Aug. 1, 1901,] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
101 
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 
IN CEYLON. 
{Extract from Report of Director of Public 
Instruction for 1900.) 
SCHOOL GARD13NS AND ELEMa'NTARY HORTI- 
CULTURE. 
An order was issued several yeacs ago that every 
Government school was to have a garden, but nothing 
was done to introduce method into the general scheme, 
and, although a few of the most intelligent school- 
masters set to work on practical hnes, m the large 
majority of cases the effort stopped short at a f=.w 
nasnccessful crotons. The scheme now gradually 
being developed is (1; to select in each Provinc* those 
schools where, owing to climatic <=i'^,'='i°"'^°°«^, ''it 
space, a garden can be profitably developed and to lot 
toe other schools alone for the present, (2) to keep 
tw« objects in view, the picturesque and the atiUta- 
rian : tOT:^ate the ideas of taste neatness, pleasant 
sarroundings on the one hand, and on the other, in 
con?uUation with the revenue officer and headmen^ to 
discover what economic products d» best in or ought 
to be introduced into the neighbourhood, and to devote 
a large section of the garden to these. (3) to start sup-, 
ply gardens at various centres for t^e issue of seeds, 
oattings, &c., (4) to apnoint a special Inspector of 
Gardens who will take charge of the supply gardens 
visit all the selected school gardens m turn, instruct 
the teachers how to instruct tne pupils and what points 
to pay special attention to, and give a few elementary 
lessons in school on practical horticulture and botany. 
The Director of the Lyal Botanic Gardens has given 
the scheme his w^rm support and his advice has 
beau closely followed. The matter is one of 
«eat and growing importance. Whatever may be 
to •teaching the natives agriculture there can 
be little doubt that in horticulture (e^Pf'f '^h!' Ts a 
oerns manure, rotation, new pioducts, ^"^f^l^^ 
gteat deal they can be profitably taught if the educat'on 
is practical and the scheme removes from our State 
educational system one of . the '^^lef reproaches 
levelled again.t it,-that it is mere book-learning 
and of no practical utility. ^ 
SCHOOL Ot' AGRICULTURE : BY MR. C DRIEBERG. 
The number of students on the roll was as m the 
nast few Tears, kept low by the continued uucer a nty 
!f to Thl future of the institution, and the persistent 
rumours ofits impending abolition. For the year 
under review it was 16, made np of 6 seniors and 0 
uniors On the results of the final examination hold 
n November, two students became entitled to first- 
class certificates granted by the Department of 
Public Instruction and one to a second class cer 
fificate M.D.S.A. Wijeyenayaka and E. Jaya iilak i 
old boys of the schod, have been appointei stock 
'TnotTer Commission, distinct from that referred to 
in my last report, was appointed to deal specially with 
the auestion of the continuance of the school. 
Tne recommendation of this Commission was to the 
effect that the School of Agriculture, as at present con- 
stituted should be closed at the earliest opportunity 
th's will probably be on the 31st March, the end of 
the first school term of the year. . „f,i„jr 
A scheme for e:itablishing an experimental gar- 
det and possibly, scientific agricultural classes, 
fn connection with the Royal Botanic Gardens 
ahe staff of which his been augmented by 
Ihe appointment of a immbsr of scientific ex- 
pettsrand another distinct scheme for agncultvral 
Fnsuuc.lon through the children of village schools, 
hv means of nature study lessons and school gai- 
d n ave under consideration. The developments 
Snder either scheme will ba for further reports 
'"ih'e' experiment in bee-keeping continues as must 
needs be with a pioneer industry, slowly, bit witli it a 
knowledge of the habits and instincts ptourCeyloo 
beea is graduUy acquired, 
The school premises becuiie the headquarters 
of the Paris Exhibition Committee's operations. 
1 myself was connected with the Committee as As- 
sistant to the Secretary-Geiieial ( ifterwards Dele- 
gate for the Ceylon Government at Paris). The work 
of organization, and partiouiarly the collection and 
classificatio 1 of the vegetable products of the 
island, proved of special interest, and served as a 
useful medium of instruction to the students of the 
year, who themselves helped me a good deal. 
The "Agricultural Magazine" completed half its 
12th volume at the end of ths year. 
The rainfall registered at the school was as follows : 
—January 4-3?, Febfuarv 350, M^irvoh 117, April 
16-01, May ll'll, June 7-71, July 7-47, Aupufl, 7y6, 
September 7-12, October U'SS. November o-98, De- 
cember 6'95. This makes a total of 91'02 iijobea 
for the year. For purposes of comparison I give 
the rainfall as recorded in tha Fort, viz., 83 68. 
Of the forty acres originally attached to the 
Dairy about six acres were put up for public sale by 
the Government Agent of ihe Western Province, 
and the land sold (about four acres) realized 
R8,000 per acie. The land is to be utilized for build- 
ing purposes. 
SCHOOL GARDENS, NATURE STUDY, AND AGRI- 
CULTURAL TEACHING. 
Bij Mr. J. C. Willis. 
The most practical means of influencing the agricul- 
tural practice of the couutry for the better, and of 
introducing new piodncts and ideas, is by working 
through the children at school. I think a system of 
school gardens, supplied from the Royal Botanic Gar- 
dens with the best kinds of plants, cultivated by the 
teachers aad students, ^nd u-'ed as object lessons by 
the former, aided by leaflets issued by the staff i^f the 
gardens for their guiJance, and, if it can be arranged 
Tne opening ot cnese sonooi garaens ana tneir stocK- 
ing with good fruit, vegetables, &o., is .^ure to lead to 
the gradual introduction of new cultivations into the 
villages, and the stocking of the gardens from the 
Royal Botanic Gardens will easi-re that these new 
introductions are good of their kind. lu so far as thesa 
cultivations are concerned, the school gardens may bo 
used to give a certain definite amount of agricultural 
instruction, but in general they should never be regar- 
ded as organizitious for the teaching of agriculture. 
The teachers are not themselves sufficiently qualified 
to teach agriculture or to criticise methods already in 
use in the villages. The aim of the gardens should 
rather be what is now called "Nature Study," thein- 
culc*tion of habits of observation and induction among 
the pupils. Such training will render such pupils much 
more capable when older ot appreciating definite agri- 
cultural instruction, aud will render them able to oti- 
tioise intelligently the methods they employ iu the 
actual cultivations that they may carry on in after life. 
They may be taught the reasons why such or such 
an operation is performed, and p.-^rfi rmed iu such- 
or such a way, btit they should never be giyen do 
finite instruction in the cultivation of staple pro- 
ducts ; to do so will be fatal to the success of the 
scheme. 
School gardens should cultivate ornamental as 
well as useful plants, and p'.ipils should be en- 
couraged to do the same. A few gardens should 
first be selected for trial ; these might be visited 
by the offioers of the Royal Botanic Girdens, and 
the general plan of laying out and gardening de- 
cided. The seeds and plants should be supplied from 
the Bjtanic Gardens, planted and attended to ac- 
cording to instructions by the school teachers and 
scholars. Object lessons should be given at occa- 
sional intervals, and experiments carried on upon 
lines to be indicated in leaflets previously issued, 
and the teachers should • never try to give these 
lessons or try the experiments with the pupils till 
they themselves have previously mastered them, 
