Page Four
THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER
[Thursday, October 10, 1912.
Agricultural Education in France.
(This is the eighth of the series of
articles regarding the investigation
of European co-operative credit sys
tems now being made by the Diplo
matic Service in connection with
President Taft’s effort to introduce
co-operative credit in the United
States. It wili be appreciated if cop
ies of whatever material you publish
regarding this subject is mailed to
the Division of Information, Depart
ment of State, Washington, D. C.)
Washington, D. C., Sept. 29.—In
addition to his study of the means
employed in France to finance the
farmers of that country. Ambassador
Myron Herrick has submitted to the
Department of State a report upon
the educational work done by the
French Government and the French
agricultural associations for the pro
motion of agriculture. Ambassador
Herrick is making an exhaustive
study of the question of agricultural
finances in France in connection with
President Taft’s effort to introduce
some form of co-operative-credit or
mortgage-bond system in the United
States for the benefit of the Ameri
can farmer. It is in connection with
this investigation that he has submit
ted his report on the educational
work done for the French farmer in
order that the complete system may
be shown to the American public.
The interests of agriculture in
France, reports Ambassador Herrick,
are advanced by two methods—offi
cially, by the Ministry of Agriculture,
and non-officially, by the great agri
cultural societies.
The action of the Ministry of Ag
riculture is threefold — legislative,
educational, and financial. In its
legislative work it is assisted by the
grand committees of the Chamber of
Deputies and the Senate, and keeps
in constant touch with the agricul
tural societies. It is, however, in
agricultural education that the Min
istry of Agriculture has done most.
At the head of the Agricultural
Department stands the Institut Ag-
ronome, which corresponds to the
French Academy, the Academy of Sci
ences, and the other great academies
of learning which go to make up the
Institute de France.
The Institut Agronome consists of
fifty-six members, chosen for their
eminence in the science of agricul
ture, and forty associate members.
Election to this body is the crown of
the career of any man of eminence
in French agriculture. From it are
turned out the professors of agricul
ture of the highest class.
Next below the Institut Agronome
come the three great schools of agri
culture—those of Grlgnon, Montpel
lier, and Rennes. These schools
liave each large farms attached to
them, the one at Grignon, for in
stance, consisting of some three hun
dred hectares say, seven hundred
acres). They are provided with live
stock of the best class for breeding
purpose? and fitted with the latest
machinery and chemical laboratories
on the most elaborate scale. Every
student carries out a large amount
of theoretical work, but at the same
time the practical side is by no means
neglected.
There are at each of these great
schools from 120 to 140 pupils. The
full curriculum at all the schools is
of two and one-half years, divided
into three sections. From forty to
fifty pupils join these schools each
year. The students live in the col
lege as boarders. The fees paid by
each pupil at Grlgnon amount to 1,-
200 francs (say, $250) a year; at
Montpellier, 1,000 francs ($200);
and at Rennes, 500 francs ($100).
At Rennes, however, the pupils do
not board at the college. Pupils en
ter at the age of eighteen.
Next below these three great col
leges of agriculture come the Ecoles
Pratiques de I’Agriculture, of which
there are eight in France. The course
of instruction is much the same, in
many respects, as that given at the
higher schools already referred to,
but more attention is paid to the
practical side. Each of these practi
cal schools of agriculture consists of
about 14 0 pupils. The fees vary from
600 to 800 francs ($120 to $160)
per annum, including board.
Next comes a yet lower grade of
school, which is called the Farm
School (Les Ecoles Fermes). These
consist of private farms on which a
certain number of pupils are trained
under Government supervision. It
appears, however, that this method of
agricultural education is showing a
tendency to die out.
In addition to these various schools
devoted entirely to giving instruction
in the subject, agriculture is also
taught in every lycee and superior
primary school in France. The teach
ing is in the hands of a very efficient
corps of professors. These are divid
ed into two classes—the department
al professors, each of whom is at the
head of the agricultural instruction
in his department, and the assistant
professors, one of whom is attached
to each arrondissement, or parlia
mentary electoral district.
This systematic organization of ag
ricultural education is one of the
greatest works of the Third Republic.
It has given astonishing results. The
value of the annual crops in France
during the fifteen years that have
elapsed since this educational system
was introduced has increased 2,500,-
000,000 francs ($500,000,000). This
remarkable result is entirely due to
improved methods of cultivation re
sulting from the educational advant
ages now enjoyed.
So much for the official side of ag
ricultural instruction in France. The
non-official organization of agricul
ture in the Republic is in the hands
of two great institutions known as
the Societe des Agriculteurs and the
Societe Nationale d’Bncouragement
de I’Agriculture.
The Societe des Agriculteurs de
France, which is the more important
and older of the two, has its head
quarters in Paris. It has a member
ship of 12,500. Its president is the
Marquis de Vogue. The annual mem
bership fee is twenty francs ($4.00),
which gives it a revenue of $50,000 a
year. The society also has the dis
posal of the income from a large cap
ital which has been left to it in the
form of inheritances destined to be
devoted to the work of the organiza
tion, as well as other sources.
This society devotes itself entirely
to advancing the interests of French
agriculture, but is in no way a com
mercial undertaking. It is affiliated
with local societies throughout the
country of every kind and description
—societies for the encouragement of
horse or cattle breeding, bee culture,
wine growing, poultry raising, corn
growing, fruit raising, organizations
for the development of dairy produce,
and so-forth. These provincial or
ganizations number, on the average,
eight to each department, some de
partments possessing only three or
four, while others have fifteen or
twenty. Each of these societies de
votes itself to advancing that branch
of agriculture to which it belongs.
This is done by organizing cattle
shows, arranging lectures, and pub
lishing bulletins and reports giving
the latest information on agricultural
subjects.
The holding of cattle shows In
France Is undertaken by the Govern
ment as far as concerns the two
great national shows which are held
in Paris every year—the fat-stock
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(Continued on page 5.)
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