H,—29b

8

Question (a). —What new agricultural training institutions are required ... for the efficient training of —(ii) Students desirous of becoming farmers well equipped with a knowledge of the principles of scientific agriculture as applied to the work of practical farming in all its branches ? The evidence showed that there is a desire among farmers to haye more Farm Training Colleges established, but the number of students offering hitherto has not been sufficiently large to justify the establishment of many new institutions. It may perhaps be argued—and the fact that Lincoln College has a waiting-list supports this view—that the lack of prospective students is due to the lack of Farm Training Colleges, and that if more Farm Training Colleges were established they would become better known and more popular ; but the Board, after careful inquiries, was inclined to think that the number of students offering would increase rapidly if a shorter and more intensive course of instruction were adopted. The Board found that pupils spent about half the time in actual farming operations, but that, though there was no doubt as to the quality and adequacy of the instruction given, the work done differed in some essential conditions from that which had to be performed on an ordinary farm, with tlie result that the boys could not get enough practice under commercial conditions, as to skill, speed, and output, to justify the time spent in practical work on the farm. As the capital invested in Ruakura Farm as a whole amounts to some £1,500 per student, it is clear that the cost of sufficient land and plant at a Farm Training College to enable the boys to train for practical work under conditions approximating to those of the ordinary farm would be prohibitive. The Board thinks that such a course would be otherwise impracticable, being of opinion that the boys must learn the business of farming under commercial conditions after leaving the Farm Training College. Holding this view, the Board is unable to recommend that boys should spend any large proportion of their time at a Farm Training College in actually performing farming operations. We consider, however, that for boys intending to become farmers a short preliminary course of instruction at a Farm Training College, in general occupying, for seasonal reasons, at least one complete year, and covering the operations, management, economics, &c., of farming, would be of considerable value, especially if it were followed up at intervals by short courses of instruction at the Farm Training College or elsewhere after the boy has gone to work on a farm. The Board recommends that the work of Farm Training Colleges should be arranged so that— (1.) The course should be shortened as much as possible : (2.) The field-work should consist mainly of demonstrations of correct methods in farming and in the breeding and management of live-stock : (3.) The laboratory and class work should occupy a considerably larger proportion of the time than it does at present. The course would then form a short intensive preparation for boys leaving school and intending to go farming. The adoption of such a curriculum in Farm Training Colleges would enable these schools to deal with far larger numbers than would be possible under present conditions, so that the capital invested per student would be very greatly reduced. The Board is decidedly of opinion that institutions such as Ruakura Farm Training College and Canterbury Agricultural College, to be of real value and to be capable of- such expansion as will meet the needs of the Dominion, must be rearranged so as to take at least double the present number of students. As the students become available, provision for training should be increased. In the meantime we recommend that, in addition to the proposals regarding Hawke's Bay (referred to below), Penrose, near Masterton, should be developed into a Farm Training College, seeing that the farm and quarters sufficient to accommodate twenty-six students are already available. Local interest in the matter has been evidenced by the presentation of land and by a large deputation of farmers who met the Board at Penrose. The question of the government of Farm Training Colleges was regarded by the Board as a matter of considerable importance. The management of Farm Training Colleges is in the hands of the Department of Agriculture, but, as the Education Department has special experience of the education of young students, we are of opinion that it should be associated in the management of these institutions, especially in connection with arranging the curriculum and the teaching staff. The Board therefore recommends that a Board of Governors for Farm Training Colleges be set up consisting of the Hon. Ministers of Agriculture and Education, one member of the Department of Education, one member of the Department of Agriculture, and three members of the Board of Agriculture, which would include the President. Local Advisory Boards of, say, three members should also be appointed in connection with each Farm Training College, to act in conjunction with the Principal of the College. Smedley Estate. — The Smedley Estate, which was bequeathed by the late Josiah Howard to the State for the purpose of training in agriculture, consists of 7,000 acres, practically all in grass. It is situated about twenty-four miles from Waipawa, the nearest town on the railway. It is reached by a good road as far as Tikokino, but some distance farther the road is indifferent for heavy traffic. Mr. Howard did not leave any clear statement as to his wishes how to assist education, but it is gathered from evidence that he thought the estate would itself be used to give the boys of poorer parents the opportunity of free education and experience in farming matters. The situation and character of the land, the Board thinks, preclude it from being used for this purpose. There are various estimates of what the land and stock are worth, but managed as at present, it is bringing about £4,000 a year, and there is an accumulated fund of £17,000. Suggestions were made that the property should be sold or leased, and the money invested so as to provide an income to be spent on agricultural education. The Board, however, recommends as the wisest course that it should be continued as at present under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture. When it was taken over there were many improvements needed to put the estate in order, but to-day the estate and stock