748 Grants for Agricultural Education, [march, 



by county councils, and of the improvement in the quality of 

 the instruction offered, the English farmer does not show much 

 anxiety to obtain systematic instruction in agriculture for his 

 son. It is true that there has been of late years a gratifying 

 change in the attitude of the farmer towards the teaching 

 staff of agricultural institutions, but this attitude has not 

 yet reached the point at which it affects the farmer's personal 

 desire for education. Many farmers are now ready enough to 

 admit, by their action on education committees, if not in so 

 many words, that education is a good thing for their neighbours, 

 but the agricultural colleges will not take the place in our system 

 which we wish them to occupy until farmers are convinced that 

 education is a good thing for themselves. In this connection 

 attention is drawn to the case of a student at Armstrong 

 College who holds what may be termed an Estate Scholarship. 

 It is much to be desired that other landowners should follow 

 the example here chronicled when occasion offers, and provide 

 a scholarship to be competed for by the sons of their tenantry. 

 Such practical evidence of a landowner's belief in the value of 

 education would undoubtedly tend to produce a greater 

 appreciation of technical instruction among tenant farmers. 



The special grants in aid of agricultural experiments and 

 research amounted to £495, and Mr. Middleton lays emphasis 

 on the importance of these grants, and suggests that much 

 larger sums should be expended by the Board in promoting 

 agricultural research. 



The report contains an account of the provision made .by 

 the Local Authorities of England and Wales for Agricultural 

 Education. It appears that their expenditure for this purpose 

 out of the residue grant received under the Local Taxation 

 (Customs and Excise) Act during 1906-7 was approximately 

 £80,000. The average sum for the five years 1901-6 was. 

 £86,000, which represented 17- 6 per cent, of the yearly amount 

 received from the residue grant. 



The share of this grant apportioned to agriculture by 

 different counties varies from 59-5 per cent, in East Sussex 

 to 2-2 per cent, in the Holland Division of Lincolnshire, and 

 bears but little relation to the position which agriculture takes 

 in comparison with other industries in the county. Indeed, the 

 share of agricultural education would often seem to be inversely 



