The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1909 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2596, 2 September 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1909 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

The presence in Gisborne of Mr E. Loten, the newly-appointed Instructor of Agriculture for the Hawke’s Bay district, again directs attention to a most important phase of education. For several years we have missed no opportunity of impressing upon the educational authorities and upon parents the urgent necessity of developing in the young an intelligent conception of rural life, and it is gratifying to note that the work is at last about to be taken, up in a practical manner. The subject is a vast one—as vast as our whole scheme of education—and it is futile to expect that more than gradual progress can be mado for years to come. In the past our whole system of education has been such as to almost ignore rural topics despite the fact that a very, large proportion of our children will, in after years, inevitably look for their livelihood in the country. When we consider that the welfare of the Dominion is chiefly dependent upon the Quantity and value , of the products our people are able to win from the soil, it must be conceded that all possible steps should be taken to. encourage the existence of a numerous class of successful farmers. . To be successful the farmer must be competent, and the competency which is necessary under modei’n competitive conditions involves the knowledge of chemistry and 'other scientific information which was deemed superfluous 1 a generation ago. But the first thing to be done is to instil into the younger generation a love for rural life, and this can best be achieved by means of the primary schools. Nature study--,',-imparted by teachers thoroughly qualified in this latest: addition to the school syllabus, is invaluable to all scholars by reason of the manner in which it appeals to their sense of observation, but it should also have the: effect of developing in the minds of a proportion, of the children a love for

rural life which will prove a powerful factor when they subsequently chooso a 'career. It next becomes the sphere of technical schools and secondaiy schools to take up the work of which but the merest ground work has thus been given, and provide for those who have definitely determined to pursue farm occupations a sound training in the basic principles which underlie the special branches of work they have decided to follow. To be really competent a farmer should have a definite knowledge of soil analysis, the commercial values of different fertilisers, and the action of various crops on soils, for only by using this information can ho be certain of producing the maximum results from any plot he may cultivate. If he is a pastoralist ho should also know the science of sheep breeding, as the best breeders of Canterbury know it, and lie should likewise have a knowledge of wool-classing. The prospective dairyman should be able to so test the productive capacity of each cow on his farm that in a few years’ time he can weed out every unprofitable animal and, by selective breeding, acquire a herd, each member of which can be depended upon to furnish annually a quantity of butter-fat that is at the present time only obtainable under rare conditions. , Even a cursory consideration of these suggestions will convince anyone that farming, instead of being an occupation in which results are mainly dependent upon the weather and the London market, is really one in which science counts far more than in any other walk of life. The man on the land has unrivalled opportunities in the course of his ordinary work of following out lines of scientific investigation that are not only valuable, but also intensely fascinating. Unfortunately, in the past farm life has meant social ostracism, personal hardships, and bitter struggles to make both ends meet. With the old haphazard methods the farmer/ has been at the mercy of every adverse circumstance that has arisen. Science can alter this position very materially, for the man who goes on the land thoroughly equipped for his work and in love with it has already gained many rungs in the ladder of success.

On this topic we can cordially recommend the perusal 1 of a very excellent article published in another column under the signature of Mr. M. Murphy, F.L.S. Mr. Murphy is recognised in Canterbury as one of the ablest authorities on matters appertaining to agriculture, and he has for many years given special attention to the introduction of agricultural and horticultural subjects into our educational system. His paper which was read at the recent Agricultural Conference in Wellington, gives an excellent summary of a movement which is likely to prove one of the most important that have ever been inaugurated in the Dominion.