Royal Commission on Agriculture. 
513 
the class wliicli was formerly trained into farm service is now 
gratluall J absorbed into other industries. Farmers very naturally 
complain of this, as in districts in which there are School Boards 
they have to pay for education which not only deprives them, 
for the present, of the labour of boys, and obliges them to pay 
men's wages for boys' work, but tends to drain from the land 
the sources of future labour. 
Agricultural Education. 
We have received a good deal of evidence upon the subject of 
agricultural education in Great Britain and foreign countries, 
and the desirableness of encouraging scientific together with 
practical instruction has been urged by several witnesses. 
We concur in these opinions, and, whilst we are not prepared 
to suggest the manner in which this instruction should be 
supplied, we are of opinion that the subject is well worthy of 
consideration. 
Compared with some foreign countries, the facilities for 
obtaining technical education in Great Britain are very limited, 
although several county schools have been established for the 
education of the sons of farmers. The advantages of such an 
institution as Cirencester College are practically limited to those 
who, intending to adopt the career of estate agents, to farm, or 
to emigrate, are able to afford an expense beyond the reach of 
the ordinary farmer. Some impulse has been given to scientific 
agricultural education by the scholarships and bursaries founded 
by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and the High- 
land and Agricultural Society of Scotland. In addition to these, 
the Science and Art department hold out considerable induce- 
ments by the conditions under which they offer half the cost of 
county scholarships. 
Rent.* 
It has been suggested in the course of this inquiry that for 
many years previous to 1875 rents had been unduly raised. 
The weight of evidence, however, satisfies us that such a practice 
was exceptional, especially on large estates, and might be attri- 
buted in a great measure to imprudent competition on the part 
of tenants. It would also seem that this competition was to a 
considerable degree encouraged by the employment of capital 
in the shape of advances made by country bankers on personal 
security, as well as by cattle-dealers, salesmen, and others. The 
sudden withdrawal of such accommodation, and the calling in 
* Mr. Clay records his disscut from this and otiier sections of the Eeport in 
a separate Memoraudum. 
VOL. XVIII. — S. S. 2 L 
