Mill ".,1. ,1 1,1, I »» pi m w;; EVIDENCE JAMES W. EOBERTSON L.L.D., C.M.G., PRINCIPAL, MACDONALD COLLEGE BEFORE THE SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION 1906-7 PRIITTED BY ORDER OF PARLIAMENT "' As advaince sheets of the Committee's Final Report MACDONALD COLLEGE, - QUE., CANADA THIS EDITION PRINTED FOR JAMES W. ROBERTSON AT THE WITNESS PRESS, MONTREAL 1908 :^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013401900 CONTENTS. THE MACDONALf) MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDUCATION. Some problems and experiments The Macdonald movement Some results from agricultural education ... Some results in eggs Seed grain competition Manual training centres Seed- grain prizes Canadian Seed Growers' Association School gardens School gardens in Carleton county, Ontario. Consolidated rural schools The Macdonald Institute at Guelph Macdonald College at Ste. Anne de Bellevue The buildings on the campus The small cultures farms The main farm Departments of the College The government of the College The School for Teachers The School of Agriculture The School of Household Science Terms of admiission Tuition fees and living expenses o o JAMES W. ROBKRTSOX, LL.D., C.M.G., I'RIXCU'AL, JIACDOXALD COLLEGE. 7 EDWARD VII. APPENDIX No. 4 A. 1907 THE MACDONALD MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDDCATION House op Commons, Committee Room No. 34, Ottawa, Wednesday, April 3, 1907. The Select Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonization met here this day at 10 a.m., Mr. McKeijzie, Chairman, presiding. > Dr. James W. Robertson, Principal of the Macdonald College, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, attended by request of the Committee and made the following state- ment: — " Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — I am very much obliged to this Committee for the opportunity of laying before its members some information regarding the Macdonald College, and what has become known in Canada as the Macdonald Movement for the advancement of agriculture and education. Many of us look for much benefit from them to the whole of Canada. I gratefully recognize that in the past, when I had the honour and privilege of being Commissioner of Agriculture and Dairying for the Dominion, this Committee gave me many opportunities in its meetings and in its reports of laying before the people of Canada some of the plans which the Department of Agriculture had under consideration for the_^ promotion of agriculture; and I am venturing to hope that the Committee will let me, in my new capacity as Director of the Macdonald Movement and the Macdonald College, continue in the same friendly relationship. SOME problems AND EXPERIMENTS. Some of the problems which we Canadians have to face and solve for ourselves are common to all self-governing natiolis, but others of them are peculiar to us. For Instance, there are special national problems due to our youth; to our size; to the character, vastness and potential values of our undeveloped resources; and to the large amount of foreign blood pouring into our citizenship. The large inflow of foreigners who come to mix with our people adds difficulties to the ordinary problems of agriculture and of education. These people bring in not merely different methods of doing things but different social standards and ideals. The traditions they have inherited, the conditions under which they have been brought up, their outlook on life, these are all different fromi ours. For our safety and their welfare it is necessary that these people should be so educated, so led and so guided by competent leaders that they will be inclined to live on the land, and not to herd in the cities; that they will be able to live on the land with profit and contentment to themselves and thus join our own people in making our civilization progressive and wholesome for the whole of us. To help in the solution of some of the problems arising from those conditions is part of the work for which the Macdonald College has been founded and endowed by Sir William C. Macdonald, of Montreal. We are all making experiments; we are doing that to the extent to which -we live in a way that is consciously rational, trying to do the best we can with ourselves and the conditions in which we find ourselves. We are trustees of life, and of the institutions and national honour of Canada, as 6 DH. JAMES W. ROBERTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A: 1907 well as of the immense natural resources of the country. With the highest apprecia- tion of the work of this Committee and of the Parliament of Canada, it remains to be said that many of our efforts in government are still only experiments; Even our form of government, as yet, is only on trial. We have much to learn; much to find out by patient, careful trials in agriculture and education and government, and withal rwe have reason for some satisfaction in that we are making genuine progress. We are making progress towards having the will of the people prevail la an intelligent way with integrity, with justice, with courage and good-will. Out of our experiments, in those matters there are embodied into laws and institutions ana customs what we a?, a self-governing people think to be desirable and good, leaving these flexible and serviceable for further adjustment to new needs. It has taken the older natbns many centuries to learn how to manage their soils in order to get the most out of their climate. That the climate Is one of the chiel factors in profitable agriculture Is sometimes forgotten. It has taken the older countries centuries to accumulate what one may call agricultural and industrial intel- ligence as applied to rural life. To make up for our youth in those respects, it is necessary that we should do more for the young people who are looking towards agri- culture thain we have been doing for them^ or than has been done for them in any country so far. I think adequate educational and training work is not being done in this or any other country for the young people, looking towards a rural life and agri- culture. What to do, and how to do it, are parts of the national problems. It appears to me that the solution of problems ih agriculture for prosperous, beneficial rural life are inseparable from progress in education, including agricultural and industrial education. The ;sure way to increase the wealth and well-being of the people is by the application of intelligent labour, and the quality of intelligence in labour is one of the fruits of some form of education. Instead of standing still and grumbling at what is not, but what might be, it is worth while trying to improve the cottditions and to solve the problems which confront us by doing the something which we believe to be right and best and by observing the results of our efforts. All rational progress is attained by learning the lessons from consequences. THE MACDONAI/D MOVEMENT. Permit me to lay before tne Committee a brief statement of some of the con- sequences from some of the efforts which have been made in the Macdonald Move- ment. I think you will join me in seeing that our eftorts have been on the right lines, and that much more can be done in the same direction with great benefit to all the people. Some people look for consequences to come in a capricious sort of way. In agriculture there is no room for caprice; there is the inevitable consequence from every adequate cause. Good crops do not come by chance, and bad weeds are not banished by wishing them away. Take an illustration of this in a rather large way from what has happened in parts of the province of Quebec, not far from where the Macdonald College is located. Many years ago the people were beguiled into the easy- going farm practice of growing and shipping hay; the United States markets were close by and attractive. I could take you in the province of Quebec across vast areas in the St. Lawrence valley which were as fertile in soil possibilities and much more so in regard to the climate than the highly-lauded prairies of the west — areas im- mensely superior as places for permanent homes, because of the soil, the climate, the trees and the abundance of pure water. The farmers on those areas in Quebec kept on growing and shipping hay, growing and shipping hay, growing and shipping hay, until those fine stretches of alluvial soil are now yielding less than IJ tons of hay per acre, and thajt often of rough and weedy quality. Such land is being gradually impoverished without enriching the people in pocket or In agricultural. Industrial or commercial intelligemce and ability. The hay from 200 acres when sent out of the country carries away more of the elements of fertility than the whole $6,000,000 THE MACDQNALU MOVEMENT FOR BUBAL EDUCATION. • 7 APPENDIX No. 4 wortli of tjutter exported from Canada last year. Do you catch my point? A crop from 200 acres of land sMpped out of Canada In tlie form ot hay ' depletes the soil of the country more than tlje whole $6,000,000 worth of butter exported last year. Do we not need more education, more agricultural education, more industrial education for the managemeat of the lavnd of this country ? The condition which I have men- tioned does not prevail over the whole of Quebec. It is not quite so bad in many parts of Ontario, but a similar condition will inevitably prevail over the prairies of the west, and with much more disastrous results, unless the farmers on those lands, especially the newcomers, are informed and trained how to make the most out of the laind without robbing it ; how to get the best of crops with regularity while keeping the land reasonably free from injurious weeds. If the land of the west becomes harried and impoverished like some of the lands in the St. L/awrence valley woe betide the west. It has nothing else to fall back on. For the whole country, then, as a matter of protection, safety and insurance, it behoves us to look well to the training ot the young people towards rural life, and to look well to the training of leaders for them. The Macdonald Movement, as helped by Sir William C. Macdonald, has nothing destructive in it. It does not desire to destroy anything that now exists in rural districts, except weeds, but it hopes to help in building up something better than is now known and done, and thereby displace what is poor. It aims at helping the rural population to understand better what education is and what it aims at for them and their children. It plans to help in providing more competent leaders for the horticultural and agricultural population. Somebody's watchfulness, somebody's thoughtfulness, and somebody's thoroughness are always required ; and the progress of the people in all worthy ways can be in- creased in what might be called geometric ratio through intelligent leaders who possess and use such qualities with unselfish public spirit. SOIIE RESULTS FROM AGKICULTURAL EDUCATION. Let me offer you ibriefly a few instances. The dairying ■ industry !& the runail Industry in Canada which has been helped most by organized educational effort. It is not the only one that needs it, and it is not the only one that would respond to and profit by it, but it is the one which has had the advantage- of organized educational effort for the longest period. Twenty years ago. the value of the exports from Canada of butter and cheese was about seven and a half million dollars, whereas the value of the exports of those products last year was over thirty million dollars. There is no' part of agriculture that would not respond as fully as the dairying branch has re- sponded. The b'enefits are not only in the improved quality of the products, in the increased volume and value, but also in the heightened and deepened intelligence ot those who are engaged in dairying. The dairy farms of to-day yield more than they ' did fifteen years ago ; the very opposite is true of the hay fields of Quebec which I mentioned a .moment or two ago. Besides, there is the intellectual and social alert-, ness ot the people. In the one case you have comparative isolation with the least intelligent kind of labour on the land; in the other, you have co-operation at cream- eries and cheese factories, and the development of business' methods and business ability which bring the farmers into associatiom. with the manufacturing and trans- portation interests of the country. I need not pursue that illustration further. Another instance of the same kind of thing might be taJcen from the expexience of Denmark. Shortly after I had the honour of being appointed a public servant, to help in this forward movement for agriculture and education in Canada, some twenty-one years ago, I paid a brief visit to Denmark. I saw and learned very much there from which I tried to bring back the lessons to the Province of Ontario. At that time the people of Denmark were developing organized industrial and agricul- tural education for the grown people and for th^ young people who were to- follow rural occupations. One of the means which they used in later years was whajt are 8 DE. JAMES W. ROBERTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 called 'Co-operative Testing Associations." These are associations wherein a num- ber of farmers unite to test their milking cows, to discover the most economical methods of increasing the yield of milk, improving the quality of the milk and reduc- ing the cost of production. As a result of three years' work at one typical co-opera- tive testing association, viz. that of Farrup, the farmers increased the yield of milk per cow by 942 pounds per annum^ or 18 per cent., and increased the yield of butter per cow by 47 pounds per annum, or 24 per cent. In the meantime, they managed to improve the methods of feeding the cows, and thus reduced the cost of production. This little kingdom of Denmark, with a population slightly less than that of the pro- vince of Ontario, sends to the United Kingdom some of the same sorts of agricul- tural products as Canada, and takes out of the English markets on an average over eight million dollars a year more than amy other country gets for the same quantity of butter, bacon and eggs. That is the premium obtained by the Danes for superiority of quality and condition; the premium for the adoption of industrial and agricultural education. That amount would pay the rural school bill for all of Canada at the present time. The large and wealthy province of Ontario spends some three and a half million dollars annually on all her rural schools, and the kingdom of Denmark takes out of England over eigM million dollars annually as a premium for superior quality in butter, bacon and eggs. The rural population has been educated towards ability, towards intelligence in regard to rural life, and towards the development of a public spirit which makes for suocessful co-operation. There are material gains and very much besides. I recognize that industrial and agricultural education is not all of education; and it is not something different and apart from the more general education given in schools and in colleges as well as on farms, in factories and in offices. It Is really a part of lite in training for a profitable and enjoyable life. As related to agricul- tural operations, its problems are two-fold, viz. : those on the side of the business or industries of agriculture and the adult people who are engaged in them, and those on the side of the children who are to follow the occupations when they grow up. The purpose of agricultural or industrial educatiotti is on the one hand to impart, and on the other to acquire useful and usable knowledge pertaining to the conditions, processes, operations, management and organization of the affairs of everyday life, with training in the use of such knowledge In order to develop skill and to secure the benefit of mental, moral and artistic discipline through, the acquisition and use of such knowledge. SOME BESULTS IN EGGS. Let me cite another instaince of the benefits from agricultural education and development which may shed more light on this matter. Some years ago I had occa- sion to lay before this Committee some information and suggestions in regard to the improvement of the poultry business, particularly in respect to the fattening of chickens. Out of the work undertaken in that regard there grew a few breedijng stations for the improvement of chickens for fattening purposes, and for the advancement of agricultural education as applied to the poultry business among the farmers. At the Macdonald College we now have some 250 pullets purchased last autumn (1906) from two of these poultry stations which had been maintained by the Dominion govern- ment. The pullets which we obtained were the selections of the fourth year from' hens which were good layers during the winters, and which had vigorous constitutions. At Ste. Anne de Bellevue we have a climate not any milder than that of Ottawa. For our poultry department we have erected one good suOstantial fire-proof building for office class-rooms, judging room and incubator rooms. I have never seen any build- ings at any of the great institutions, devoted to the improvement of agriculture and the advancement of agricultural education, which are nearly the equal of ours, at Ste. Anne's; and the poultry buildings of the Macdonald College match the others? THE 31AGD0NALD MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDUCATION. 9 APPENDIX No. 4 £or their purposes, particularly for the studeiits who will take the short or long courses. The fine buildings are for the students. But it does not follow that we should put hens in fire-proof buudings and heat those also by steam or by stoves. We put the hens in small colony houses. The largest of these are 20 feet x 14 feet x 7 feet high. These accommodate from 50 to 75 hens each. We have smaller colony iho'usles, 12 feet x 8 feet x 7 feet high, which serve for 25 hens each. These colony houses stood unsheltered in an open field all through the winter. They are constructed of wood, one board thick, except at the end where the roosts are placed, and there there are two thicknesses of inch boards with tar paper between. Our 250 pullets did not get into their quarters until some time in November. They began to lay a few eggs on the 19th November, and kept on improving on that all wiinter. As I have said, the colony hoases are only one board thick, and occasionally the thermometer inside the house registered as low as 18° below zero. The hens never got any cooked food or any troublesome mash; they got no Con- coctions with pepper in them — 1 think pepper is the hen's whisky, and whisky does not make for good products. These hens are fed once a day on a mixture of dry grain, containing wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat and corn. That is thrown on the floor which already has a depth of three or four inches of cut straw and roughage. The hens have access to a small trough at the bottom of a hopper containing either braji or crushed wheat. They have also access at all times to grit, oyster shells and meat scraps from the packing house. The winter was an exceedingly severe one. When the weather became cold and the water was frozen up in the colony houses, we stopped supplying water and shovelled in snow instead. These are the simple con- ditions under which these 250 hens have spent the winter at the Macdonald College. You will have come, to the conclusion, to which others jumped, that we did not get many eggs, and that the hens suffered from frozen toes and other injuries. Before mentioning actual results let me tell you of an instance of another sort which came t& my knowledge within the last few days. I was showing a citizen of Quebec over the poultry department. He lives in the city and owns two good farms in the province. He said he had about 100 hens on each farm. His expression was: 'It was an awfully severe winter for hens; we did not get much more than 100 eggs all winter." That was said by him at the end of March. He had had 200 hens in good warm places, ted in a very painstaking way. At the Macdonald College, as a result of industrial and agricultural education, the result of lessons in consequences, a re- sult of trials to find out what to do and how to do it with the best results, we had 250 hens in these small colony houses scratching for their dry food, fed once a day and pickiiTg snow. As I have said, the thermometer ran dowln occasionally to 15° and 18° below zero Pahr. In the severest weather a cotton curtain was unrolled at night in front of the perches. The hens had no other protection beyond that and the- one-board thick colony house. There was too sickness except in the case of two hens which the man in charge told me dropped off the perch from apoplexy, being too fat. These two were not laying any eggs. But in the case of the other hens, while every- one did not lay during the winter, we obtained Detween the 19th November and the cilst March over 10,000 eggs — to be exact, 10,122 eggs. In the coldest weather we got about six dozen eggs per day, and have been getting about 150 eggs per day in the milder weather. Then, when we put the eggs from these hens in the incubators they tested quite high for fertility, the range being from 93 to 76 per cent, fertile. The feed consumed by these 250 hens during the winter cost altogether $117. These hen.=! are the product of four years' selection, and in the four breeds kept there is not much difference iin the results obtained. Twenty-flye Rhode Island Reds laid on an aver- age 51 eggs per hen; 25 Buff Orpingtons, 40 eggs per hen; 100 Plymouth Rocks, 40- eggs per hen, and 100 White Wyandotte, 39 eggs per hen, between the middle of November and the end of March. Two hens laid 83 and 85 eggs respectively. Seventy hems laid over 50 eggs each. Fifty-three laid less than 20 each, and thirteen did not IQ UK. JAMES W. KOBEKTSOy 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 lay any. Some of them had' not responded to the industrial and agricultural educa- tion which had been provided. I do not think there is a single department of agri- cultural work in Canada that will not respond as well as these hens on the whole have done. That is the sort of thing that the Macdonald College is being established lor. "We are hoping that similar principles and methods will become effective in every dei)ar.tment of agricultural and rural life. By an honoiiraUe meml)e7-. Q. Did the hens get their feet frozen? A. Not a single hen got its feet frozen. A few of the cocks, White Wyalndottes and Barred Plymouth Rocks, got the top of their combs nipped. There was not a sick fowl in the lot. Q. What kind of light did you give them? A. We had one big window on the south side. Q. Of glass? A. Of glass, and we can push that back and leave a wire screen in position. We have allowed the window to be open mearly every day all winter. By Mr. McLennan: Q. What is the best food for them?- A. The feed for poultry, if you want to get eggs, should be particularly strong in grain, like wheat. We g;ive wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat and Indian corn, throw- ing it on top of the straw so that they have to scratch for a living. They do not do that for amusement; they have actually to scratch to get their living. By Mr. Findlap: ^ Q. When it is IS degrees below zero how do you keep the eggs from freezing? A. That is also done without trouble. I do not know that the ordinary farmer would do it, but our man and hens did the work first rate. We have two rows of trap nests .along one side; after the hen gets in she cannot get out until released. 'The man goes around twice in the forenoon and lets the hens out. He sees the number on the band of the hen's leg, and pencils it on the egg. The hen sits on the nest until released. It was rather a bother at first, but it works well. We get the record of the hen and shfi protects the egg. A record can be kept of every hen. By Mr. Batz.: Q. Do you have a man there to lock the hens in? A. There is a little wire door on a hinge in front of the ordinary nest. The door ;is pushed inward by the hen, and after the hen has got in, the door falls back Into place and fastens itself by a drop wire. By Mr. DerbysMre: Q. As I understand, you watch the chickens as they come out of the shell to see if they scratch? If they do scratch you raise them, but the other pullets you do not; you punish them? A. We would not be so unscientifically harsh as that. The only ones we do punish ultimately — which perish finally — are those that jdo not lay eggs for a long period. Their numbers are not recorded in our book of eggs. They are not what we desire to perpetuate; we let them drop out. We select those which have elected them- selves into the book of eggs. By Mr. Blain: Q. What kind of fowls are they? A. We keep four breeds. Barred Plymouth Rocks, White Wyamdottes, Rhode Island Reds and Buff Orpingtons. Those we find to be useful fowls for all purposes THE MAC'DOyALD MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDUCATION. H APPENDIX No. 4 —for laying and for fattening also. We shall add other breeds for instruction pur- poses. If you will come and see us at Ste. Anne's you will find a lot of things that are interesting. I hope the Committee will do us the honour of holding a session there Eext autumn or next sprtng. By Mr. Sehell fOxfordJ : Q. How many pounds of grain' do the 250 hens consume in a day? A. I have got the exact figures here. They consumed altogether from 1st of Noyember until the end of March: Mixed grain (wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, corn) 6,100 lbs. Wheat bran 1,000 " Skim-milk 200 " Beef scrap 300 " Grit and oyster shell 300 " Mangolds (Not weighed.) Q. That is from November until March? A. From November until March it cost us $117 for the grain, grit, beef scrap, r. Many of the farmers on whose farms the competition was carried on were formed' into the Macdonald-Robertson Seed Growers' Association, out of which grew the Canadian Seed Growers' Association. Its third annual meeting was held in June, 1906; and the report of its proceedings contained a marvellous record of valuable public service. Particular information was obtained from leading members of the associa- tion. These reported several distinct and definite gains from the method of selec- tion which had been followed by the members of the association, viz.: the size and quality of the kernels definitely improved; the strains of selected seed matur- ing more evenly; the strains becoming better adapted to local conditions; varieties being kept pure; the strains becoming more resistant to disease and' gaining in pro- ductiveness. All these are highly desirable and give added value to the crops in every case. I made enquiries last year from the Seed Branch of the Department of Agri- culture and from members of the Canadian Seed Growers' Association. I gathered from their estimates that one of the direct results from the seed grain competition was an increase in the value of the grain crops of 1906 in Canada to the extent of at least of $500,000. That is high finance for you. High finance by a man of lofty in- telligence and spirit — 5,000 per cent on an investment of $10,000, and the best of it all is that Sir William Macdonald has not sought and did not receive a single dollar of return for himself from, it. That is laying up treasures where neither moth nor- rust doth corrupt and which goes on gathering and diffusing benefits for" ever' and' for ever for the people. SCHOOL QAEDENS. Under the Macdonald Rural Schools Fund arrangements were made for provid- ing a school garden at each of five rural schools in each of five provinces. A trained' instructor "was placed in charge of each group of five gardens and of the nature study work at them. He spent one day at one school and the next at another. The cost of this was met by Sir William Macdonald. If the Committee will permit me I- would like to add to my evidence for its printed report some information as to what these school gardens are beginning to accomplish in various places for agriculture. I think the information would be valuable to the public, and I think you would be interested In learning something of the work which has been done in this way. Therefore, with your kind consent, when going over the transcript of my evidence, I shall insert a. little more information. At the school gardens an effort is being made to give the children information and training in three important matters in connection with agriculture, viz.: The selec- tion of seed, the rotation of crops and the protection of crops against weeds, disease- and insects. It is really industrial education. Children find out something by doing;, observing and recording the results themselves, and I say it over again that all worthy progress, in matters that are worth thinking about, springs from- learning the- lessons of consequences. As soon as a child understands that, and governs his life> TEE MACDONALU MOVEilENT FOR RURAL EUUCATIOy. 17 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 APPENDIX No. 4 accordingly, he becomes a better pupil and the promise of a better citizen in every sense. The school garden is one way of making rural life more popular as well as effi- cient. It may be the first step towards actuating the people to pay more to make the schools more efficient. The best education in rural schools should make the people like rural life and also enable them to make it more profitable. The best way to make any workman like his work is to make him understand it. The beginnings of all that and much more are laid in the schools. I cite only a few instances of the results from the experimental plots in the gardens managed by the children themselves. In Prince Eward Island, at Tyron, the children obtained an increase of 32 per cent, in the yield of wheat from a plot on which selected seed was sown as compared with a plot alongsiae .for' which the seed had not been specially selected. In Prince Edward Island, also, the children obtained a yield of 17 per cent, increase in a barley field after clover, as compared with a plot alongside where no clover had been grown. At most of the gardens two plots, side by side, were planted with potatoes under equal and similar conditions. The treatment of both plots was alike, except in regard to the spraying with Bordeaux mixture to prevent blight. One plot in each garden was sprayed with the mixture three or five times as the case might require, whereas the other plot was left unspra>6d. In every case the yield of potatoes from the sprayed plot was larger than the other. The following list shows the Increased yield resulting from spraying at six gardens: Knowlton, Que Ill per cent. Richmond, Ont 100 per cent. Carp, Ont 85 per cent. March, Ont 81 per cent. Guelph, Ont 43 per cent. Brome, Que 41 per cent. I quote from an article written by Mr. R. H. Cowley, one of the foremost in- spectors of schools in Ontario, who has been appointed recently as superintendent of continuation classes for the province of Ontario : 'Three leading motives underlie the origin and growth of school gardens in Europe: 1. To provide a convenient means of supplementing the teachers' income, thereby simipllfying the problem of maintaining the public school. 2. To promote a practical knowledge of horticulture and agrrculture, thereby increasing the national prosperity. 3. To furnish means and material for the practical study of botany as a desirable department of scientific knowledge. 'The vast majority of European school gardens look to utility. Of the few that recognize the importance of the educational end, nearly all stop short at the acquisi- tion of a certain amount of scientific information and the habit of careful observa- tion. On the other hand, the Maedonald school gardens, while designed to encourage the cultivation of the soil as an ideal life-work, are intended to promote above all things else symmetrical education of the Individual. They do not aim at education to the exclusion of utility, but they seek education through utility, and utility through education. The garden is the means, the pupil is the end. 'The Maedonald school gardens not only have a recognized place m me provincial systems of education, but they are attached to the ordinary rural schools, owned by the school corporations and conducted under the authority of the school trustees and the express approval of the ratepayers. 'The work of the garden is recognized as a legitimate part of the school pro- gramme, and it is already interwoven with a considerable part of the other studies. The garden Is becoming the outer class-room of the school, and the plots are its black- boards. The garden is not an innovation, or an excrescence, or an addendum, or a diversion. It is a happy field of expression, an organic part of the school in which the 18 DU. JAMES W. ROBEHTSOm 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 boys and girls work among growing things and grow themselves in body and mind and spiritual outlook. ' 'The true relation of the garden to the school has been in good part established by the travelling instructors whom Professor Robertson appointed to supervise the work in each province. These instructors were chosen as teachers of .experience in rural schools, and were sent for special preparation, at the expense of the Macdonald fund, to Chicago, Cornell, Columbia, and C'.ark Universities, and to the Ontario Agri- cultural College, Guelph. 'The chief tools and implements requisite to the school garden are hoes, rakes, hand-weeders, garden lines, one or two spades and shovels, a wheelbarrow, hammer, saw, nails, &g. The pupils, as a rule, require only hoes, rakes, and hand-weeders. Those pupils who are sufficiently mature to work a plot by themselves, or along with a companion, can get along very well with hoes and rakes of the average size. In one case, where smaller tools were supplied, the pupils abandoned them after a little prac- tice for those of the standard size. 'In the largest school, two hours' work per week by the pupils was found requisite to keep the garden in proper condition. In one school the enthusiasm was so great that the pupils did all their garden work outside the regular school hours. At this school, also, the garden did not suffer from neglect in the slightest degree during the midsummer vacation of six weeks. Experience indicates that when the gardens are fully organized the plots can be well kept by devoting two half hours per week to the work. This time is mentioned not as the ideal condition, but as an encouragemisnt to those who may desire to start school gardens in districts where prejudices are likely tc be met. The fact is that in the ordinary ungraded school, and for that matter in the urban school as well, the working power of the pupils is ill-sustained throughout the day owing to their merely forced interest in much of the prescribed worfe. An awakening as to the educational waste of our schools is coming, and when the school garden is seen in its true relation, it will have a period in each day of the school pro- gramme during the growing season. The children have ample ume to spare, and the work of the gardens is promoting thear intelligence and progress in the ordinary school course." Mr. B. A. Howes, who is now principal of the Macdonald Consolidated School at Guelph, Ont., had charge of the school garden nearest the city of Ottawa. I venture to include the following extracts from an article by him 'Bowesville, Ont., which is situated six miles south of the Dominion capital, has long been regarded as one of the most progressive sections in the progressive County of Carleton, and it is to the active interest of its people in the welfare of their school that the credit for a large measure of the success of the movement here is due. They have never interfered but to aid. Land sufficient to make a school ground comprising two and one-half acres was purchased, and this was enclosed by" a neat lence with turned posts and attractive gates. The daily attendance at Bowesville school may be placed at approximately fifty children, ages ranging from six to sixteen. The plan of dual ownership of garden plots has been followed here, a senior and junior pupil having joint ownership in a piece of ground (ten feet by twenty feet), working in conjunction and making a just division of the spoils at time of harvest. This plan gets over the difficulty experienced when juniors are shouldered with the entire responsibility of managing a plot, while it does not destroy the sense of ownership which makes proud the juvenile gardener. In laying out and cultivating the garden plots the entire work, with the exception of the ploughing of the ground, was performed by the children, and, it may be added cheerfully performed. Neighbouring farmers brought manure for the garden and ploughed the ground.' 'The experimental plots, belonging to the senior class, deserve special notice. Experiments in crop rotation, in the effect of clover growth, and in potato spraying THE MACDONALU MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDUCATION. 19 APPENDIX No. 4 have been carried on, and results carefully noted. Bowesville is the centre of the largest potato producing section in eastern Canada, so particular attention was paid to potato spraying experiments. In addition to the class experimental plots men- tioned, three of the oldest pupils carried on an independent experiment in spraying. Care was taken that the crop received neither more nor less attention, other than the spraying, than did the crop in a neighbouring field. Rows of potatoes sprayed with Bordeaux mixture were grown beside rows receiving ordinary attention. When the resulting crops were piled side by side in the tool-house, showing an increase equiva- lent to more than fifty bushels per acre for the sprayed over the unsprayed crops, and also a decided improvement in size and quality, the farmers sat up and did more think- ing than would have been the case had they read ot the same results in some agricul- tural publication. It is not so much what these plots teach as it is the trend of thought induced.' SCHOOL OAI!DE^'S IN CAELETON COtlNTY, ONTARIO. From report by Mr. J. W. Gibson, the Macdonald Travelling Instructor for School Gardens in Ontario: 'There are five Macdonald school gardens in Carleton county — Carp, Galetta, Richmond, North Gower, and Bowesville, and two others, No. 1 March and No. 16 Marlborough. 'The time taken from the regular teaching hours is between one hour and one and one-half hours per week, or about 5 per cent, of the school time. My experience goes to show that of their own free will the pupils spend much time in their gardens outside of school hours. 'The pupils receive instructions along the following lines; Soils, plant foods (.fertilizers), methods of planting and caring for flowers and vegetables, pruning and grafting of fruits, making and caring for hot-beds, transplanting, making and pot- ting of cuttings, weeds and methods of destroying t»hem, injurious and beneficial insects and means of combating the former, experimental work with plants, spraying to prevent fungous diseases of the potato, tomato, fruits, &c., &c. 'The, potato spraying experiment at the Carp garden this year gave an increase in yield of 85 per cent, sprayed over unsprayed plots; No. 1 March garden, 81 per cent, gain by spraying; Richmond garden, 100 per cent, (just double). 'The boys understand this work with Bordeaux mixture, and it is now being in- troduced extensively amongst the farmers of these sections. 'Written exercises in English and practical problems in arithemetic, done in the school and at home, are based upon the work in the school garden. 'The teachers affirm that the pupils are more energetic and industrious in the school room as a result of their study of things out of doors. It has helped rather than hindered them in their final examinations. 'Note. — As clerk of the entrance examination for the County of Carleton last July I made a note of the following results: From schools where no school gardens have been established, 49 per cent, of the candidates passed. From the five Macdonald ."ichools, where all the candidates have been engaged in school gardening for three consecutive years, 71 per cent, passed, a gain of 22 per cent., and most of them with high standing. 'The garden work has added new life and freshness to all school work and the teachers have benefited not less than the pupils thereby. 'In these schools there is no longer that old-time tendency to destroy school property. The pupils have a new interest, a "proprietary" interest, in the grounds and buildings as well as in the garden. 'Many of them are turning their knowledge of gardening to good account at home. Twenty boys and several girls in the Carp school alone last year started early plants for their home gardens in hot-beds of their construction. One woman told me 20 DR. JAMES W. ROBERTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 that her son, ten year? old, took complete charge of their home garden, and that they "never had so good a garden before." 'This work is conducive to the physical health and developnaent as well as to mental alertness of the pupils. New teachers have noticed especially the latter char- acteristic in the pupils of the school garden as compared with the others. 'The moral influence of a properly conducted school garden cannot be estimated too highly. Indeed, they outweigh all others. Here children are trained to respect the righj;s of others— one of the flrst principles of good citizenship. They learo in- dependence and industry. They develop a real love for the outside as well as inside the school house. They see more and think more than they otherwise would. They show a growing interest In and a broader sympathy for all living things. They are finding more pleasure and more profit, too, in the cultivation of the soil than they ever dreamed of. Many of these boys will soon be our leading farmers.' W. H. Elliott, B.A., Vice-Principal Normal School, Toronto, Ont., reported: From what I saw of the work in Carleton county in my brief visit, and from what I know more definitely of the work done at the Broadview Boys' Institute in our own city, it is my conviction that public school gardens are of inestimable value from a strictly educational standpoint, as well as from the more practical agricultural standpoint.' The following extracts are from letters and reports received from teachers in charge of school gardens, Carleton county, Ont : 'The school garden seems to fill in the weak parts of our education for the grow- ing child, as it tends to the moulding and developing of his character. I know that the general discipline in my room has been helped by the garden work and also that the pupils like their work in the school room better on account of it. If our politi- cians would try teaching school with a garden and then without one for two years, as I have done, I am certain that they would be willing to grant all the financial support required; yes, probably be too liberal with it.' (MISS) M. YORK, Richmond PuUic School.' 'My pupils are more observant than they were before we started school garden work, and seem to acquire a clearer understanding of all their work. Mr. A told me that the school garden had been a benefit to his boys, and that they were more in- dependent in their work both in school and out of school. ' W. PETTAPIECB, Principal North Qower Public School.' 'I am ready to put myself on record as saying that the school garden has relieved much of the drudgery of the school work to which I was always accustomed; This year we had our school garden and it has been the pleasantest year of my school work. I would never again pass a summer without a school garden. I consider that the chief value of the school garden lies in the effect which it produces on the moral tone ■of the school. The juvenile sense of ownership is the greatest insurance on the suc- cess of the garden and incidenTally on the care of the whole school property. The garden is the central point of interest for this end of the township, and it is not un- usual to have as many as a hundred visitors at the garden on one Sunday afternoon. 1 have noticed that the cultivation of flowers has received more attention in the homes since the advent of the school garden, and I am often consulted about this work. I have not heard any unfavorable opinion expressed by responsible persons in this community, but on the other hand the most progressive men have spoken highly of the garden work.' E. A. HOWES, Macdonald Consolidated School, Guelph, '(Late of Bowesville Public School.)" THE MACDONALO MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDUCATION. 21 APPENDIX No. 4 'It is Impossible to over-estimate the value of school gardening on our boys and girls. Instead of being detrimental (as at first supposed) to their advancement in the other branches of learning, it has had the opposite effect. Since engaging in the work my boys and girls have been first in all examinations, competing with children from other schools, including city schools. The whole tone of the school has been improved morally, socially, and esthetically. Our boys and girls have now a reverence for life unknown before, and it has awakened in them, as , nothing else could do, a deeper interest in all life around them. It has helped to make school life a pleasure. Now the boy makes the excuse to get coming to school instead ot the excuse to re- main at home. It has aroused the interest of the entire community. The parents take a pride in "the work of our boys and girls in the school gardens," and never fail to bring their visitors to see the, work that is being done there. The pupils learn prac- tical gardening, and already their advice and assistance is often sought by parents and others interested in the cultivation of plants. Its influence is seen also in the homes of the pupils. Every home has its collection of house plants inside land ilts plots and flower borders outside. Our school board has come lo realize the value of this work and are anxious to have it continued.' G. A. MOORE, Principal Carp PuWin Scliool. CONSOLIDATED EURAL SCHOOLS. Four object lesson Consolidated Rural Schools were provided by the Macdonald Rural Schools Fund— one in each of the four provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. They were located at places chosen or approved by the Provincial Departments ot Education. In each case a new building was erected to taKe tne place of the small schools which at that time were serving the single sections proposed to be consoli- dated. They were each equipped with ordinary class-rooms and an assemtoly hall, and also for manual training, household science and nature study with a school garden. A consolidated school board was elected according to the school law of the pro- vince concerned. It manages the school as a part of the school system of the pro- vince. The school in Nova Scotia was opened in September, 1903; in New Bruns- wick, September, 1904; in Ontario, November, 1904, and in Prince Edward Island early in the summer of 1905. The Macdonald Rural Schools Fund meets for a period of three years the addi- tional expense of the ccnsolidated school over the cost of the small rural schools which formerly served the locality. The school sections contributed exactly the amount of the former expenditure, and the extra cost is met by the Macdonald fund for three years to enable the- people of four provinces to have those object lessons and experiments in education. One teacher from each province was chosen in advance to become the principal of the consolidated school when established. They were formed into a class with the other teachers who were to be in charge of the groups of school gardens and sent on salary and at the expense, of the Macdonald fund to receive special training at Chicago, Cornell, Columbia and Clark Universities in the United States, and also at the Ontario Agricultural College. Other! excellent teachers were engaged by the con- solidated school boards. One object ot the consolidated being to fit nature study with school garden work, household science and manual training into a course of study with the hitherto ordinary subjects in such a way as to give the best possible educa- tion for rural life, teachers with such special qualifications were employed. That in- creased the cost of maintenance. The remarkable and great Increase in the daily average attendance of pupils also prevented any reduction in the number of teachers required, such as has been the case in the United States. There, consolidation of schools has been effected to a -considerable extent in some seventeen different states. 22 UK. JAMES W. ROBEUTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 APPENDIX No. 4 but without tJne im,provement and enlargement of the courses by school gardens, house- hold science and manual training. The following table shows some of the statistical results from the first years of the consolidation under what I term the 'old' and the 'new.' "i -a 3 tn 1 o 03 Teachers Total of Salary per Annum. Children Average daily Attendance. CONVKTANOE. Name of Consolidated School. employed. enrolled. to S « > Average cost per van Old. New. Old. New. Old. New. Old. New. School day. Middleton, N.S Guelph, Ont 8 5 7 6 10 6 7 6 11 7 5 6 $ 3,495 2,200 1,700 1,190 5,729 4,450 2,950 3,300 .361 174 125 148 409 258 163 161 198 116 55 89 284 171 134 119 11 8 7 6 $ cts. 2 08 2 60 Kingston, N.B .■ 2 15 Hillsboro', P.E.I 1 67 26 29 29 8,585 10,429 808 991 4.58 708 32 The increased cost of the consolidated schools over the single rural schools is caused largely by the better salaries paid to the teachers. The 29 teachers in the section schools received on the average $296 per annum; the 29 teachers in the con- solidated schools received on the average $566 per annum. It will not be necessary to pay so much for the teaching staff in the consolidated schools when the Normal schools turn out teachers qualified to conduct school gardens, some household science work and manual training as well as the ordinary bools subjects. The cost of con- veyance of the children is a large item of expense. At Middleton, N.S., the average cost per van per school day was $2.36 in 1903-4, $2.03 in 1904-5 and $1.84 in 1905-6. When the school boards undertake to meet the whole expense themselves, still more economical methods of management will prevail. The larger children will walk to meet the vans at convenient points, and in some cases parents themselves will ar- range for the conveyance of their children. The educational results from these schools have been entirely satisfactory to the authorities, to the teachers, and especially to the parents and children. The average daily attendance at the consolidated schools was on the whole over 55 per cent, higher than the average daily attendance at all of the schools which formerly served the localities; at Kingston, N.B., it was over 140 per cent, higher. The attractiveness of the consolidated schools becomes in itself a form of com- pulsory education — the interest of the children being the power which secures regu- lar attendance. A great point has been gained when love of the school and love of the education there set the pace for progress. One of the gratifying results is the large number of boys and girls, young men and young women, from rural homes, who are ' doing advanced or high school work. At one of these schools there were about 100 pupils In the high school grades. Manv of these are preparing to be teachers in rural schools. When teachers, who them- selves have been educated in consolidated rural schools, with nature study, household science and manual training, teach in single rural schools they will make the influence of their own training tell throughout many of the one-room schools. At Middleton, N.S., after the three-year period was up, in August, 1906, the people themselves undertook to maintain the consolidated school with all the depart- 24 DU. JAMES W. ROBEUTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 ments. Some of the routes on which the children were conveyed m vans had been six miles long. The area for the consolidated school was reduced, the more distant sec- tions reopening their small schools. Some of the larger children from them find their own way to the consolidated school. The conveyance of the children in vans wa.5 a heavy item of expense. It had been over $15 per annum per pupil. In average attend- ance. That has been greatly reduced. The cost of conveyance is becoming less at all of the consolidated schools every year. As the ratepayers gain experience and be- come responsible for the expenditure (with perhaps grants of specific sums 'from pro- vincial governments) the cost will likely be much further reduced. Sir William Mac- donald contributes to the Mlddleton school $1,200 per annum for a further period of three years. The consolidated schools provide so much better opportunities for educa- tion, that, while the cost is more, it is not apparent that the money they do cost could be spent in any other way with so much direct and lasting benefit to the people. And the people of Canada can well afford to spend as much as they desire to spend on their schools. Notable results have fbll-pwed in several of the provinces from these object lessons — Consolidated Rural Schdols. Dr. MacKay, Superintendent of Education In the pro- vince of Nova Scotia, writes that In his province 53 schools have been consolidated into 22 effective ones. In the province of New Brunswick there are four large con- solidated schools, each with nature study and school garden, manual training and household science. The provincial government pays half the cost of conveying the children and gives other special grants. THE MACDONALD INSTITUTE AT GUELPH. Sir William Macdonald gave the sumi of $182,500 to provide buildings and equip- ment at the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, to train teachers now In the ser- vice for, this 'new education.' Besides serving that purpose the Institute has become a headquarters for manual training, for household science and for providing snort courses of instruction and training for farmers' daughters and others in cooking, sewing, domestic art and other branches of domestic economy. Two buildings were erected. Short courses of Instruction in nature study and school gardens were pro- vided without tees to teachers. The governments of four eastern provinces where the consolidated schools were established gave scholarships to enable teachers to attend. Over 200 teachers 'have already taken these courses. When pupils who pass through consolidated rural schools go on through the Normal schools, each with advanced work and suitable professional courses in manual training, nature study and house- hold science, they will be thoroughly qualified to carry on this better system of educa- tion. As illustrating the benefit which the teachers say they have derived from the three month courses at the Macdonald Institute, I quote from two letters, typical of the expressions and attitude of scores of other teachers. Mr. R. F. Blacklock, Princi- pal of the public school. Smith's Falls, Ontario, has said: 'I feel that I am especially indebted to you and Sir William Macdonald for the opportunity of attending the Macdonald Institute. I think I do not yet fully realize how roiuch good I have received, but I feel that my life has been enriched by coming in contact with those grand young teachers from the other provinces and with Dr. Muldrew and the other teachers. Dr. Muldrew inspired me as no other teacher did before, and I am sure this is true of the other teachero, and though Dr. Muldrew Is dead, his spirit still goes marching on In the lives of those with whom he came in contact. 'I consider that the course has been a valuable one, because we were given glimpses of the world around us which we did not notice before, and especially be- cause we were together— a band of enthusiastic Canadians pursuing the same line ot work. I think I shall have a different feeling towards other provinces because of hav- ing come in contact with those people. THE MACDONALD MOYEUEXT FOR RURAL EDUCATI02i. 25 APPENDIX No. 4 'My work here is very heavy. I have charge of the schools here — twenty assist- ants — and have to teach a class of 45 pupils, but I feel I am in a position to help my teachers, and through them reach the pupils of this town and interest them more in the great world about us. It will make them better boys and girls— better men and women. In conclusion 16t me again thank you for the part you have played in making this course possible. It is one of the best federating courses I know of. I am sure each teacher who was there now has a more healthy respect for the other provinces of Canada than he or she had before.' Mr. Charles McBurney, principal ot the Lachute Academy, Lachute, Que., has- said: 'I am taking the liberty of sending you under another cover a specimen of the ordihary class work in drawing as taught by Miss B. C. Hall, a graduate of the Mac- donald Institute, Gu^lph. The time given to a lesson is half an hour, and I took this from the work finished. 'We have two of your graduates on our staff here. They were both good teachers before, but now they are wonderfully good. The course at Guelph gave them in- spiration and showed them what to teach and how to teach it. The nature study worn is most fascinating for the children and they are learning to sec. I find that all the other work of the course of study is advancing much more rapidly, and the know- ledge obtained is much more real because of the time given to that work. We shall have two school gardens going in the spring. MACDOXALD COLLEGE. Macdonald College has grown out of these attempts and accomplishments, these trials and experiments and evidences of progress, as well as out of Sir Williara Mac- donald's keen desire to help the rural population to build up the country and to make the most of it and themselves. In some measure it grew out of the school garden rhovement and the consolidated schools, to serve as a headquarters for the training of leaders. In some measure it grew out of the manual training movement, which is a first necessity in the general education of pupils if they are to profit by technical and industrial education afterwards. In -some measure it grew out of the oft ex- pressed desire on the part of the educational leaders over the whole Dominion for such advancement and improvement of education for rural commiunities as would not only prepare the children for life at its best in rural occupations, but would also satisfy the people as being the right training for their children. Tn consequence it was founded, erected and equipped for the following among other purposes: 1. For the advancement of education; for the carrying on of research work and investigation and the dissemination of knowledge, all with particular regard to the interest and needs of the population in rural districts. 2. To provide suitable and effective training for teachers, and especially for those- whose work will directly affect the education in schools in rural districts. The college occupies a beautiful site, over-looking the Ottawa river at Ste. Anne de Bellevue, twenty miles west of Montreal. The main lines of the Grand Trunk and the Canadian Pacific Railways pass through the property, and the- stations of both railways are within its boundaries. The college property comprises ."iCl acres, and has been arranged into three main areas, viz.: First, the campus with plots for illustration and research in grains, grasses and flowers, containing 74 acres; second, the small cultures farm of 100 acres for horticulture and poultry keeping; and third, the live stock an-d grain farm ex- tending to 387 acres. THE BUILDINGS ON THE CAMPUS. (a). The main building provides administration offices, class-rooms and work- rooms for the school for teachers, nature study, household science and manual train- THE MACDONALD MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDVCATION. 27 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 APPENDIX No. 4 ing, library and reading-room, museum and assembly hall. (b). Two laboratory build- ings furnish accommodation and equipment for the departments of physics, chemis- try, biology and bacteriology. Both are connected with the main building by covered corridors. (c). The agricultural, horticultural and live stock building contams class-rooms, work-rooms, a live stock arena, farm machinery hall, dairy work-rooms, cold storage and adjacent green-houses for horticulture. (d). The poultry building has class-rooms, judging room, incubator-rooms, brooder-house and pens for different breeds of poultry. Colony houses for poultry are located on adjoining grounds. (e). The women's residence building contains reception rooms and bedrooms for over 200 students, a dining-hall to seat 350, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and all other modern accessories. It is connected with the main building Dy a covered corridor, (f). The men's residence building has accommodation for over 150 students, a gym- nasium, a swimming pool and other modern appointments. These buildings are of fire-proof construction in stone, brick, steei and concrete. The roof3 of tne six main buildings are also of steel and reinforced concrete, and all of the roofs are covered with red tiles. Every building is provided with a complete system of ventilation whereby iresh air (warmed in winter) is furnished to every room, Including bedrooms. A duct from each room removes the inside air and thus insures a continuous circulation of pure air. Every room has a reinforced concrete floor; even if the furniturie of one room should get on fire the fire could not spread beyond the room itself. There is nothing in the walls or in the ceilings of the rooms to catch or spread fire. In fact, there is not a wooden joist, a wooden stud, or a wooden rafter in any of the main college build- ings. The buildings are put up in such a way as to cost the lowest possible sum annually for maintenance. One desires to speak of their massive and enduring quali- ties with the modesty which the founder would appreciate. Nothing has been done for display, but the one and a half million dollars invested in the land, the main buildings and their equipment are a gift for the benefit of the rural population of half a continent, with a particular desire to serve the people of the province of Que- bec. Besides donating the whole property without encumbrance. Sir William placed a sum of over $2,000,000 in the hands of the trustees of McGill University as an en- dowment for the maintenance of the work of the Macdonald College. The buildings are heated, lighted and supplied with water from the power-house. A system of tunnels provides for the distribution of heat, light, power, water and gas. The power-house contains six horizontal tubular boilers of 150 horse-power each, with engines, electric generators, pumps and a gas plant. The water supply is taken from the channel of the Ottawa river and will be filtered. THE S.MALL CULTURES FARM. On the small cultures farm is a commodious brick barn for the storage of garden , and orchard produce, the grain grown on the experimental plots, the implements of cultivation, the machinery for threshing and cleaning seed, and for the stabling of horses. Ther6 are several acres of apple orchards in full bearing. The greater' part of 100 acres will also be used for commercial work, demonstration and investigation with large fruits, small fruits and vegetables. Macadam and other roads have been laid out and built to give ready access to the various sections. An area of several acres is set apart for poultry runs, where 1,000 hens will be kept in simple colony houses, each built to accommodate from 25 to 75 fowls. THE MAIN FAKJI. The live stock and grain farm, comprising about 387 acres, is in good state of cultivation and provided with well-built roads. The farm buildings consist of a farm 28 DR. JAMES W. ROBERTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 house, a number of cottages, barns with commodious stables for horses and different breeds of cattle and a piggery for different breeds of swine. The cattle stables hare room for over 80 milch cows and 100 young animals. As an instance of the use "to which the small cultures farm and the main farm will be put, I may mention that we expect to distribute at low rates specially well- Dred and selected live stock in cattle, swine and poultry, particularly to agricultural societies and farmers' clubs, throughout the province of Quebec. We propose to take up from time to time some definite research and illustration work, as, for instance, the improvement of the potato crop, in a manner similar to what we have a'ttempted in the case of improving the poultry for the farmers and the markets. By the spring of 1908 we shall be ready to receive a number of apprentice-students who will assist in carrying on the work on the small cultures farm and on the main farm. When bright young men come to us from the larms oi yueoec and other parts of Canada, we shall give themi an opportunity of learning the best way ot doing things under competent instruction. Diligent, earnest and trustworthy young men can earn enough on the college farms in summer to pay their board while attending the college class- rooms during the winter. A student-apprentice in six months may earn his board and a first-class, second-class or third-class credit. A first-class credit will entitle the student-apprentice to free board and room, as well as free tuition in ths college during the following six months. During these six months he would be expected to devote prob- ably two hours a day to the continuation of his apprentice work in some of the departments such as horticulture, poultry, live stock or farm machinery. A second- class credit would give him three months' free board and tution; and a third-clasps credit nothing more than board, room and working instruction during the summer. DEPARTMENTS OF THE COLLEGE. Students will be enrolled for courses of instruction in one or more of the three departments or schools of the college, viz. : 1. The School for Teachers, which provides practical and thorough training for teachers in the art and science of teaching. 2. The School of AyricnUure, which aims to provide a thorough theoretical and practical training in the several branches of agriculture, and, 3. The School of Household, Science, in which young women receive training in those branches of household economy that make for good home-making. THE GOVERNMENT OP THE COLLEGE. Macdonald College is incorporated with McGill .University. Under the statutes, the Governors of the University constitute the Principal of Macdonald College, together with such other members of the staff of Macdonald College and such other persons as the Governors may see fit to appoint from their own number or otherwise, as the Macdonald College Comimittee. It is the duty of this Committee to direct the educa- tional policy and curriculum, to frame and enforce the necessary regulations touch- ing the details of the courses of study and teaching, the college examinations, the ad- mission of students, the amount and mode of payment of fees, and the discipline and internal government. There is also appointed by the Governors an Executive Committee of the Mac- donald College Committee, whose duties are such as the Governors may from time to time determine, or as the Macdonald College Committee may entrust to u. All courses given in Macdonald College leading to a degree in the University, the examinations held in connection therewith and fees payable in respect of such courses and examinations, are subject to the approval and under the control of the Corporation of McGill University. THE MACDONALD MOVEMENT FOR RURAL EDUCATION. 29 APPENDIX No. 4 Courses of study for the training of teachers for the Protestant schools of the province of Quebec, together with the examinations held in connection therewith, are under the direction of the Teachers' Training Committee. The Professors so far appointed are Canadians in full sympathy with the aspira- tions and ideas of our people and with a knowledge of their needs. We hope for such a mutual bond of sympathy and conHdence between the staff, the pupils, and the pub- lic as will enable the college to render the largest and best possible service to its con- stituents. In the widest sense~its field is the world. THE SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS. By an agreement with the governmient of the province of Quebec, confirmed by an act of the Legislature, it was provided that a school for the training of teachers for the schools under the control of the Protestant Committee of the Council of Pub- lic Instruction should be established and carried on at Ste. Anne de Bellevue in lieu of the McGill Normal school in Montreal. In this department the college will give a thorough training to teachers by instruction and training in the school for teachers itself, and by practice in the model schools. The arrangements will afford excellent facilities to student teachers from all parts of the province. The session of this school will begin 17th September, 1907, and close on the 17th of June, 1908. Besides the training of teachers for all the schools under the Protestant Com- mittee in the province of Quebec, the college will receive other teachers for training and will also provide courses for teachers in (a) nature study worlc with school gar- dens, (b) household science, and (c) manual training. These teachers may come from any part of Canada -and 'from elsewhere, 'all with particular regard to the in- terests and needs of the population in rural districts.' THE SCHOOL OF AGRICULTUEE. First terms begins October 1, 1907, and ends December 21, 1907. Second term begins January 3, 1908, and ends April 30, 1908. Courses are offered in the School of Agriculture as follows: A. Short courses from two weeks to three months each. B. A two-year course leading to a diploma. C. A four-year course leading to the degree of B.S. in agriculture. A. Short courses are provided and made as practical as possible in — 1. Live stock. 2. Seeds, crops and weeds. 3. Poultry. 4. Horticulture. B. The two-year course embraces studies in: 1. Field and cereal husbandry. 2. Animal husbandry. 3. Poultry husbandry. 4. Horticulture. Studies duly co-ordinated are carried on in the chemistry, physics, biology and bac- teriology laboratories, oringing out the direct bearing of the sciences on agriculture. Adequate attention will also be given to English, mathematics and bookkeeping. . C. The tour-year course : This is a continuation of the two-year course for the purpose of affording opportunity for more advanced knowledge of rural economy and more thorough and exact acquaintance with the natural sciences and their applica- tions to the conditions, processes and organizations of rural life. A student may proceed with the work of the third year towards a degree: (a) If on entering his first year he presents a matriculation certificate, or an equivalent, and completes a satisfactory examination on the work of the two-yeaT course; or 30 L>li- JAMES w. ROBEursoy 7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 (b) It lie obtains 60 per cent, in general proficiency in the examinations on the work of the two-year course, and also has the permission of the faculty. Third year. English (composition and literature), French, economics, agronomy, live stock, dairying, horticulture, chemistry, physics, biology, bacteriology. Fourth year. English, French, physics, chemistry, biology. Bacteriology, and one of the follow- ing optional courses : Animal husbandry course, agronomy course, horticultural course, dairy husbandry course. THE SCHOOL OF HOUSEHOLD SCIENCE. First term begins September 24, 1907, and ends December 21, 1907. Second term begins January 3, 1908, and ends April 3, 1908. Third terms begins April 7, 1908, and ends June 26, 1908. The school of household science occupies along with the school of education all of the second and third floors of the main building. It contains three large kitchens, a practice dining-room, a sewing-room, a class laundry, millinery and dress-making rooms, a house decorating room, a practice apartment house, several store-rooms and offices, all thoroughly equipped for instruction in the science and art of house-keeping. Courses are offered in domestic subjects, as follows: — A. Short courses. B. A one-year homemaker course. C. A two-year course leading to a diploma. A. The short courses last three months each, are made as practical as possible; and include the study of: 1. Foods. 2. Plain cooking. 3. Sewing. 4. Laundry. 5. Home nursing, sanitation and hygiene. 6. Home art. 7. Care of the house. B. The one-year home-njaker course embraces practical and theoretical work in : 1. Foods. 2. Cookery. 3. Household economics. 4. Materials for clothing. 5. Dressmaking and millinery. G. Laundry. 7. Fuels, ventilation and house sanitation. 8. Home nursing and hygiene. 9. Home art. Simultaneous studies are carried on in the physics, chemistry, biology and bacteri- ology laboratories to show the direct bearing of the sciences on the practical side of housekeeping. C. The two-year course is an extension of the one-year course, comprising a more intensive study of the subjects therein embraced and also more advanced laboratory work In the chemistry, physics, biology and bacteriology departments. English mathe- matics and history are also obligatory subjects in this course, and the student is' allowed to choose two of the following : Home dairying, poultry, horticulture, seeds and plant Improvement and woodcarving. THE MACDOyALO MOVEMENT FOli RORAL EDOCATIOy. 31 APPENDIX No. 4 TEBMS OF ADMISSION. All candidates for admission to the Schools of Agriculture and Household Science: 1. Must be seventeen years of age. 2. Must produce satisfactory evidence as to moral character and physical health; and 3. In case of candidates for the courses in agriculture must produce evidence of having worked for a season on a farm in Canada, affording a practical knowledge- of ordinary farm operations. No entrance examination test will be required for the Short Course .^tudsncs, but all candidates for the one and two-year courses will be required to pass an ex- amination in: Reading, writing and dictation. English grammar. Elements of arithmietic. Outlines of general geography and the geography of Canada. TUITION' FETSS AXD LIVING EXPENSES. Tuition will be free to residents of the Province of Quebec, and, to the extent to- which there is room, practically free to other Canadians. There will be a small laboratory fee (not exceeding $5) to cover the actual cost of materials used, and a contingency fee to cover possible breakages, penalties, &c. Students ill Resilience. — The young women in residence will be in charge of a house-mother. A dietician and housekeeper will supervise the dining-room and the work of the servants. A matron will be in charge of the men's residence. Board and room will be furnished for $3.25 per week each, where two students occupy one room, and in case of students occupying single rooms $3.50 per week. Further details as to the courses, &c., will be found in fae announcement of the- Macdonald College, which will be sent on application. In brief, Macdonald College stands for the advancement of education, for the carrying on of research work and investigation and the dissemination, of knowledge, all with particular regard to tie interests and needs of the population in rural dis- tricts. Its motto is Mastery for Service. There are no exclusions because of race or religion. We expect that students who belong to the various races, united in Canadian citizenship, will go there, seek- ing to develop high moral character, sturdy intelligent and energetic minds and whole- some capable bodies. The college is primarily for the sons and daughters of Canadian citizens, particularly for those of the province of Quebec, but its doors are open to other young men and women of good moral character, physical health and natural talent, who earnestly seek to qualify themselves for filling their places with benefit to others and with credit and satisfaction to themselves. Mr. Chairman, I thank you and the members of the Committee for this oppor- tunity of presenting to you something of what has been attempted and accomplished' under the Macdonald Movement and of the work that is contemplated at and by the Macdonald College. I thought you would be interested in learning something of those matters, and your reception of what I have said has assured me that I was not mis- taken. Hon. Mr. Fisher.— The information which Dr. Robertson has given to the Com- mittee to-day in regard to the Macdonald College at Ste. Anne's will, I think, be of the greatest interest to the agricultural commiunity all over Canada. I hope that our people generally will take to heart the words that he has uttered in regard to agri- cultural instruction and development. They show the true spirit of investigation 32 Dli- JA.MEH ^\■. ROBEliTSON 7 EDWARD VII., A. 190 and of successful operation. Lret me say just one word in regard to this instituuo: at Ste. Anne's. Sir William Macdonald, with large-hearted generosity, and with wha I believe to be a true appreciation ol the most important needs o£ Canada, has out o his means placed an opportunity in the hands of the people o£ this country fo enormous good. In doing this and in devoting this large amount of money to agricul tural development, and thus appreciating and endeavouring to meet the real need of this country, he has shown a wisdom as well as a generosity in his gifts. He ha shown especial wisdom in choosing Dr. Robertson for the control and management o this institution. Without any desire to flatter, I do not think there is any man ii Canada to-day who thoroughly understands the whole agricultural situation am the needs of the country as Dr. Robertson does. His experience as an administrato and public servant has given him unusual opportunities for the study of these things and his success in the positions he formerly occupied augurs well for his success 1: this great undertaking. I hope that the members or l^ariiament, and the member: of this Committee especially, will visit the institution in the near future. I have hac the opportunity myself of seeing it grow and have felt the most intense interest ii all that has been dorie. I think that Dr. Robertson in characterizing this as the bes' equipped institution of its kind is not saying one .word too much. We have alwayf as Canadians considered that Guelph was the very 'acme of agricultural colleges, believe, in the whole world, and we have had the evidence of others who are noi Canadians in that sense. With the example of Gueiph before him and with the almost unlimited means at his disposal, I believe that Dr. Robertson, with the assist- ance of Sir William Macdonald, will be able at Ste. Anne's to do even better than a1 Guelph. I trust our friends will visit Ste. Anne's and observe what Is going on ther( and learn what is intended to be carried on, and that the members of this House and of this Committee will take every means of distributing the information that ii contained in Dr. Robertson's address. The Chairman. — I feel sorry that we did not secure an address from Dr. Robert son at a more opportune time ,this session. Had we met for this purpose earlier ii the session we could have given him a much longer time for his address than merelj an hour. Unfortunately, we did not think of it. However, we have done the best w( could, and I trust that next session we shall afford him a better opportunity of en lightening us on the subject that he has brought to our attention to-day. On motion of Mr. Sproule, seconded by Mr. Wright (Renfrew), a resolution o; thanks to Dr. Robertson for his address was unanimously adopted. Having examined the preceding transcript of my evidence I iind it correct. JAS. W. ROBERTSON, Principal, Macdonald College, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Que :i .:;i| m iS-;i!|i||!iiliii!|i liiiiililliil I, !| I ' .1 ' '! i I 1" J .. Ill 1 .1 1' III' ' \ w.