E.—ls.
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agricultural instruction, and to take the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture in the University; the University entrance scholarships and bursaries are available for this course. (b.) The three-year course, by those holders of scholarships who have spent two years in a high school or district high school, do not aspire to the B. Agric, but are able to spend three years at the College, receiving a Diploma of Agriculture at the end of the course ; the first two years will be met by the present Senior Board Scholarships, which should be tenable at an agricultural college, if the hoMers are sixteen years old and otherwise suitable. It would be a simple matter to extend the tenure by a year. (c.) The two-year course, by some who wish to become special teachers of agriculture, and for that purpose are willing to spend one year afterwards at a training college to learn the principles and methods of teaching. The two-year course might be taken by any other pupils who have satisfactorily completed four years at a high school, district high school, or at afternoon or evening agricultural classes. To make it equally open to all of them, rich or poor, it would be necessary to give some aid in the form of agricultural bursaries. (d.) Teachers who had passed through the training-college course satisfactorily should be encouraged to take a year's course at the agricultural college ; their allowance should be continued (under proper conditions), and they should receive credit, in the class of their certificate, for the additional training. Instead of doing this, however, some of them might, if they had previously done a fair amount of work in agriculture, go on similar conditions to the experimental stations of the Agricultural Department, if that Department could arrange to receive them. 6. There should be short courses for adult farmers and others—for those who had not gone to the agricultural colleges, in order to extend their knowledge, and for all in order that the knowledge of agricultural science and practice already acquired might be kept up to date. 7. There should be attached to the technical instruction branch of the Education Department a trained organizing Inspector of Agricultural Instruction, who should inspect all schools and classes receiving grants, and be ready to give his advice and assistance to any Education Board, High School Board, or other authority applying for it. He should keep in touch with all branches of the work. 8. To make the scheme as successful as corresponding schemes are in certain parts of the United States, it is necessary to secure the co-operation of the farming community by means of farmers' societies, which should be in touch with all branches, but especially with the agricultural colleges and with the experimental stations. Included in their work might be special experiments to be conducted on the farms of individual farmers, the formation of home-reading circles in agriculture, reading circles in agriculture, and the management of periodic conferences and of short courses of lectures by itinerant lecturers on special branches. Small subsidies might be given, on the basis of pound for pound, to such societies, if they did the work indicated. 9. It might be deemed expedient after a time to have a National Council of Agricultural Education, as in the United States, having on it representatives of all the bodies concerned in controlling such education—including Boards of Education, High School Boards, the university colleges, the agricultural colleges, the Departments of Agriculture and Education, and the farmers' societies. It will be seen that the scheme projected involves some increase of expenditure ; but, from what I have observed elsewhere, I am convinced that the improvement and extension of agricultural education would lead to an immense increase in the bulk of our agricultural production, and thus solve, or aid in the solution of, many economic problems —as of the increase of wages and the maintenance of our position in the markets of the world. Further references to agricultural education and further details relating to it will be found in the Appendix to this report. Consolidation of Schools and Conveyance of Children. This plan has much to recommend it when the circumstances are favourable to its being carried out successfully. It has been widely adopted in the
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