The last published report of the Swanley College will be found of interest.
REPORT: DECEMBER 31ST, 1906
During the past year gratifying progress can be reported in each department of the college work. The value to women of systematic training in the various branches of horticulture is becoming more and more widely recognised from both the utilitarian and educational standpoints. It opens the door to attractive and remunerative employment in many directions, while it serves as an admirable complement to the mental training of the High School or the University. No one doubts that healthy occupation in the open air for a couple of years or so goes far towards counteracting the morbid tendencies which occasionally result from exclusive attention to literary studies, and promotes moral no less than physical development. That the advantages offered by Swanley in this respect are appreciated is evidenced by the number of students who attend solely to cultivate those faculties for which the ordinary school or college makes no provision, and to acquire a knowledge of natural and physical phenomena that will prove of increasing interest throughout their lives.
For those destined for a professional career, whether as teachers or gardeners, the opportunities are daily increasing. The growth of gardens, as instruments of education, in connection with elementary and secondary schools within the past two or three years has been remarkable. The number of elementary school gardens has risen from 379 in 1903 to 570 in 1905 according to the last report of the Board of Education. In 1906 there was a very considerable advance, but the exact figures have not yet been issued, nor are any statistics available in regard to secondary schools. The great difficulty in every county is the scarcity of teachers qualified to undertake gardening and general nature-study. For these duties the training at Swanley affords an excellent preparation. Lord Onslow, when, as President of the Board of Agriculture, he distributed the prizes in July, 1904, particularly emphasised this point. A student who has followed the complete course may obtain a position as gardening or nature-study mistress at a secondary school, or as a peripatetic teacher of those subjects for a group of elementary day schools. With the object of assisting those already engaged in such tuition as well as those who contemplate a similar appointment, the college now provides a Special Third-year Course in natural history.
The demand for well-trained gardeners, capable of acting as the head and assuming the responsibility for a large private garden, exceeds the supply. Applications have again and again to be refused. These posts are desirable in themselves, and furnish infinite scope for the exercise of individual taste and skill. We are glad to note that the salaries offered are somewhat higher than formerly, but they are still often insufficient to attract the best and most promising students.
STUDLEY HORTICULTURAL COLLEGE, STUDLEY, WARWICKSHIRE
Founder: The Countess of Warwick
Warden: Miss Mabel C. Faithful
STAFF OF INSTRUCTORS
Horticulture, Mr. W. Iggulden, F.R.H.S., and Mr. W. Sarsons; Botany, Mr. W. B. Groves, M.A. (Cantab); Poultry, Mr. George A. Palmer; Dairy Farming and Agriculture, Dairy Instructress, Miss K. A. Baynes, N.D.D., B.D.F.A., Diploma; Book-keeping and Business Training, Mr. A. E. M. Long (Chartered Accountant); Apiculture, Mr. W. Herrod, F.E.S.; Fruit Bottling and Jam Making, Miss Cran; Cooking Lessons, Miss Faithfull.