Magazine  of  the  School  of  Agriculture. 
37 
given  it  as  his  opinion  derived  from  special  ex- 
perience that  “ every  child  not  an  idiot  can  learn 
to  draw  when  properly  taught."  * And  the  import- 
ance of  universal  instruction  in  drawing  which 
Mr.  Wall  so  well  characterised  as  the  language  of 
Science,  and  it  may  be  added  of  Art  as  well,  is  a 
matter  which  admits  of  no  argument.  There  is 
scarcely  a trade  in  which  a knowledge  of  drawing 
is  not  useful.  And  apart  from  the  pleasure  to  be 
derived  from  the  cultivation  of  an  testhetic  taste 
and  the  habits  of  accurate  observation  and  care- 
ful study  of  Nature  learnt  by  the  art  student, 
Art  knowledge  has  a distinct  commercial  value 
both  to  the  individual  and  to  the  commu- 
nity to  which  he  belongs.  Tha  cheapest  mate- 
rial is  rendered  valuable,  and  even  the  precious 
metals,  made  more  valuable  in  the  hands  of 
a genuine  artist.  To  encourage  Art  and  art  pro- 
ductions by  disseminating  art  teaching  all  over  the 
country  would  therefore  be  a wise  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  Government,  and  fortunately  in  this 
respect  at  least  no  difficulty  can  arise  from  the 
want  of  superior  teachers.  It  is  only  to  be  hoped 
that  Art  teaching  under  western  influences  may 
not  wholly  obliterate  and  sweep  away  the 
characteristic  artistic  taste  of  the  nation  as 
evidenced  especially  in  Jaffna  Jewellery  work,  in 
brass  chasing  and  embossing,  in  the  inlaying  in 
ivory,  in  wood  carving  &c.,  which  have  a character 
and  beauty  all  their  own,  and  -which  remain  to 
us  as  the  only  living  evidence  we  possess,  and  that 
is  worth  preserving  of  the  genius  of  an  ancient 
and  extinct  civilisation.  Mere  Science  teaching 
again,  however  important  a place  it  should 
occupy  in  a general  scheme  of  education,  would 
be  of  no  value  in  a Technical  School  whose 
essential  character  is  that  its  instruction  is  of 
a practicalqcharacter, — the  application  of  scien- 
tific principles  to  the  arts.  But  such  applica- 
tion must  be  preceded  by  instruction  in  the 
principles  of  Science  whether  included  in  the 
curriculum  of  a Technical  School,  or  provided  for 
in  a previous  course.  And  it  is  in  this  direction 
I think  that  a Technical  School  will  prove  of 
most  value,  and  I am  glad  to  find  that  Mr.  Wall 
entertains  much  the  same  opinion.  The  natural 
resources  of  our  country  are  almost  boundless,  and 
except  in  the  case  of  one  or  two  of  our  mineral 
productions,  and  a few,  very  few  of  our  vegetable 
products,  may  be  said  to  be  almost  unexplored. 
Glance  down  the  list  of  our  exports,  and  with 
the  exception  of  Plumbago  and  Precious  stones, 
which  represent  our  Mineral  products  and  Cinna- 
mon, Coconuts  (and  the  articles  derrved  from  the 
latter,  Oil,  Yarn,  Copperali,  Arrack),  Madder  and 
Sapanwood,  Pepper  and  Arecnnuts,  Cardamoms 
from  our  indigenous  plants,  there  is  hardly  any- 
thing else  which  finds  a place  there,  save  the 
cultivated  plants  introduced  from  other  coun- 
tries : — Tea  and  Coffee  and  Cinchona  and  Tobacco 
and  Sugar.  Now,  whatever  the  extent  of  our 
mineral  resources  may  be,  and  only  a competent 
mineralogist  can  tell  us  whether  they  are  limi- 
ted to  our  two  chief  articles  of  export,  the  vege- 
table products  which  have  been  hitherto  dis- 
covered and  utilised  are  trivial  compared  with 
the  inexhaustible  wealth  which  Nature  has  boun- 
tifully provided  for  our  use.  The  plants  which 
* An  Infant  School  in  Paris  teaches  drawing  to 
all  the  children— aged  from  4 to  6 years  only. 
are  useful  as  sources  of  food  and  clothing  and 
building  material  and  furniture,  which  furnish 
medicine,  and  oils,  and  gums,  and  resins,  and  fibres, 
and  dyes,  and  perfumes,  are  innumerable,  and  only 
await  careful  scientific  research  and  proper  tech- 
nical manipulation  to  yield  an  immense  harvest. 
It  is  in  the  study  of  the  economic  uses  of  plants, 
in  the  application  of  chemical  science  to  our 
natural  products  to  determine  their  uses  and  com- 
mercial value,  and  the  elaboration  and  invention 
of  means  by  which  tlieir  most  valuable  ingre- 
dients can  be  extracted,  (all  processes  comprised 
under  the  term  technology),  that  I think  the 
widest  and  most  important  field  lies  for  technical 
education , study  and  investigation.  In  our  Agricul- 
tural School,  so  successfully  and  admirably  man- 
aged by  its  present  Principal,  there  should  be  no 
difficulty  found  to  create  a Technological  Depart- 
ment with  Museum,  Labortary,  Teaching  Ap- 
pliances and  proper  staff  of  Teachers  to  aid 
in  developed  the  natural  resources  of  the  country. 
Agriculture  properly  speaking  is  a Technological 
Science , so  that  it  would  be  quite  in  beeping 
with  its  present  place  in  a scientific  system  of 
Education  to  add  Technological  Instruction  to 
the  other  and  manifold  branches  of  Science 
which  are  being  taught  there. 
The  reorganisation  of  the  Normal  School  which 
was  suppressed  some  years  ago,  I believe,  and 
only  lately  revived  would  tend  still  further 
to  aid  in  the  extension  of  Technical  teaching 
in  the  various  Schools  of  this  land  generally, 
as  a training  in  a Technical  School  could  be 
made  an  indispensable  qualification  for  the 
masters  of  Vernacular  Schools.  Indeed  the 
entire  success  of  any  scheme  of  Technical  edu- 
cation which  is  to  embrace  the  teaching  ele- 
ment in  the  country  generally  must  depend  very 
much  on  the  organization  of  the  Normal  School.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  the  teachers  themselves 
will  have  first  to  be  taught,  and  a teaching  staff 
imported  mainly  from  Europe  to  inaugurate  tech- 
nical training  in  the  Normal  School  will  have  to 
be  almost  the  first  question  to  be  considered  in 
any  complete  scheme  that  may  be  formulated. 
But  both  the  Agricultural  School  and  the  Normal 
School  would  have  to  depend  for  their  regular 
supply  of  pupils  on  the  Public  or  Higher  Ele- 
mentary Schools,  and  it  is  there  that  technical 
instruction  should  really  begin.  When  the 
Revised  Education  Code  comes  into  operation  here, 
Drawing  in  all  but  infant  schools  will  become 
obligatory,  while  Manual  Instruction  will,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  find  its  place  in  the  curriculum  of 
every  public  school,  and  perhaps  also  in  the 
highest  stage  of  every  village  school.  How  far 
it  would  be  possible  to  teach  Elementary  Science 
by  means  of  object  lessons  as  is  done  in  French 
and  German  Schools  in  the  Elementary  verna- 
cular schools  here  I do  not  know,  but  I am 
glad  to  learn  that  the  plan  which  was  first 
adopted  in  India,  I believe  of  introducing  a pri- 
mary instruction  in  Science — in  Agricultural 
Science  especially,  on  account  of  the  immense 
preponderance  of  boys  of  the  agricultural  class 
in  schools,  by  means  of  specially  prepared  text 
books  which  take  the  place  of  the  ordinary 
reading  books  in  the  various  classes — has  been 
followed  in  our  Vernacular  Schools  here  with 
very  good  results. 
{To  be  continued.) 
