The Avoncroft farm supports itself, though some of it is
given up to research and all of it to education ; but it cannot, of course, pay for the pupils and they, of course, cannot pay for themselves. The Ministry of Agriculture and the County Council have a few—a very few—scholarships, which allow a youth here and there to spend nine months at Avoncroft, and to climb the ladder from the bottom rung. The zeal, the skill, the physical strength, the intelligence of this picked score of countiymen impressed me more than I can say. The agricultural' labourer—even on a clay soll—has always as a Class seemed to me wise beyond his status and calling, arid infinitely patient. These young men are more : they have ideas—as their daily debate reveals—and initiative. It would be a fruitful work, both for the class and for the country, if the founder could be given the means to extend the work.
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