WOMAN'S WORK 344 TRAINING GIRLS FOR THE COLONIES By GLADYS BEATTIE CROZIER The Increasing Attractions of Emigration— The Establishment of the School of Farming at Arlesey, near Hitchin— The Life and Routine at the School— The Type of Girl required in the Colonies aarf her Prospects "The high-spirited and enterprising young
- English girl of the upper and middle
classes, who is not bound by home ties, is being drawn more and more strongly towards the idea of emigrating to the Colonies, and seeking a living in the Empire beyond the Seas— in Canada, South Africa, or New South Wales — rather than staying at home to fight in the already overcrowded market for a post as secretary, journalist, governess, companion, or lady clerk. It was to meet the demand for a thorough training in the various household arts and crafts, and in the care and management of a garden, poultry-yard, orchard, and farm, which is a very necessary part of the girl colonist's equipment, that Lady Frances Balfour, Lady Burton, the Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Cecil, and a number of other ladies who have Imperialism keenly at heart, gave their active patronage to a scheme for starting a Colonial Training School at Arlesey, Near Hitchin, Herts. The Arlesey Training School This school was opened in 1907, under the governorship of Miss Turner, F.R.H.S., the former superintendent of the Glynde School of Gardening. Miss Turner is an ardent advocate of emigration for girls of the upper classes. Not only is she an expert on all matters appertaining to the management of a garden or farm, but also is a distinguished lecturer on horticulture and small holdings in the intervals of personally supervising every detail of the entire daily work at Arlesey House, where eight stuJ.ents are in constant residence. And this work is not easy, since many of the girls have no knowledge of the practical running of a farmhouse when they first arrive, and have everything to learn. No servants are kept at Arlesey with the exception of a single maid to do the roughest work, and a garden boy. The students take it in turns, week by week, to act as gardeners, housemaids, or cooks, and the whole work of the farmstead, both inside and out, with its pig-styes, poultry farm, bee-hives, orchard, greenhouses, cu- cumber frames, and kitchen and flower garden, covering some four acres of ground, is carried on entirely by the girls themselves. Everything is kept in perfect ordpr ; the place is in a thriving condition, and is run in the most workmanlike and profitable manner. The training in practical housewifery is planned so as to prepare the Arlesey students to meet with perfect equanimity a feature of colonial life which, to the un- trained girl emigrant of gentle birth, is often one of its chief hardships, not merely the absence of any but the roughest domestic servants, but often the impossibility of getting any " hired help " at all. An Ideal Farmhouse Arlesey is a big, rambling farmhouse of the cheerful, old-fashioned type, standing in about four acres of ground. Inside, it is roomy enough to provide a separate bed- room for each of the eight students. The terms for the ordinary course of train- ing work out at about ^80 a year. The course includes housework in all its branches ; plain cooking and bread-making ; preserv- ing and bottling fruit and vegetables ; pick- ling and curing bacon ; the care of pigs, bees, and poultry, and the management of incubators ; and, in addition, gardening in all its branches. After six months of general training, girls are allowed to specialise in riding, driving, and stable management, laundry work, dairy work, and in simple car- pentry for moderate extra fees. Students are also prepared for the Royal Horticultural Society and Board of Education examinations. The Course of Training The full course of training extends over two years, but students can enter for one year at ordinary fees, and shorter courses may be arranged for at special terms. The school year is divided into four quarters — Christmas, Lady Day, Mid- summer, and Michaelmas — but students may enter at any time, and six weeks' holiday is given by arrangement. The girls wear the most business-like garb. In the garden they may be seen in very short skirts, shirts 'with the sleeves rolled up to above the elbow, and the thickest of garden boots, each carrying on her own special work for the day with youthful vigour and enthusiasm quite de- lightful to see. The poultry-yard is well stocked, and contains a special incubating shed, of which two students have the entire charge for a fortnight at a time, to learn how poultry management should be carried on — a most important branch of training for the girl colonist.
