AGRICULTURAL TECNICAL INSTRUCTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 11

AGRICULTURAL TECNICAL INSTRUCTION.

' DISCUSSION BY THE EDUCATION ■ BOARD. ; At the meeting of the Otago Education Board, on the 20lh inst., the Chairman, ' in accordance with notice g-nen at | the previous meeting, moved — "That the board proceed to select one of its meat suitable teacheie for the purpose ot imparting instruction in rural subjects, | but that prior to placing him in charge ot ■ that work arrangements bo made whereby I he may vi6it and leceive up-to-date in for- I I mation in some of the best institutions in j ' America and Europe." It seemed to him ' J that the appointment of a teacher to give j i instruction in agricultural subjects was work for tho Government to carry out after I , the board had indicated what they oon- , sidercd was the best way to go about, tho | matter. He had noticed what was done by i other, boards in the Dominion, and he did i j not think they met the case. Veiy often j men were employed who were not familiar j with their work, and the^e men had to i impart instruction in the schools. The man. they should appoint ought to have an apti- I tude for instruction, and, if possible, an acquaintance with agricultural subjects. ! I After tho appointment was made they i should send the man for a couple of years ! to the most up-to-date establishments in I the Old World. He noticed that the Hon. j j Mr M'Nab was moving to establis-h farms j for instructing young people in agriculture, j I The greatest want in this country was a \ ! place to which lads could be sent for J ' instruction in farming. | I Mr Israel: What about Lincoln College? j The Chairman said that Lincoln College did not meet the case. Farmeis would not ' take on boys to train in farming now. j Seeing that agricultural and pastoral pur- | suits constituted the loadins; industry of i the Dominion, and when young people j wer© not able to get instruction in that i industry from practical farmers it was the duty of the State to provide for that want. < He would not suggest that the State should do it if it was possible to get the training otherwise. As an Education Board, he felt ( | it was their duty, if nione> was available, i I to uso it in the most practical manner ' possible. | I Mr Scott seconded the motion. He I thought it was an eminently practical one, i and money spent in the direction of the motion would be money wisely spent. He was not quite sure, however, that the , United Kingdom or Germany were the best places to send a man for useful experience, j and'^perhaps more could be learned in America and Canada; but that was a matter for determination later on. Mr Israel supported the motion. Ho agreed with Mr Scott that it would be a j i mistake to send men to Europe, and ; thought that Canada and the United States ' I presented a much better training round. ! I We had little to learn from Germany and j the United Kingdom in the way of agrieul- | The Rev. Mr Fraser said that if the Go- , vernment instead of frittering away money j , had proceeded on the lines proposed by Mr ] Mackenzie in regard to teclinical and agri- | , cultural education there would have been m I , New Zealand to-day «e\eral first class in- J etructors in agriculture doinj; good work. ! I Mr D. Borne eaid he was in fa\oui of the fiist part of ihe motion, but. was entirely ; against the latter part — namely, to bend a j man abroad to learn the most up-to date methods of farming The circumstanoeb of Canada or United &lates anJ Xew Zealand j were entirely different, and if they sent a ' man to these places or to Britain he would , j com* back stuffed with matters which i would place him in a woi-»e position to I teach farming here than he was when he ( went away. There were score* of men in t the Dominion fitted to impart this instruc- | ' tion. without sending to any other count iv , at all. He had iust recent ly ma<l« the _ acquaintance of a gentleman who had been a farmer all his life, and who had been all , through America and Australia, and his opinion was that the Canadian farmer was the most slovenly farmer on the face of the 1 earth. He (Mr Borrie) did not obiect so , much to the fact that the ploughing in Canada was a meie scratching of the land. , but what he did obirct to in the m.ittcr of | sending there for instruction was that the . stock were housed for six montb« of the year, and that food for inside feeding h.id to bo provided. There were many other thinars connected with American fanning wh'Vh rlirl not apply to Neu Zealand at all. | Mr M'Kerrow he a a rood with Mr Borrie to the extent of thinking that triple j were men in the Dominion quite qualified Ito tenrh agricultural snbiects. At the same time he did not^think it would do any i harm to sond a man abroad He b<-lic\oil it might do some good: m fact, he would sunnorr tho motion as a whole. ' Mr Scott c did it was the s'ovenlinov of I tho Canadian farmer in the past that had ! led to the present acti\itv in that country Kin the wav of un-to-date farming j Mr Mitrhell thought that good men could I be' found in the Dorniivon capablo of taking I no the work, provided they obtained enliahtenmont on some particular subvert As for slovenly farming, they did not neoil to go to Camda: he could without much • trouble take them to plenty of plae-~>- wheie slo%enlv farmine could be observed Tf our ( farmers knew something a v< ">ut agricultural chemistry this conntrv uould produce mfic than it did fo-dav Three yem-s ago. at the Educational Conference at Wellinston ho had a similar motion, which wn« lost b? one vote. The motion was carried unanimously. i