AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4439, 20 August 1901, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

LAND GRANTS. Dr. F. J. Howell, of the chemical branch of the Victorian Department oi Agriculture, has published an interesting brochure, entitled ."Hew America Educates the Farmer,” which contains a good deal that is of value to Ausu-u----flams. As its title indicates, it is h resume of what steps have been taken by America for tlw> improvement of farming practices. It is to tho credit of that great country that the import, anco of agricultural teaching was recognised at an early period of its national existence, and, in proof of this. Dr. Howell quotes an extract from George Washington’s annual message to Congress in 1796, in’ which this thought; ful man says;—“lt will not be doubted with reference to eitlror industrial or national welfare that agriculture is of primary importance. In proportion as nations advance in population and other circumstances of maturity this truth becomes apparent, and renders the cultivation. of the soil more ami more an object of .public patronage.'’ It was not, however, until 1802 that the splendid gift of 11,000,009 acres of land for technical educational purpose, allowed tho' I fouudation in each of the C 4 states and territories of America of a number of agricultural and> technical institutions which have helped 1 to make tho 'United States the envy of the world. The credit for having introduced and carried tho Bill making this munificent appros priation to the nation, which hears the signature of President Lincoln, is duo to Mr Justin S. Morrill. Tne provi sions of the Act prevented tho expendi. turo of money on buildings, and the national Government, in making the gift, trusted id private contributions and state bounty to supplement the amount accruing from the sale of the land grant bj r sums that would prove sufficient for proper equipment and con tinuity of the teaching institution in each case. Tho money received from land grant sales amounted in 1897 to 9,500,000c101., and there still remained for sale 1,200,000 acres of tho original grant. A COMPARISON. Dr. Howell expresses the opinion that there are certain phases in our industrial life to day that bear a close ana alogy to> the. condition of things in America fifty years earlier. Tne exhaustion of '.the land, lie says, and tho failure of crops had forced consideration of tho producing interests upon tire community in much the same manner as this condition of affairs has done in Victoria in recent years; while the splendid discoveries of Liebig in the chemistry of agriculture, and tho prac tical results obtained from tho newlyintroduced artificial fertilisers at the experiment stations, rendered evident the assistance that science might give when applied to agriculture, and emphasised the necessity of educating the farmer in this direction. Even this phase finds its counterpart in the marvellous re. suits following the application of a phos-> phatic fertiliser on tho worn-out lands of our own state —results that have forded the farmer and the community generally to a recognition of how largely science may assist in the,practice of tho farm, and promise to lead to an entire reorganisation of tho department on more liberal and progressive linos, in the same way as tho movement that found expression in tho Act of 1802 did in America. TEACHING INSTITUTIONS.

There are now sixty institutions in tho United States maintaining a course or agriculture. These institutions are of various typos, which are summarised by Dr. Howell as follows; —Thera were, firstly, the agricultural colleges, with their three and four year courses, covering advanced instruction in all tho sciences and ending in a degree; sees ondly, the experiment stations, putting tho theories cf tiae laboratory to the test of field practice ; thirdly, the Federal Department of Agriculture, with ite staff of experts carrying on invests gations of a particularly abstruse and scientific nature; and, fourthly, tho Office cf Experiment Stations, co-or, d mating the work of tho state institu. tions, collecting the results of similar institutions in all' parts of tho world, and offering valuable suggestions to the various experiment stations throughout America-

lii many cl these institutions an ex, tensive junl general knowledge of dairy husbandry is required as part of the usual agricultural course; while to reach a class of producers unable to devote tho time to the longer courses special and short winter courses are held. There are, for instance, short winter courses of six weeks in dairy husbandry and live stock husbandry at the Michigan College. At .Kansas there is a special dairy course of 111 weeks, while at the Cornell University tho finely-equipped department of daily husbandry also gives special courses in this branch of agriculture; hub it is apparently at Wisconsin and lowa that the strongest efforts have been forward in elaborating a system of. dairy instruction equal, if noy superior, to anything in the best institutions of Eu-, rope. The fact that there are_ eight professors for instruction in tnis one branch only will show the extent to which the subject has been specialised. There arc separate instructors in cheese, making, milk-testing, _ buttcnanaking, se, parating, farm dairying, pasteurising, etc. The dairy course is most complete, and the lectures embrace the bacteriology and chemistry of milk and ducts, tho management of the dairy herd tho principles and practice of feeding, the breeding and selection of stock,“anpreved methods of butter, milk and cheese analysis,, factory and- farm methods for the manufacture of cheese, improved methods for the packing of butter, and instructions in all tho op.erations of a modern creamery. INVESTIGATIONS. In the report of Dr. True for last year we, find that the research work of

laboratory and plant-house and the practical ’ experiment of the field cover a very wide range. Tho geology, physics, and chemistry of soils are being studied, and fertilising experiments car. riod out on the various classes. Tho question of drainage, seepage and irrigation is receiving attention. The adaptability of various localities to special crops is being investigated; tho composition, nutritive value, methods of cultivation, and manuring of these crops determined, and their suitability in systems; of rotation defined. Feeding experiments of a most exhaustive nature, designed for Hie production of miik, beef, mutton and pork, are being carried cut, and associated with such work in the feeding stall are tho investigations of the laboratory, for tho testing of the composition of the feeding tdnfi's used in tho experiments, and their degree of digestibility. In tlio dairy, tire bacteriology and chemistry of milk arc receiving close attention, while improved methods for butter and cheese making are under consideration. Tho diseases of plants, the vitality and purity of seed, the varietal improvement of fruits, tho study and eradication of insect pests, problems relating io meteorological phenomena, and numerous other questions are also, subjects of close and careful investigation. Tho stall required for such an amount of work is enormous, and the reader will not be as. tonished to learn that for its carrying out there are employed 1-fS chemists, 52 botanists, -f8 entomologists, 77 horticuls turists, 9 experts in animal husbandry, 6S agriculturists, 20 veterinarians, 17 meteorologists, 7 biologists, 7 physicists, 5 geologists, and 20 mycologists and bacteriologists, besides numerous others, bringing tho total employed at all the stations up to 687 persons. ELEMENTARY TEACHING. Attempts havo jmeu made for many years to introduce the teaching of agriculture into common schools. With tins object, nature teaching has been intro, duced largely into tho schools; that is, certain objects aro brought under tho notice of the children, such as plants, insects, etc., and pithy observations are made upon these by the teacher. The children are encouraged to collect in. sects injurious to the crops, to watch their movements, and study their hah* its. Seeds aro sown and dug up at intervals to examine the growth and structure of the roots. The olicet of fertilising matters on the plant is illustrated, and a hundred other points connected in some way with the life of tho farm called attention to. FARMERS’ IN STIT UTES. This is essentially an American iusti. tutiou, and one of tho most successful. It has been ,justly described us tho adult formers’ school. An outgrowth of tho open or public meeting of the local agricultural society, they have now extended to every state and territory. The methods are novel, and certainly tend to , tho establishment of sympiu thetlo relations between tho man of science and the worker on tho farm. Certain topics aro introduced by a specialist from flue experiment station, and general discussion invited. (Successful farmers of the district arc called upon to explain their methods, and every effort made ’to create an active interchange of ideas among the audience. Such meetings may continue for two or three days. They oiler oppor. tunities for giving the latest results of investigation work at the stations, ex? plaining matters of difficulty to the farmer, and. imparting information as to tho proper lines c.f conduct in his art.

Dr. Howell concludes In's interesting pamphlet with tho following reference to the alleged, disinclination of the farmer to proiit by the efforts made for his education in matters pertaining to agriculture:—“Too apathetic,” I hear my friend of the town remarking. “These are all very line sentiments, but the whole thing is a dream, and will always remain one- When you cun cn. tirely alter this apathetic,,, stubborn, prejudiced being of the farm, then, pew haps, such a movement as you speak of in America might bo possible; but till then it is like beating a piece of adamant with a tuft of thistle-down.” With all due respect to my friend of tho town, I beg to differ. That our farmer is truly apathetic I deny—that ho is firm in his beliefs I hold a virtue; that ho is prejudiced I perhaps admit, and thoroughly excuse. But go to him with real information, and an apparent apathy gives, way to enthusiasm. Confront him with palpable truths, and his stubbornness yields to •conviction; disclose to him. not a shoddy, but a real science, send for its interpretation not a charlatan hut a inantcr, and this muclranaligned farmer fttriodrs steps forward, as eager for information and new truths as tho most ardent* student of our more intellectual centres.' "