The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1909. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13830, 16 February 1909, Page 4

The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1909. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

At their monthly meeting on Saturday last, the committee of the Timaru Agricultural and Pastoral Association discussed,-in a tone of annoyance, -tlicir ignorance regarding the result of tho election of a- member of the Board ofGovernors of Lincoln College. The committee, acting for tho Association, has alright to nominate and to vote for a candidate, the election took place ill December, and tho result lias not yet been notified to this Association. It is" a question whether it is worth while, at present, for the South Canterbury Association to seek to take any part in the management of Lincoln College. T.Tntil quite' lately the existence 6f thifi' institution h«s been practically ignored by the members of.the committee; and if a phonographic record .were available, of the remarks made about it from time to timo ill the committee room, it would be found that most of them were of a depreciatory character. We would suggest to the committee that they begin to show their interest in agricultural education nearer home. Tho objects for which the Association was incorporated include tho encouragement and assistance of this branch of education, and members must confess that this is olio of their objects that has been very mucli, and almost completely, neglected. The. Education Board has done and is doing something in tins direction'; the Agricultural and Pastoral Association, nothing worthy of its "objects " or its opportunities. The Timaru Horticultural Society is' providing incentives to the teaching of tho principles of agriculture in the primary schools. The A. and P. Association knows nothing of this school gardens movement, or one would suppose that they would try to influence tho character of the; teaching, if not to control it altogether. Wo suggest to the Association's committee. that they should take up their duty towards agricultural education at tho lowest rung of the ladder, and not seek to begin it at the highest. Some of the North' Island A. and P. Associations arc working in this way. Of one of them wo read in a Wellington city paper: —"In one thing alone the I'cilding A. and P. Society has justified its existence. This is the liberal encouragement it has given to the work of rural education in its district, in establishing a school garden competition, with prizes of a liberal character, and iu providing classes lor milk testing and for. the, produce ol the . school gardens in connection with the vegetable and fruit section of its annual show."' Tho paper goes on to statethat the winning school at this year's show was a small back-country school,' and that this school won through the superiority of its methods of "conducting exact tests to demonstrate the value of different manures in the local soils together with the varying efiect of these oil the several classes ol soil which happen to be present in tho school grounds. The demonstrations arc conducted with grain, potatoes, and grasses. The exactitude, of the work provides not only a valuable assistance in inculcating a knowledge of the first principles of agriculture into the children, but affords a, valuable demonstration to the farmers of the district." The Timaru A. and P. . Association would do well to let distant Lincoln College alone, for the present, and take a leaf out of the book of the Feilding Society. Possibly the term "school gardens" was unlortiinately chosen, as it seems to imply flowers and culinary vegetables only; but the name does not prevent principles of agriculture being given first and those of horticulture second place. The question which should be given first place-answers itself, in an agricultural district like. South Canterbury; which will be given first place depends very,

mucli upon the relative proportions of the encouragement and ' assistance given to each class. The A. and P. Associations with their comparatively ample funds and wide influence, could easily capture the control of the-school garden, and make it of real value from ail agricultural point of view. A'moderate amount of financial assistance — not the miserable dole voted now to the Technical Association —would enable the Board of Education to employ a scientific instructor to go round' the schools, and make instruction in agriculture a real live thing. Thenit might be safely anticipated that in a few years, as the boys so taught grew up, imbued with the scientific spirit directed to the occupations of the field, a certain proportion of them would desire such higher instruction as is to be obtained at Lincoln College, when tlic reservations above made — "at present" —must be cancelled, because there would have been created a • good reason for South Canterbury taking a live interest and an active part in the management of the College. The Agricultural Department ought to be able to look to the Association as a valuable ally; unless indeed the positions could be reversed and the Department made the ally of' the Association —a very different thing. At present even the less desirable relation does not exist. An officer of the Department is conducting, - with the co-operation of a few farmers in the district, some experiments with varieties of turnips and various manures for turnips. Surely this is a matter that the Association ought to take an interest in, but it has never been mentioned at any of the meetings of tlic committee. The committee may say that they have been ignored by the Department. The Department would probably reply that it lias had no encouragement to seek for the cooperation or countenance of the. Association.