62 
Education as connected with Agriculture. 
effort is made avowedly and honestly to give a public and honour- 
able rather than a merely private commercial character to such 
schools. The readiest means of doing so is to attach them by 
name, and, as possible, by constitution to some of the ancient 
fundamental institutions of the nation. Of these there are two 
that offer themselves at once for consideration — the Church and 
the State. The former has always been identified with the edu- 
cation of all classes : the latter has of late years assumed a large, 
indeed a preponderating share in the maintenance and direction 
of the education of the labourer, while it has only touched, but 
without affecting their general character, our old universities and 
public and grammar schools. But it needs not many sentences 
to show that though any public education in England must not 
only have a religious character, but be so in harmony with the 
broad principles of the Church of England as to ensure the cordial 
cooperation of its clergy and laity ; yet an exclusive Church 
character would only shut out from its advantages a very large 
number of the middle class. Or again it may be easily shown 
that though Englishmen will expect their sons to be trained in 
the utmost loyalty to the Crown and obedience to constituted 
authority, yet the independent classes will expect their schools 
like their homes to be free alike from State support and Govern- 
ment inspection. There remains, I think, an alternative. The 
ancient organization of the English counties is sufficiently con- 
nected with all the best associations both of Church and State, 
yet sufficiently free from exclusive and arbitrary influences to 
offer a common name and many local centres round which the 
public education of the middle classes may be safely and honour- 
ably grouped. 
Public proprietary schools, distributed through the various 
counties of England, and associated as much as possible with all 
the honourable and influential names and personages of these 
counties, are, 1 have long ventured to think, the first requisite 
towards improved agricultural education. Such schools will 
supply, not only to the future farmer but to all the farmer's sons 
that general groundwork of education which should precede and 
be the foundation of all sound knowledge and special practice. 
That such schools may be established at a moderate outlay of 
capital, and be conducted remuneratively at no very high charge 
to parents, is not only a reasonable assumption but an asc ertained 
fact. I append to this paper an analysis of the cost of establishing 
the Devon County School, as well as of its annual expenditure. 
It will show that the cost of building a handsome school for 100 
boarders, of furnishing it, of purchasing about ten acres of ground, 
of conducting it from its commencement with two pupils, about 
