The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, JULY 4, 1910. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14239, 4 July 1910, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, JULY 4, 1910. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Lord Islington made Lis first extragubernatorial speech last Thursday, when he attended us an honoured euest the capping ceremony of Victoria College, and the speech gave those who heard it a very good impression of the new Governor, It was infused with common-sense. On such an occasion, of course, His Lordship must speak about some aspect of education, and he spoke in complimentary terms of what New Zealand is doing in this field, while pointing out the advantages which tradition and prestige gave "to the. older universities at Home. He indicated quite clearly his opinion that science should receive more attention than languages, by his comparisons between the old aiid the new at Home. Cambridge has emerged from the o'd evstem, and there is now to be found there the most modern practical and scientific training. Oxford rather lagged behind, but would follow. The most marked movement was however to bo found in the recently established universities in London aud provincial towns, where opportumties were afforded to students to become proficient m almost every expert and scientific trade. He said he was a believer in specialisation, and consequently he was glad to know thai at Auckland and Christchurch there were scientific agricultural schools affiliated to the colleges. This was most important, seeing that New Zealand is pre-eminently an agricultural country. He laid stress upon the value of science to agriculture, because he had seen at Home the disadvantage of conducting agriculture on unscientific lines. They were now waking up, however, aud establishing schools in the counties, and already conspicuous results had been obtained. On the other hand he liad seen the great benefit of agricultural colleges and experimental farms in Canada, and from the more recently established college in the -West Indies for scientific instruction in tropical culture. His Excellency said he believed there was a great future for New Zealand from an agricultural standpoint, and he impressed upon those interested in this industry, wluch was so inseparably interwoven with the welfare of the dominion, the necessity of doing all they could to ensure that their agriculture was conducted on scientific lines, mak-

! ing for constantly improving efficiency in production, both for quantity and quality. It will be gratifying to the people of tlie specially agricultural dis- | tricts of New Zealand to learn that the | new Governor takes so much interestin agriculture. He will be so much the more popular a visitor at the Shows, and his patronage and encouragement of the agricultural colleges and experimental work will surely be of some advantage to them. From his knowledge of farm life at Home as a landlord, and of farming practice and instruction in Canada, His Excellency's remarks are entitled to careful attention, and they are a useful support to the principles stated by Mr Brown, our local agricultural instructor, in an address to teachers on Saturday. Taking the two addresses together, there arises the suggestion that the agricultural teaching in the primary schools and the district high schools should not bo looked upon entirely as a finality, but in part at least as a preparation for continued study under the direction and assistance of the college, by means of extension lectures or otherwise —unless indeed the Education Board can by and by strengthen its agricultural instruction staff sufficiently to overtake such work in a competent manner. A Wellington contemporary says that •'Lord Islington unwittingly placed his finger on a ticklish spot when ha pleaded for scientific agriculture. To lie candid, we in New Zealand are merely playing with this question. In comparison with Canada, with, its training colleges, experimental stations and wonderful systems of co-ordination between the specialist on .the one hand ina the suriculturlst Pfc **e

*r» -as little children playing with mud pios. Somebody remarked the other day that our universities were, merely incubators for lawyers and doctors. This Dominion raises large and healthy crops «f these hardy annuals. Let us educate our lawyers, doctors, chemists, and engineers by all means; but let us not continue to leave agriculture to the primitive devices incidental to the rule (of thumb. There are estimable gentlemen in our midst who think that New Zealand is advancing quite rapidly in the matter of scientific agriculture. (Those who really know, know that wo tre not scratching the ground."