jlfjricultuml Education. 
547 
the nature of the class to which it was applied. The question that 
Mr. 1 lollaiul prohahly intended was, how far education might itself he 
so adapted and directed as to convey some special advantage to agri- 
culturists as a class. Now, that emhodicd a very considerable diffi- 
culty, because ho was not sure whether they were right in speaking of 
farmers as a class at all ; for how could they classify under one head 
a body of men extending from the occupier of 30 or 50 acres up to the 
person who might be the owner of 2000 or 3000 acres, which he was 
absolutely farming himself without the assistance of any tenant- 
farmer ? The class was so extensive that any attempt to legislate, so 
to speak, for it would be entirely futile, because the body to which the 
legislation would apply would require a hundred or more different 
modes of treatment. But the question of education, if attempted to be 
applied to the wealthier class of agriculturists, would be regarded as 
almost a presumptuous interference, because they were well able to 
educate their own sons, and were assumed to be well educated them- 
selves. The very separation, however, of that portion of the agricul- 
tural classes from consideration, necessarily reduced the question to 
the education of the poorer classes of farmers, who, Professor Yoclcker 
said, must be the special subject of consideration. Now there was a 
greater difficulty respecting the education of that class than, perhaps, 
of any other body of men in the country ; first, because they were so 
widely separated from each other, and individually so far removed 
from the influence of education ; and next, because the practice of 
agriculture — that was to say, constant occupation from six o'clock 
in the morning until six o'clock at night in the business of the farm 
— was so exceedingly detrimental to the exercise of the mental facul- 
ties during the remainder of the day. Unless, indeed, a portion of 
the early part of the day were cut and carved out, and absolutely 
devoted to the purposes of intellectual culture of some kind, no good 
could be done, for the attempt to put books in the evening into the 
hands of persons who had been the whole day occupied upon a farm, a 
plantation, or an estate, was almost futile. 
They must, therefore, in their deliberations in the committee, and 
even at that moment, address themselves to this point — What were 
the means by which they could bring educational influences home to 
the farmer ? Beside the establishment of schools, it was important 
for the committee to consider — How, through the aid of this Society, 
to bring to bear upon the home life of the poorer class of farmers, 
and particularly their sons, the most powerful educational influences. 
When, after the death of Mr. Puscy, the discussion took place respect- 
ing the 'Journal,' an opinion which found some favour was that of 
cutting up the publication into smaller dimensions, so that it should 
be more available for practical home-reading, converting it, as it 
were, into a gpii of ' half-hours with the best agricultural authors.' 
Thus it was hoped to bring before the agricultural mind, with little 
difficulty, subjects that would evoke and excite intelligence in refer- 
ence to the particular pursuit in which it was engaged. 
When he acted as a juror during the International Exhibition, he 
vemcmbcred being asked by the foreign members of the jury, what 
