Rural  Education. 
421 
Comparing  the  figures  given  above  for  potatoes  from 
Mallow  (No.  1),  and  those  from  County  Down  (No.  2),  and 
County  Antrim  (No.  7),  we  find  that  the  potatoes  which  were 
kept  in  the  South  (at  Mallow)  gave  heavier  crops  than  those 
taken  North.  Judging  by  opinions  held  in  England,  this  is 
not  what  might  have  been  expected. 
Looking  at  the  results  from  the  plots  on  the  West  (Nos.  3,  5, 
and  9),  and  comparing  them  with  those  on  the  East  (Nos.  2,  4, 
and  7),  we  find  that  there  is  a difference  on  the  average  of 
nearly  two  tons  per  acre  in  favour  of  the  West.  A somewhat 
similar  result  might  be  anticipated  in  England  if  crops  pro- 
duced on  the  West  side  were  compared  with  those  grown  on 
the  East. 
The  experiment  certainly  strengthens  the  idea  already 
gained  that  the  vigour  of  potato  sets  is  not  dependent  on  their 
being  grown  in  the  North,  but  that  it  is  due  to  either — 
(1)  More  moisture  in  the  atmosphere  during  the  period  of 
growth,  or — 
(2)  Less  sunshine  dui'ing  the  time  of  ripening,  that  is  to  say 
the  potato  top  gradually  decays  and  dies  down,  instead  of  more 
or  less  rapidly  decomposing. 
It  is  not  intended  to  make  any  definite  assertions,  but  rather 
to  suggest  other  conditions  besides  that  of  latitude,  which  may 
account  for  the  well-known  vigour  of  Scotch  seed,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  further  research  work  may  be  carried  out  some- 
what on  the  lines  referred  to  above  so  as  to  enable  us  to  get 
some  more  reliable  confirmation  of  the  theories  suggested. 
University  Farm, 
Cambridge, 
December,  1909. 
H.  Henshaw. 
Rural  Education. — I would  like  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
members  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  to  M.  Vuyst’s  book 
on  agricultural  education.^  The  first  section  deals  with 
elementary  schools,  and  to  my  mind  much  that  he  says  applies 
to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  rural  England.  He  lays  great 
stress  on  the  method  of  giving  agricultural  instruction,  and 
though  perhaps  Belgium  is  not  so  much  to  the  fore  in  secondary 
and  higher  agricultural  education  as  some  other  countries,  it 
has  succeeded  admirably  in  making  agricultural  education  and 
practical  study  of  Nature  an  integral  part  of  elementary  school 
life.  M.  Astier,  in  his  book  reviewing  the  present  condition  of 
technical  instruction  in  different  countries  of  the  world,  makes 
’ “ L’enseignement  agricole  et  ses  methodes,”  by  M.  De  Vuyst,  Chief  Inspector 
of  Agriculture  to  the  Kingdom  of  Belgium. 
