124
of opinion concerning proposed measures for the promotion of agriculture
and its by-industries, and regarding the representations, etc. which.ihave
been received as to sucb measures.
The immediate direction of the horse-breeding of the country, the
State studs, and the award of horse-premiums, is exercised by the Studs
Board, which consists of a Director, two members, a deputy.member, and
a secretary. Dor the better performance of its tasks, the Studs Board
has the right, whenever it considers it necessary, to summon to its meetings
the chairmen of the horse-premium juries, and the director of the :
Cavalry Remount Board. The Instructions for the.Studs Board are'dated
December 31, 1909.
The budget estimates for 1915 for the Department of Agriculture amount toi
14 184 700 kronor, 8 017 504 kronor- of this amount belonging to the 'ordinary
estimates and 6 167 196 kronor to the extraordinary. A special petition must
be made each year to the Biksdag for the grant of the sums shown in the
extraordinary budget.' Of the amount above, 9 2 1 1 0 kronor are allocated
to the Department itself; out of the remaining items, 5 909 020 kronor may
be considered as directly intended for the benefit of agriculture. These items
are: The Board of Agriculture, 83 400 kronor; for-the promotion of agriculture
and farming industries in general, 412 450 kronor; agricultural educational establishments,
814 950 kronor; agricultural engineers and assistants, 101 900 kronor;
veterinary service 450 020 kronor; thé: improvement of horse-breeding,
425 200 kronor; the promotion of small farming, 291 500 kronor; draining
and ditching, 2 350 000 kronor; reductions in freight-eharges for lime for
agricultural purposes, 380 000 kronor; and others of greater or lesser amounts,:
There are also included in the budget grants for the promotion of the fisheries;
974 700 kronor; forestry, 913 429 kronor; the land-surveying staff, 78 7Ï2|0 kronor
the Ordnance Survey of Sweden, 357 200 kronor;-geological and .hydro-
graphical investigations,- 325 105 kronor; repair of roads and posting-service,
1 704 508 kronor; poor-relief, 376 564 kronor; and divers items, -2 744 864 kronor.
The Department of Agriculture has, too, the charge of the following Bunds,
from which grants of loans are made, viz.; the cultivation loan-fund, 1 000 000
kronor, from which loans are granted for draining enterprizes, the lowering
of lake-levels, etc. (v. p. 140), the Norrland landreclaiming fund of
300 000 kronor, from which loans are made to County Councils or Agricultural
Societies which declare themselves willing to grant loans to small
farmers for the cultivation o f-la n d suitable for tillage ; the draining Joan-:
fund of 200 000 kronor, for promoting the draining of small farms; the “0m
Homes” (Sw. egnahem) loan-fund of 7 500 000 kronor, for granting loans for;
the formation of “own homes”; the land-purchase fund (Sw. jordformedlingsfond),
of 2 000 000 kronor, intended for granting purchase-loans to Agricultural Societies,
Companies and .Associations, the aim of which is the promotion of the “own
home” movement, in order to buy tracts of land for the purpose of cutting them
up into “own home” plots; the loan-fund for the purchase of thorough-bred ana
half-bred brood-mares, of 100 000 kronor, from which Agricultural Societies, within
whose districts there exist favourable conditions for carrying on the breeding of
thorough-bred horses, can obtain loans intended to be advanced to h o r s e - b r e e d e r s
in the districts in question; the fund for the promotion of the peat-industry, 0
1 000 000 kronor, for the erection of _peat-litter- and peat-fuel factories, etc., and the
fund for the promotion of the fishing industry, of 750 000 kronor, from whi®
fishermen can obtain loans for the purchase of fishing-boats, etc.
From the Crown Lands funds there has been advanced for the year 1915,
the sum of 216 200 kronor, for covering the expenses of the Crown Lands
Board — wages, disbursements, travelling expenses, etc., 7 603 400 kronor, and
[180 500 kronor to cover the expenses of the State Forest and Farm domains
(respectively, and 1 000 000 kronor, for-the purchase of timbered land or land
suitable for the growth of timber.
Agricultural Education.
The institutions affording instruction in Agriculture are under the
■control of the Board of Agriculture and are essentially of four types.
[Agricultural schools (Sw. lantbruksskolor), Farmers’ schools (Lantman-
jnaskolor), Schools of Agricultural Economy (lanthushállsskolor), and
I Agricultural High Schools (lantbruksinstitut).
The first steps for the promotion of agriculture by means of systematic in-
stmetion were taken during the 18th century by private individuals imbued
with zeal for the economic development of the country. Among these may be
mentioned, first and foremost, the Swedish patriot, Jonas Alstrômer, who, in
11748, extended the sheep-breeding school he had established as early as 1739
■on the Hojentorp estate in "Vastergotland, so as to form a kind of high school
[of agriculture and forestry, intended for young men who hack enjoyed a university
education. This educational establishment existed with some State support
I for about a decade; and was probably one of the earliest agricultural schools in
[the world.
■ A new impulse was given in 1834, when Ddvard Nonnen opened a college at
Wegeherg, near Lake Vânern, on the model of the school at Moglin, where Nominen
himself had studied under Albr. Thaer. The institute in question continued
[to exist very successfully until 1853, as a mixed-system college with a higher
¡and a lower division, enjoying State support, and trained, altogether, more
.than 100 male;; pupils,i- many of whom afterwards became pioneers in the
[Swedish ; agricultural world. It was from the Agricultural Society of Örebro
ILan that the plan issued for the earliest actual Idwer-grade agricultural school,
giving theoretical and practical instruction I f - ’ chiefly the latter. The school
; which was ' on the Dyringe estate,; continued its labours during the years
18, but was then obliged to close, on account of financial difficulties.
However, after -the good results of the separate repartition of land/together
with the rise in the price of grain, had begun to awaken hopes o f the possi-
Etk i ° f devel°Pment in the ■ domain of agriculture, under the presumption
that the farmers possessed greater knowledge and practical ability, numerous proposals
were made for the establishment of agricultural schools, intended principally
for the training of farm-managers. Finally, the Riksdag was found will-
p g to support the establishment of such schools, and the first State-supported
oo was opened in 1840, on the Orup estate, in -Skane, soon succeeded by
is / l odlerf lu various parts of the country. The zealous promoter of this
c ool and its director for some years was Johan Bobbin, (titular professor), the
rs Swede educated at a University1 who devoted himself to teaching agricul-
P al economy. In the middle of the 18th century, it was imagined that the
¡thd61 mstmGti°n lu agriculture could be promoted by establishing chairs at the
niversity in “res rustica et agricultura”, but these were soon done away with
f A ^ n°^ ^ea<^ JÉI ÉÍ8PP positive result.
turn1 g0°jd m?ny t i t t i Passed> however, before Sweden obtained a higher agricul-
> educational institute . established by the . State itself, viz., that of Ultuna,