12

r.T. G. WILSON.

1.—14b.

80. Are you aware that the Department takes the initiative there, and does not wait for investigations with regard to new crops, and so on? —Yes. I may say that in Canada the Department has revolutionised the north-west district with regard to hay-crops. They could not grow hay-crops there because they had no grass that would stand the winter. But they sent out experts to other countries where the winter was severe, and they succeeded in getting from Russia a grass that would stand the winter — Bromus inernis. This they distributed in the north-west province, and now that province can grow hay, which is so essential to animal life there, and can grow it in large quantities. Thus the expenditure of a few hundred pounds has been the means of enabling the farmers of the North-west Territory to winter their animals, which they could not do before. 81. Do you know whether they have spent £60,000 annually on supplying seed-specimens to farmers? —I do not know about that. 82. You told us about the Guelph University. That is an agricultural university at Toronto?— Yes. 83. I have some remarks about the Guelph University here by Professor Reichel, which I would like your opinion upon. He states that " its remarkable success is due to two causes — (1) the capture by the staff of the farming population through the organization of Farmers' Institutes; (2) the insistance upon a sound basis of exact science in the course from the very first." Do you agree with those two courses? —I think that very largely the result is due to the fact that they have had a very able man at the head of the University; to the fact that they have had their students all over Canada and have continued to correspond with them; and to the fact that they have sent out seeds, for purposes of experimenting, all over the different provinces. In this way they have kept in touch with students who have gone through the College, and have kept the interest of these students up. With the assistance of the different Farmers' Institutes, and so on, they do a great deal of useful work. I have read a work on the Guelph College, and it interested me very much. It is in your library here. 84. Can you tell us what the main college courses are at Guelph ? —I have not the particulars by me. 85. Are you aware whether this is correct —it is Professor Reichel's statement: "There are two main college courses —(1) The short course of two years for lads who are going to be farmers, success in which leads to the associateship of the college; (2) the long course of four years, leading to the university degree of B.S.A. (bachelor of the science of agriculture) for professors of agriculture, Government organizers, &c"? —I have no doubt that is the case. Professor Lowry is suggesting short courses for farmers at the Agricultural College in Canterbury. It is a ver3' proper thing. They have short courses for farmers' sons at Professor Dick's Veterinary College, Edinburgh, and these are very valuable, because they cannot take the four-years course which a veterinary, surgeon has to take. 86. I think some of Professor Reichel's statements and suggestions should be printed with this evidence, Mr. Chairman, and thus go on record. He goes on to state, " There is also a three-months practical dairy course, and various short courses of two, three, or four weeks for farmers in stock and grain judging, &c"? —You mention dairy instruction. I certainly would not recommend a short course in dairy instruction. The best place where you can obtain a knowledge of the dairy business is in our own creameries and factories. What the farmers want, and what the dairy people are crying out for, is not a school at ali, but an experimental station, which stations are so frequently met with in America and are so absent here. Ido not want to have it understood that I am favourable to short courses in the dairy business. 87. Mr. Buchanan.] If your recommendations regarding the primary schools were carried out, would it be necessary to make any change in the present syllabus? —I do not think so. lam led to understand it would not. 88. Do you think there would be room and time for what you think is advisable, together with the present syllabus? —I believe it is possible. I think that some of the subjects might surely be left out for such an important one as rural education or nature-study. 89. I want to put another question with regard to this matter of specialisation. If you commence too low down with that, do you not run the risk of getting the square peg into the round hole —in other words, are you not running the risk of commencing before the child has developed sufficiently to know its own mind and before its powers in certain directions become obvious?--Can you tell me at what age a child begins to love flowers, and I can answer you the question ? 90. I do not think you would get a very clear answer upon the subject? —It is a matter of dispute; I admit that —I mean the age at which you should begin to teach a child certain things. It is a question for experts and scarcely for me to offer an opinion upon. I do not pose as an expert. I speak as a person who wants to express the views of a certain body of men who look upon this as a very important matter; and we should be very pleased to have any modicum of mv suggestions carried out, if it is in the direction of encouraging the children to remain in the country rather than herd in the towns. Anything I have said I have only offered as an opinion, or the opinion of others. I set great store by Professor Robertson's opinions. He is Commissioner of Agriculture in Canada, and I read his view that " no great advance in agriculture is possible except by education, and any system of education to help people who work on the farms must be a system to help the common rural schools, because these are the schools where the future men and women on the farms will get their education." This is what an expert says —a man who occupies a high position in Canada, which country is in the very forefront in agriculture at the present moment and is a most successful country as far as agriculture is concerned. I say that if Professor Robertson makes this statement so conclusively and so emphatically I pin my faith to him very largely, and his statement has had a great effect upon my opinion. But as to the actual moment when you should begin to teach the child I could not offer an opinion. 91. Am I to understand, then, speaking broadly, that you would have the elementary prin-