Report on Agricultural Education. 
543 
far-reaching, and therefore of necessity loses in depth what it 
seeks to gain in breadth. ^Ir. Jenkins instances the case of 
a Frenchman who was quite astonished on being told by an 
English farmer, of whom he had requested information on the 
relative merits of certain sheep : " Oh I those are Southdowns, 
but I am a Cotswold man ; if you ask So-and-so, he'll tell you 
all about them." To this gentleman a sheep was a sheep, no 
matter to what breed it belonged, and a man who could judge 
one sheep should, in his opinion, be capable of judging 
another. 
But whilst special knowledge is essential to a success in 
farming, many foreign agriculturists have a great advantage 
over us, because their theoretical knowledge enables them in an 
emergency to adapt their cultivation more easily to altered 
circumstances. 
In criticising the agricultural department of the ^Normal 
School of Science at South Kensington, Mr. Jenkins remarks 
that the four-years' course is too long, and that the subjects 
bearing upon agriculture, as specified in the svllabus, do not 
cover a wide enough field. In other words, a diligent student 
under the present regulations must turn to other subjects or 
other means of employing his time, unless he spends a large 
proportion of the intervals between lectures upon a farm near 
London. He also suggests that means should be adopted to 
ascertain that students possess a sufficient preliminarv know- 
ledge of elementary facts and the language of agriculture. 
Scholarships to be devoted to the reduction of the annual fees 
might then be awarded for special proficiency in the technical 
part of this entrance examination. 
^ isits should be made to farms such as Rothamsted and 
\^ oburn, to agricultural implement works, to artificial manure 
works, and to other establishments where the pupils could be 
brought into contact with the facts and phenomena with regard 
to which they have received instruction, and there should be 
examinations on these subjects at the end of each term, and the 
award of special prizes for distinguished proficiencv. 
Mr. Jenkins also suggests that at least two scholarships of 
100/. a year each, and each tenable for two vears, should be 
awarded to the student who has passed through the whole 
course of study, and who has passed his final examination 
with the greatest credit. This would enable students to pass a 
year or two upon a farm, which might be beforehand approved 
for the purpose bv the authorities of the Xormal School, and 
the money should not be paid until after a report has been 
received in each year from the scholar, giving an intelligible 
account of the operations conducted on the farm during the 
