Technical Education in Agriculture. 
cxciii 
manner throughout the country. If 
they did, those geniuses would pro- 
bably be very much impeded by 
bringing themselves in contact with 
the rural mind as it would be ex- 
hibited in county associations and 
county schools. Therefore he wanted 
to separate — and he hoped that the 
Council would join in that view — ■ 
scientific teaching from what he 
would call systematic teaching. 
Scientific teaching must be the same 
all over the world ; technical teach- 
ing must vary according to the dis- 
trict in which it was carried on, the 
nature of the soil, and the character 
of the people. Scientific teaching 
would be as true and good for the 
county of Middlesex as for the 
county of York. The University of 
Cambridge, of which' he was a 
member, had turned its attention to 
the subject, and a Council was sit- 
ting at Cambridge now — in fact, had 
nearly finished its session — to form a 
syndicate for the teaching of agri- 
culture in that University. They 
were more likely to do good in acting 
in harmony with such a great and 
old teaching-establishment as Cam- 
bridge than by asking the University 
to put themselves into association 
with a number of scientific establish- 
ments in different parts of the King- 
dom. 
He did not believe that any sound 
technical teaching in Great Britain 
could be acquired out of the shop — ■ 
the shop in this instance being, of 
course, the farm. Neither did he 
believe that under the present cir- 
cumstances of agriculture they should 
tempt young men to leave any de- 
partment — even that of the Church 
or the study of the law — for anything 
which was now regarded so unprofit- 
able and unremunerative as agricul- 
ture. There would no doubt be 
much talking and writing on the 
subject of technical agricultural edu- 
cation, and it might do some good. 
Still, the science of agriculture was a 
much more important thing. Even 
if he lived another fifty years he 
would not expect to see a very great 
development of agricultural science. 
On the other hand, they could not at 
once set agriculture aside and say 
that it could not be benefited by 
scientific research. He did, indeed, 
doubt whether it could be benefited 
by any science that was provided by 
a provincial institution which pro- 
mulgated its information as the 
teachings of science. Perhaps all he 
could ask for that day was that the 
judgment of the Council on this 
report should be suspended, at all 
events until they heard what the 
University of Cambridge was doing 
on this subject, and until he and 
others had had an opportunity of 
conferring with men whose opinion 
would be valuable. The first name 
he would suggest would be that of 
Lord Eayleigh, who was a distin- 
guished (probably the most distin- 
guished) member of the University to 
which he (Mr. Pell) belonged. Dr. 
Gilbert and Sir John Lawes, and per- 
haps some of the leading minds in 
the Cambridge University, with whom 
he was not acquainted, should also be 
consulted. If the Council came to a 
decision based upon what might prove 
to be immature opinions, it might pos- 
sibly lead to their being scoffed at by 
what was called the "practical " man. 
For his own part he declared that, 
having this report only yesterday put 
into his hands, he felt great diffidence 
and apprehension that they might be 
doing wrong if they committed them- 
selves to it that day. He moved, 
therefore, that the report be received, 
but that the adoption of it be deferred 
for future consideration, and that the 
Committee be asked specially again to 
consider the question, and specifically 
the question of the establishment of a 
Central Normal School for scientific 
teaching. 
As a matter of fact, it was not 
necessary that the school should have 
a farm. The crossing of plants could 
be explained, and biological knowledge 
given by the minds that had dealt 
with that subject, without a farm. A 
lecture-room was the material part. 
He apologised for having taken up the 
time of the Council, w T hich he would 
not have done unless he had thought 
it to be the most important question 
which had come before the Council 
since he had had the honour of being 
a member of it. He therefore asked 
for further consideration of the sub- 
ject, especially in reference to the 
scientific teaching of agriculture. 
Mr. Bowex- Jones seconded th e 
