Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1938. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 218, 27 June 1938, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1938. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

The whole-hearted support which the Mid-Canterbury Executive of the Farmers’ Union promised to give in the matter of agricultural instruction at the post-primary schools jn Ashburton will assuredly have a most beneficial effect in encouraging the study of the subject by lads who might otherwise be disinclined to take the course. The proposal at the High School for the giving of demonstrations on live stock by well-known breeders is a good one, for such instruction will have a practical value that cannot be obtained on the school farm itself, naturally limited as it must be. The lad who comes from the average farm will have the advantage of studying with some groundwork of knowledge recognised leading specimens of the various types, while the town lad who is preparing for a country vocation will be brought into closer touch with animal husbandry than would otherwise be the case. The same considerations apply with equal force to the proposed formation of a class for instruction in herd-testing and related dairy science at the Technical School. The value of such a step should be apparent to all progressive farmers, who may be relied on to afford all the active assistance they can. The fact that the Executive referred the matter to the branches shows that members are desirous of giving the scheme as wide an application as possible, giving farmers in all parts of the County an interest in its development. Besides the practical benefits of these two schemes there should be advantage in study in the classroom, for the student will find greater interest in, and derive more knowledge from, his text books as a consequence of the practical side of his education. Any step to broaden the agricultural course merits support, because it improves the groundwork on which the whole lifework of the farmer rests. The dependence of New Zealand on her primary industry for her economic prosperity and the increasing world competition in the products of the land demand not only that our rural population be kept at its maximum but also that those who comprise it should be as well equipped as possible for an occupation that to be successful must be undertaken on scientific principles. The present moves in the schools give promise of developing into a system that will be of great benefit to this community.