184 GENERAL AGRICULTURAL NOTES. [Sept. 1896. 



other matters as are connected generally with the production 

 and utilisation of milk. 



The extensive buildings of the Mamirolle Dairy School 

 contain accommodation for instruction in the manufacture of 

 butter; of Gruyere, Dutch, soft, and other cheeses ; of milk- 

 sugar ; and for the sterilization of milk on a commercial scale. 

 A farm of nearly 7^ acres, which is attached to the school, is 

 intended to afford object lessons relating to the intensive pro- 

 duction of milk. There is also a botanical garden containing 

 such plants as bear any relation to dairying. 



Students are admitted to the school at two periods of the 

 year, viz., on the 1st April and on the 1st October. The 

 students are divided into a certain number of groups, and each 

 group in rotation attends for the period of two weeks to each 

 of the various categories of practical work. Those who have 

 passed through the whole curriculum may confine their 

 attention to some particular work relating to the special branch 

 of dairying which they intend to adopt on leaving the school. 

 The teachers merely supervise the practical work which is 

 done wholly by the pupils, of whom, for this reason, a limited 

 number only (15 to 20) are received. A rule adopted in the 

 method of instruction, which is found to be of much value, 

 requires the students to give details in writing of the operations 

 conducted by them, and to check their work theoretically. 



Much care is also bestowed on instructing the pupils in the 

 methods of controlling the quality of milk, of which about 

 165 gallons are received daily at the school from a number 

 of farmers in the district. The practical work is done in the 

 morning and evening, the afternoon being devoted to theoretical 

 instruction. 



No fees are charged at the school, but the pupils pay for their 

 board and lodging, which can be obtained in the neighbourhood 

 for about 21. a month. A few scholarships, which are granted 

 by the Government and by certain Departements, are awarded to 

 meritorious candidates who have previously testified as to their 

 insufficiency of means. 



The staff of the Mamirolle School give free advice to the public 

 on the various matters connected with dairying and dairy 

 utensils. A considerable portion of this work is carried on by 

 correspondence. The research laboratory, which was opened on 

 the 1st January 1893, is intended for original work. 



The possibility of producing Emmenthal and Gruyere cheese 

 on a large scale in France, with milk collected over a wide area, 

 has. been recently demonstrated at Mamirolle. Various other 

 kinds of investigation are undertaken, and much useful work 

 is said to have been done by the school as regards co-operation 

 among the farmers for the manufacture and sale of their pro- 

 duce, as well as for the purchase of manures and feeding stuffs. 



