AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS. (FROM THE "AUSTRALASIAN.")

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3367, 1 May 1868, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS. (FROM THE " AUSTRALASIAN.")

Considering that ten per cent, of the population of Victoria ia engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, and that our public policy has been directed of late years to stimulate settlement on the land and to encourage the cultivation of the soil, it is somewhat surprising that nothing has been done, either by the State or by private enten rise, for the provision of agiicultoral instruction for those who mighfc desire to avail themselves of it. In tbe absence of all opportunities of acquiring this »ort of education, much natural intelligence is misapplied, mu< h capital and effort wasted or expended with altogether inadequate tesults, and many losses and disappointments are incurred which might otherwise have been avoided Two classes of men go upon tbe land : the one posHessing some knowledge of farming as practised in in Great Britain and Ireland, and the other wholly unacquainted with either the practice or the theory of agiicuhure, and therefore devising a tentative aud exp<-rimeutal system of its own. Sometimes the litter class succeed* better than the former; because, while it has everything to learn, it has nothing to unlearn, and this is thr more difficult task of the two. To acquire information is comparatively ea y, but to relinquish Bettled ideas and established convictions, and to abandon venerable prn ciples and traditional usages, is extremely hard in early, and is almost impossible in later, life. It must be obvious however, that farming in Australia cannot be conducted in the same mode as in countries with wholly different conditions of soil and climate ; and that, whether as regards the processes to be employed or the products to be raised, our husbandmen require <-pecial means of instruction, and would be benefited by the example and experience of agriculturists in* habiting regions similarly circumstanced to our own. Teaching of this kind could be most systematically and efficiently given in such institutions as those which have been for many years established in the different provinces of Austria, where there are not only farm schools of a higher and lower grade, but special schools f»r forest-culture, for viue-oulture, for fruit and garden cultivation, for sericulture, for pisciculture, and for the management of bees, respectively, as well as veterinary schools and hospitals ; while regular courses of agricultural lectures are delivered in the universities and high schools of the empire. Upwards of 2,000 students are receiving instruction in these establishments ; and a sketch of the constitution of one, and of the system of education, pursued therein, will serve to indicate the general character of 'he whole. We will select for this purpose the farm-school at Ungarish-Alten-berg, which has been in operation for half a century. Pupils are admitted, after haviug passed an entrance examination, at tbe age of seventeen, and the course of th<Mr studies covers a period of two years. The curriculum embraces — 1. Anatomy, physiology, and the treatment of domesticated animals. 2. Chemistry, mineralogy, and geognosy; 3. Practical geometry, botany, and vegetable phjsiology. 4. Agricultural economy, bpok-keeping,,&c. 5. Breeding, rearinr,' and management of farm stock j and 6. Technology, , farm mechanics. Theory %nd practice go hind xn ■ ?tv foP * £ m o£ 500 acres is attached to the institution ; the students are required to spend a certain portion of everyday in »ctu«l work : the value of the labour so applied is credited to the pupil and goes in reduction of the charge made for hi* instruction. Tbereare three classes of students— those who pay for their education those who are admitted on exhibitions in the univeniiies, and those who, in consideration of their poverty, and in reward for their' natural aptitude, are allowed to receive gratuitous ioitruotion. Half the ■ coat of the school u

lefrayed«by the-proceeds of the land, the jrtodeats' fees, &c., and the balanoe is furnished us aJutoifdy by the State. Id this colony , asimilar institution, starting with an endowment of land in trust from- the Crown, mighti.be rendered self-supporting, since the fees might be fixed at such a rate aa to xemuneiate the staff of teachers, while 'the produce of the tarm, orchard, vineyard, and garden ought to suffice for the maintenance of the establishment. At the school referred to above, about 120 young men, well grounded in the science of agriculture, are annually tent forth ' jo begin life, either as farmers on their own account, if they possess the requisite means, or to act as farm '••ailiffo or stewards for others; and.it is eaay to understand how important an influence such a course •f training must exercise on those who devote themselves to husbandry in the Austrian dominions. The principles acquired in these institutions are developed by the various agricultural societies and unions found in all parts of the empire, and numbering more than 80,01)0 members. A spirit of inquiry is fostered, moreover, and the farmers are kept au courant with the latest inventions and improvements by the circulation of upwards of fifty agricultural periodicals, published either monthly or weekly. The Agricultural College at Cirenoester, in the mother country, is, pr was until very late l ?, the only institution of this character in Great Britain. It was the creation of private enterprise, and is calculated for the reception and instruction of 200 student?. " The course of education," writes Mr. Caird, " extends over six sessions, of which there are two in each year. The first and second sessions are chiefly devoted to instruction in practical agriculture, which is giren on the farm, and familiarises the students with the manual operations of hutbandry, the use of the best agricultural implements, and the most improved systems of management in the different departments of the farm. A laboratory, conducted on Liebig's system, is appropriated to chemical manipulation and analysis. Botany, geology, and zoology are each made the subject of practical instruction. Levelling, surveying, and the measurement of land are also attended to-; 'and' to the advantages of actual practice are superadded the lectures of the professors on every branch of science connected with, or calculated to throw light upon, the cultivation of the soil." Attached tt> the college is a farm of 700 acrs, in the tillage of which three different systems of rotation are employed, and the whole is leaded at a rental of from 20s. to 28s. an acre. Every animal maintained upon the farm is bred and fattened there, and there is a slaughterhouse on the premises ; and a machine is placed »t the entrance of the farm building on which every article of produce is weighed before it is brought into consumption. A minute record is kept of all operations and results, and the accounts are posted up on simple and intelligible principles which would be easy of application to ordinary farms. > Rom the correspondence which has been addressed to us on this subject, we have reason to believe that the necessity for establishing an institution of a similar kind in Victoria is beginning to be generally felt ; and if a few wealthy and pub ie-spirited individuals would combine for this purpose, (he Government might be reasonably invited to allocate a plot of land suitable to a farm school.

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