FARMING INSTRUCTION

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1680, 31 October 1925, Page 2

FARMING INSTRUCTION

CANADIAN INSTITUTION COULD BE COPIED IN NEW ZEALAND.

AN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE OF PRACTICAL WORTH.

The MacDonald college, which was founded by Sir William MacDonald, is incorporated with the M'Gill University and has for its objects the advancement of education and the carrying on of research work and investigation and the dissemination of knowledge; all with particular regard to the interests and needs of the population in rural districts. With this object the college consists of a school of agriculture, a school for teachers and a school for household science, thus covering the activities of the farm, the schools and the home. BUILDINGS FOR STOCK. The buildings, boarding houses, laboratories, lecture rooms, etc., are very fine and extensive and one is struck especially by the great size of those: for live stock; even the poultry house is on an enormous scale, but this can be understood when we remember that in Canada live stock must be housed for at least six months of the year and food, stored under cover. The stock buildings include a farm house, a number of cottages, storage barn for grain and hay, three silos, horse barn, cattle stables, judging arena and piggery. There is accommodation for 20 horses, dairy stable for 100 cows, bull stable, boxes for 60 calves, and- stabling for 120 young cattle, beef cattle and bulls. The judging arena is octagonal in form, 60 feet in diameter and can accommodate 250 students. As the classes are held in the winter months it is necessary to have everything under cover. Almost the whole of this expense would be unnecessary in this Dominion. The live stock and grain farm was of 387 acres, but recently 200 acres have been added. . The cereal husbandry department deals with the improvement by selection and breeding of cereal, grass, forage and root crops. The horticultural department has about 30 acres of orchard and 25 acres of vegetables as well as laboratories and green-houses for winter work. THE STUDENTS. In the school of Agriculture ali students must be over 17 years of age and must produce evidence that they have worked for a season, including seed-time and harvest on a farm affording practical knowledge of ordinary farm operations. This knowledge will be tested by a practical examination at entrance or later. It is evident then that the college does nor attempt to teach students to harness a horse, to milk a cow or any of the simpler farm operations which can best be taught on a real farm. % The students are all resident and there is none of the evening class business which is the bane of our colleges. The course only covers the winter moinhs, so presumably most of the students work in the summer to keep themselves at college. Board and lodging costs 28s a week in a double room and 32s in a single room. No tuition fees are charged for the sons and daughters of farmers in the Province of Quebec for the first two years. Other Canadians pay £lO per year. There are three courses of study at the college: (1) A winter course in agriculture; (2) a four-year course leading to a bachelor’s degree; t 3) post graduate M.Sc. courses.

The winter course is of 41 months’ duration from November t to March 15. This course is intended for practical farmers and the only qualification is to read and write the English language acceptably (this is necessary in a province when a great part of the people speak French) and proficiency in elementary mathematics. One may assume this is equivalent to our sixth standard examination. The course is intensely practical in character and is planned to give: (1) The largest amount of information and training in the shortest possible time; (2) to equip the farmer for solving his own farm problems; (3) to awaken him to the many opportunities on the farm and to give him an inspiration on agricultural lines; (4) to enab’e hi a to fill a more useful place in rural citizenship.

The four-year course is a more serious undertaking and students entering on it are required to have passed matriculation or some similar examination. It is unnecessary to describe the varied courses of study. For the first two years students lay foundation of all round knowledge of agricultural science and then in the third and fourth years specialise in such subjects as: (1) Animal husbandry; (2) cereal husbandry; (o) entomology (4) horticulture; (5) plant pathology Certificates are given to those who do satisfactory work in the' winter course and the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture is obtained by those who successfully complete the four-year course.