Agricultural Education in Russia. 



73 



might have been expected ; but the low apparent value is to 

 be partly accounted for by reason of the large extent of land 

 still uncultivated, and the still greater difficulty of obtaining 

 exact declarations as to the value of rural as compared with 

 urban property. 



Agricultural Education in Russia. 



The Russian Minister of Agriculture has recently laid 

 before the Agricultural Council a proposal for a general 

 scheme of agricultural education. The introduction to this 

 document states that, notwithstanding the fundamental 

 importance of agriculture to Russia and the great fertility of 

 some of the Russian soils, the crops obtained even in the 

 "black soil" regions are only one-third to one-half as large 

 as those harvested from the inferior soils of Western Europe. 

 Almost everywhere in Russia primitive processes ol 

 farming are persistently followed by the farmers, while the 

 number of persons who are fitted by education and training to 

 disseminate information on the rational methods of agri- 

 culture is comparatively insignificant. The proposed scheme 

 provides for (i) higher education, furnished by independent 

 agricultural institutes and by chairs of agriculture and allied 

 sciences in the universities ; (2) agricultural high schools ; 

 (3) lower agricultural schools ; and (4) the diffusion of general 

 agricultural information. 



The schools for the so-called lower agricultural education 

 include (a) secondary agricultural schools, (b) primary agri- 

 cultural schools, (c) agricultural classes, and (d) practical 

 agricultural courses. These are to be under the jurisdiction 

 of the Minister of Agriculture and Imperial Domains. They 

 are to be maintained at the expense of municipalities, local 

 communities, associations, etc., but may receive part of their 

 support from the Government. The secondary schools are to be 

 open to young men of all conditions, who have completed the 

 course in the primary public schools. The course of instruc- 

 tion is to extend over four years. The primary agricultural 

 schools are open to all who can read, write, and have a 



