19

E.—7a

323. Would it not be to the advantage of the students if you took Mr. Buckley's work, and you had a really good practical farm-manager to take the outside work?—lt would be incurring extra expense. We should require some one to give instruction in land-surveying, levelling, mathematics, &c. 324. Are the students encouraged or compelled to keep books for their own use, whereby they can always refer to any particular yield of grain, the numbers of stock, the rate of increase or rate of deaths ? —Yes; they keep a farm journal, in which they enter what every team is doing; a stock-book, showing purchases, sales, deaths, &c.; a granary-book, showing grain sold, used for horse-feed, &c. 325. Are the students questioned by you to ascertain what interest is taken in the working of the farm ?—Yes ; there is a regular examination every Saturday on each subject in rotation, to see what they know. 326. Do the students prepare essays on agriculture as taught at the institution?— Sometimes. We have given prizes, but this has been discontinued. 327. What means are adopted at present by the Board of bringing before the public any works of interest done on the farm ?—Only my annual report to the Board. 328. Could not some method be adopted whereby the public could be made acquainted with any interesting useful or experimental work done on the farm at the time, instead of it being held back for the annual report—for instance, the cost of cutting gorse by machinery, the turnipcrop, &c. ?—Whenever any experiment is finished I think the result should be published at once ; but I do not think frequent reports should be published at stated times, as at some periods of the year there would be little or nothing to report. I think that if the farm accounts were published separately from other accounts it might tend to prevent the publication of untruthful statements which now appear from time to time. We cannot have too much publicity.