AGRICULTURAL DEGREE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1342, 15 September 1886, Page 3

AGRICULTURAL DEGREE.

For the information of ambitious and aspiring colonists we have to announce that the Edinburgh University authorities have published the conditions under which it Is proposed to establish during the present year a degree of Bachelor ot Science in Agriculture. ’! he preliminary examination will be the same aa that for graduation in science in c thor subj’Cis and will include English. Latin, arithmetic the elements of mathematics, and the elements of mechanics, with at least two of the following subjects:-Greek, French, German, higher mathematics, natural philosophy, and moral phi'osophy. The attendance on science classes for the degree moat extend over three academic years, the first of which It is intended should be spent, in the university the second In finishing the student’s couise of practical agtlcuUure on a farm, and the third in a university—the practical work on the farm being equivalent to the practical work of the laboratory. There will ba Iwj examinatirnr for the degree, and there will be written, oral, and practical. The first examination may be considered a general edcctiionai exsmination, and the student will be_ at once introduced to his work. ‘Beginning with the definition of agricu ture and the aid given to it by the allied sciencrs, he is t«ken through surface geology, drainage, farm imp’Binents, steam cultivation, the rotation of crops, the selec’ion and cu’tivetion of grain and roots, the management of permanent pasture, the character and application of manures, and the construction of buildings and fences, live stock, dairyinr. and the selection of feedi ~g stuffs being left over to the second examination. The student will also be examined in chemistry, engineering botany, and natural history, which form part of the regular agricultural curriculum in the University; Having passed the first examination, students may st the end of six months present themselves for the second examination, which will be in agriculture (the whole subject), chemistry as applied to agriculture, geology, and veterinary practice ; and on successfully passing that they will be entitled to the degree of Bachelor of Science. The fee for the whole course necessary to obtain the degree is five gui teas. The institution of this degree in Agricall are is a tardy recognition of an Important science and may do mnch to stimulate the higher branches of agr’cultursl education, while it is a testimony to the accce«fal efforts of Professor Wallace, the new and highly accomplished rcourant of the Chair of Agriculture, to place that industry on an equal footing with other sciences.