AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9029, 16 April 1888, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE.

INSTRUCTION . IN ; THE ; , PRIMARY SCHOOLS. • • ' ,

VIEWS OF PROFESSOR THOMAS. The ordinary meeting of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute was held on Saturday afternoon. Th« Rev. E. H. Gulliver presided, and there was a moderate attendance.

Professor Thomas delivered an address on the subject " Instruction in Botany and Agriculture in the Primary Schools." He said the necessity for technical education was being forced upon people all over the world. In England the manufacturers and farmers were being driven out of the markets, and this was attributed to the want of technical education, as the superiority of French and German farming, etc., was attributed to its excellence in those countries. People were beginning to think that the prevailing cry of depression was caused through the want of education of a practical character, which was no less a necessity in New Zealand than elsewhere. Professor Thomas explained the principles of technical instruction, and said he believed it possible to give a good deal of technical education in the primary schools, which would serve as the basis of a more perfect instruction elsewhere. Practical instruction of this character must always have a close relation to the occupations of the people. Professor Huxley, had contended that primary education was " too bookish," and he (Professor Thomas) thought that a good deal or improvement could be made in the primary system in New Zealand. For many years to come our most important industries must be those of agriculture and mining. Various forms of agricultural industry had been suggested and carried out; and were the people who were to engage in the special forms of this industry specially educated for the task, they would derive much benefit. The depression was said to be mainly caused by the fact of people crowding into the towns, but he (the speaker) thought that persons who did not understand the principles of agrioulture and were not instructed in the art of farming, felt but little tempted to remain in the country. Professor Thomas referred to the details of a system of technical education in farming, etc. ; the life of plants, the origin of soils, the nature and use of the natural and artificial manures, and the reason for rotation of crops, should be explained to the children, whilst instruction should be given in respect to the parasitic diseases which attack crops, as for instance the codlin moth. This knowledge should be real, and not book knowledge. He had found that clause 19, relating to the teaching of agricultural chemistry and botany in the schools, was a dead letter. Botany was as essential as agricultural chemistry, since one might dose a plant without any beneficial result, if he knew nothing of its constitution, growth, etc. The English Royal Commission on technical education bad recommended that, amongst other means for giving this instruction in agriculture, certain steps should be rendered compulsory for the standards in the elementary schools in rural districts, as follows : —For standard I. to 111., object lessons, which should deal with familiar substances, etc. ; standard IV.', more advanced knowledge, dealing with special groups of common objects ; standard V., animal and plant life, processes of agriculture, etc.; standard VI. and VII., the preceding in fuller detail. Something of this kind might bo adopted ,in the primary schools of New Zealand. The masters and the pupils liked the lessons, and, more important still, instruction of this character would tend much to advance the utility of public education in New Zealand. (Cheers.) He would like to hear the opinions of teachers on the subject. Mr. Harrison* said thatjthe main difficulty that would have to be met with in the carrying out of valuable suggestions, such as those proposed by Professor Thomas, was that the teachers" had neither time nor

money. The syllabus was now overcrowded, and though there would be an undoubted pleasure to the teachers in carrying dot the views laid down by Professor Thomas, they would for this reason bs unable to do so. The teaching of practical science in the schools would prove of far greater value than the crowding of children's minds with disconnected facts.

(Applause.) said that in his school the Mr. Stewa&t said that in his school the children took far greater interest in the botany lessons than in those of experimental science, and he was entirely with Professor Thomas in the view that the masters and pupils liked the lessons. At the recent Nelson conference a greater choice of subjects in science was given in the drawing up of the syllabus. The President thought that the thanks of the Institute were due to Professor Thomas. (Hear, hear.) Scholastic duties were apt to place the teachers in a groove, and they were prone to forget that all knowledge was not written on a page. He looked back with the greatest pleasure to the years of his early life, when he. had studied botany and agricultural science in the fields. Mr. Worthisgtok was also of opinion that Professor Thomas deserved the hearty thanks of the teachers, but his views could not be carried out under present circumstances. He would like to see an acre of f round near every schoolhouse cultivated y the children; but though they might raise fine pnmpkins and luscious peaches, these pumpkins and peaches would gain them very little credit from the inspectors. (Laughter and applause.) He should like to be able to educate the children ; all that they could do now was to instruct them, and eo it would be until they could get an entirely new syllabus. He hoped the time would come when the children of the schools would exhibit the pumpkins and peaches grown by them with as much pride as they now exhibited intricate mathematical problems which they had worked out. (Applause.) Mr. Dickenson moved a vote of thanks to Professor Thomas for his instructive address. The motion was seconded by Mr. Woethingtoit, and adopted mm. con. Professor Thomas, in ackowledging the vote, said that in his address he had omitted to speak of the most important point to how the system of instruction he advocated was to be introduced in the schools—because he was not quite clear on the subject. He had spoken to Mr. Habens in reference to the matter, and he entirely agreed with everything he (the Professor) said ; but there apparently the matter ended—(laughter)—though Mr. Habens had as favourable ideas of science as anyone there present. (Applause.) It was necessary that the teachers should be encouraged to learn the subject of botany amongst the other subject® for their certificate examination, if that branch of instruction was to be introduced into the schools. The Minister of Education was strongly impressed with the advantages of technical education: but Ministers had a good deal to think of, and probably the most effective way of securing an alteration in the syllabus in the direction indicated would be to interest the public generally in the matter.