42 



a similar decision, restricted however by the condition that 

 the courses in nature study and elementary agriculture must 

 show educational value comparable with those of other subj ects 

 now recognised in their examinations. 



With reference to the co-ordination and graduation of agri- 

 cultural education from the elementary schools to the colleges, 

 an interesting pamphlet was issued in 1902 by the Office of 

 Experiment Stations (Circular No. 49), being an extract 

 from the Seventh Report of the Committee on the methods 

 of teaching agriculture. In this report, after dwelling on 

 the pressing need for the establishment of institutions and 

 courses for instruction in agriculture, and pointing out how 

 city and high schools are being specially developed with refer- 

 ence to different forms of business and manual arts, the Com- 

 mittee assert that in order to bring agricultural education into 

 line with the prevailing movement for technical and manual 

 instruction in secondary schools and courses, several changes 

 would be required in the then existing school system. These 

 changes would consist in making the college courses in agri- 

 culture of real college grade, which had apparently hitherto 

 been impossible, owing to the absence of any general agricultural 

 course in high schools. Agricultural high schools should, there- 

 fore, be established in connection with the colleges which would 

 offer a secondary course completing itself with some definite 

 training in agricultural subjects. It was believed that this 

 would be a better plan than to have courses which would 

 merely be preparatory college courses given in those institutions 

 themselves. 



The Committee also suggested the establishment of agricul- 

 tural courses in town high schools, since many pupils were no 

 doubt drawn from the neighbouring country districts. 



Agriculture, according to the Committee's report, had been 

 up to that time almost entirely neglected in the high school 

 programme, and it was high time to make an effort to remedy 

 this. As a practical measure, therefore, the Committee pro- 

 posed that such courses might be added to those of already 

 existing high schools by the addition of a single teacher who 

 should be an agricultural college graduate. The expense of 

 this teacher might be properly shared by the State, the 

 village or city maintaining the high school, and the country 

 district from which the pupils were drawn. 



