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1. Winter course for farmers' sons and others, lasting 16 weeks, and comprising instruction in—

Farm Chemistry.-Composition of air, water, soils, soil food of plants, manures, food constituents.

Farm Botany.-How plants live and grow, farm crops, grasses and other herbage, weeds, plant diseases.

Farm Anatomy and Physiology.-Food, digestion, assimilation, circulation and excretion, the horse's legs, cow's udder, wool, farm sanitation.

Principles and Practice of Agriculture.-Drainage, cultivation, cropping, manuring, stock rearing, dairy work.....

Farm book-keeping, land-measuring and mensuration.

2. Summer courses for farmers' daughters and others, lasting eight weeks each, and comprising instruction in

Milking, butter-making, cheddar cheese-making, cream cheesemaking, poultry dressing and management, calf rearing, and the feeding of dairy cows.

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Several parties of farmers from the combined counties now visit the farm, and take note of the experiments.

FINANCES.

The cost of the institution during the financial year, exclusive of interest on capital, amounted to £1,457, including of course the maintenance of the pupils and cost of the farm. The receipts comprised fees from other than county scholars and miscellaneous amounts £30; sales of produce, £839; grants (including scholarships tenable at the school), from the Cumberland County Council, £434; and from that of Westmorland, £125, while the Board of Agriculture made a grant of £100.

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A Winter course for men, lasting 24 weeks, from October to March.

A Summer course for men and girls, from April to June. This is divided into courses of five weeks each, and it does not exceed 15 weeks.

The following are some of the subjects taught :

Practical Subjects.-All farm work; butter and cheese making, including milking; poultry-keeping; bee-keeping; gardening; wood work; surveying; seed testing; milk testing; bacon curing; cooking and laundry work.

Class Subjects.-Farm book-keeping; farm engineering; the sciences relating to agriculture.

Demonstrations are given in horse shoeing for farm and road work; construction of farm machinery, and tree and hedge planting.

REPORT.

At this institution, which was founded some years ago by the Hampshire County Council, and is maintained by that body, provision is made for the training of lads or young men in winter, and for that of women in summer. The winter course lasts from October to April, and is of a thoroughly practical character. Oral instruction indoors is given for an hour or so each morning, and for the same period in the afternoon. As regards out-door work, the lads are divided into four groups, and each take a month at farm work, in the dairy, with the poultry, and in the garden.

Once a week the pupils at the School go with the Principal to Basingstoke market, and are encouraged to form estimates of the weight of stock before they come into the ring and the price they are likely to realise. At this, especially, it is said, as regards pigs, they become very fairly expert. At other times they are taken to the corn market, and are, in fact, encouraged generally to watch the markets as regards all classes of produce,

As regards horticulture, the county instructor visits the School twice a week, and gives instruction in the culture of fruit and vegetables.

Another useful feature of the work is that a mechanic connected with machine works at Basingstoke comes over for an evening a week to the School and gives the pupils thorough practical instruction in farm machinery. Various machines and implements are taken to pieces, the uses of their several parts explained, and also how to effect simple repairs. Not infrequently, farmers in the neighbourhood will lend any special machine or implement they may have for the use of the students. Instruction is given in horse-shoeing and smiths' work and also in rough carpentry.

The summer course is designed mainly for women, but some of the lads who have been at the winter course are permitted to remain for the summer under certain restrictions. All those attending are taught butter-making, and those who remain for longer than the first period of five weeks receive instruction in cheese-making also.

The pupils are lodged in a house close to the farm.

Those attending during the past winter and present summer have been —

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All, with one exception, came from Hampshire, while 10 winter and 14 summer course students came with county scholarships. The examination of pupils takes place through the University College at Reading.

EXTERNAL WORK.

A part of the work carried out in this county in the country districts is conducted through this School.

Lectures. The instructor in poultry-keeping visited five centres and gave courses of four lectures each at all but one, at which two lectures were given. The average attendance was 18.

Bee-keeping lectures were given at three centres, a course of four lectures being given at one, and of two lectures at the remaining centres. The average attendance was 27.

Dairying.-Courses of ten days' instruction in butter-making were held at 11 centres, a second course being held at one of them. The total pupils coming under instruction numbered 145, of whom 127 took the full course provided.

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