What it is. 

 How formed. Agencies at work, Soil 

 59 



fertility. A farmer's classification of 

 soils 



Lecture, 1^ hour ; demonstration, 2 

 houAS. 



Second day.— Improvement op Soil : 

 Subsoil. Drainage. Cultivation, &c. 



Lecture, 1| hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Third day. -Manures : General princi- 

 ples. Time and method of application. 

 Qualities, &c 



Lecture, H hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Fourth day.— Field Crops : Rice 

 cultivation. Sowing. Manuring. Irri- 

 gation. Harvesting. Rotation. Trans- 

 planting, &c. 



Lecture, Ih hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Fifth day.— Garden Crops : Chena 

 lands. Roots. Cereals. Vegetables. 

 Rotation. 



Lecture, P§ hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Sixth day.— Pruits, &c, : Fruit grow- 

 ing. Propagation. Grafting. Manur- 

 ing. Preparation for market. 



Lecture, hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Seventh day.— Diseases and Insect 

 Pests : Blights- Preventive measures, 

 &c. 



Lecture, H hour; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Eighth day.— Cattle : Breeding. Feed- 

 ing. Dairying, &c. 



Lecture, 1-h hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Ninth day.— Common Ailments of 

 Cattle : Prevention. Treatment, In- 

 fectious diseases. Rinderpest. Foot 

 and mouth diseases, &c 



Lecture, 1| hour ; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Tenth day.— Implements, &c. : Imple- 

 ments, their uses and management. 

 Labour saving. Fences, &c. 



Lecture, lh hour; demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Eleventh day.— Weather and Meteo- 

 rology. 



Lecture, hour : demonstration, 2 

 hours. 



Twelfth day,— Examination (Oral). 



The lecturers can be fouud among the 

 members of the Botanical Department 

 and Educitional Department, or else- 

 where, and paid a nominal fee of Rs. 10 

 per lecture. 



