Vol. in. No. 6i. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



317 



THE IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AG-RI- 

 CULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



The following appreciati\'e review of the work 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture appeared 

 in TIki Times of August 27, 1904: — 



In the midst of other and larger colonial preocc-uiiatioiis 

 the West Indies have of late attracted little public attention 

 in this oounti-}'. In some resjiects that is a good sign, since 

 jprosperity is generally very well content to be let alone, and 

 as such we may fairly take it in the light of the speech 

 delivered at A\onniouth the other day by Sir Daniel Morris, 

 the Imperial Commissioner of Agricnlture for the West 

 Indies. No man is better qualified to speak with authority 

 on this subject than Sir Daniel ilorris. He lias known the 

 West Indies as few men know them for over a quarter of 

 a century. He has known them in the days of their deepest 

 depression, as was shown l>y the report on their economic 

 condition which he prepared for the Royal Commission of 

 1896. He has .seen those days pass away and he has himself 

 been largely, we might saj' mainly, instrumental in bringing 

 about a better state of things It would hardly be possible 

 to exaggerate the benefits, actual and prospective, which 

 Lave been conferred on the West Indies by the Imperial 

 Department of .\griculture, established by Mr. Chamberlain, 

 .and organized with admii-able skill and energy by Sir Daniel 

 Morris. Established at a very critical time, when the sugar 

 indiistr}', once the mainstay of West Indian prosperity, was 

 being slowly liled to death by the desolating rivalry of the 

 sugar bounties, when the planters were discouraged and 

 impoverished, when some of the islands depending solely on 

 sugar were on the verge of ruin, when, excei>t in Jamaica, 

 ■which had secured a large market in the United States, 

 other agricultural industries were very imperfectly developed, 

 the Deiiartment has in a few years done more than any other 

 single agency to save and restore the whole situation. For 

 the abolition of the sugar bounties it is not, of course, 

 directly resiionsible, but by its systematic researches and 

 -experiments on the cultivation of the sugar-cane it has done 

 -a very great deal to enable the West Indian planters to reap 

 the full benefit of that most salutary measure. It has 

 organized and encouraged the development of such alternative 

 agricultural industries as are best suited to the climatic con- 

 ditions of the several islands ; and, above all, it has promoted 

 ^he cultivation by the best methods, and with the most 

 approved ap[iliances, of Sea Island cotton, a measure which, 

 though it may have no very conspicuous effect on the cotton 

 market in this countrj', and no commanding .share in the 

 industrial economy of the Empire, is undoubtedly one of real 

 Imperial import, and of large promise for the future of the 

 West Indies themselves. 



This is a very different pictiu'e from that which Sir 

 Daniel Morris was compelled to draw for the Royal Ccimniis- 

 sion of 1S96. Nor is it the only proof we have that the 

 West Indies are about to see better days. The occasion on 

 which Sir Daniel Morris spoke is another. His speech was 

 delivered at Avonmouth on board the ' Port Kingston,' the 

 largest and best apjiointed steamer that has ever been 

 devoted to the West Indian trade. Five years ago scarcely 

 any one had ever seen a .lamaica banana in this cotintry. 

 Now it is to be bought in all parts of the country at a price 

 ■which brings it within the reach of all but the very poorest. 

 This is due to the establishment of the Imperial Direct Line 

 of steamers to .lamaica — another of the measures timlertaken 

 by Mr. Chamberlain on the recommendation of the Royal 

 <Jonunission. A large market for Jamaica bananas has been 

 created in this country, such as must result, in the long run, 



in a large development of the banana industry in Jamaica 

 and a corresponding increase in the cultivation of other 

 fruits, e.sjiecially the orange ; and, though the supply was 

 interrupted for a time in con.sequence of the hurricane of last 

 year, yet the putting of a new steamer on the line, which 

 can carry 40,000 bunches of bananas and 1-5,000 cases of 

 other fruits, is a proof that Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., 

 the owners and founders of the line, are as fidly convinced 

 as Sir Daniel ilorris is that the prosperity of the AVest Indies, 

 and of .Jamaica in partiiular, is returning. 



EDUCATIONAL 



Teaching of Agriculture in Trinidad. 



The annual report of the Inspector of Schools in 

 Trinidad for 1903-4 contains the following account of 

 the efforts that are being made to introduce the teach- 

 ing of agriculture in elen:entary schools : — 



The methods adopted for fostering and maintaining 

 a love of ' Nature study ' are : — 



(1) ilaking ])ractical agriculture and 'Nature teaching' 

 a part of the curriculum in all rural jirimary boys or mixed 

 schools. 



(2) Establishment of school gardens wherever practic- 

 able. 



(3) Free distril)ution to teachers of agriculture literature, 

 such as the A<ji-i(-ult>md Xews, the Bulletin of the Botanical 

 Dc2mrtment, and the Proceedings of the Agricultural Society 

 of Trinidad. 



(4) Periodical visits to schools by the Agricultural 

 Instructors to give advice and instruction. 



(.5) Bi-weekly lectures on chemistry to the male students 

 of Port-of-Spain Training Schools by one of the Government 

 Laboratory Assistants. 



(^6) Weekly lectures on practical agricidture to the 

 male students of the Port-of-Spain and San Fernando 

 Training Schools by an Agiicultural Instructor. 



(7) Annual School A'egetable Shows at four agricultural 

 centres of the colony. 



With a view to stimulating teachers in their efforts to 

 carry into effect the first and second of the above measures, 

 the Board of Education has adopted two methods : — 



(1) By a re-adjustment of the scale of bonuses an award 

 for agriculture is given to the teacher by the Inspector on the 

 results at the annual examination. 



(2) By obtaining the highest award ('very good') in the 

 subject of practical agriculture for three successive year.s, 

 a third-class head teacher of ten years standing, may be 

 promoted to the second class. In this way five teachers have 

 gained promotion to the second class during the past year. 



The advantages gained by thoroughly grounding our 

 teachers in a knowledge of the elementary principles of 

 agriculture can hardly be over-estimated. I hope that it 

 may be found possible in the future to send the Agricultural 

 Instructors more frequently to the country schools. 

 Nearly 200 of our primary schools now have gardens, and 

 however successful these may be in the production of 

 vegetables, if the experimental (and more purely educational) 

 part of the work is to be of any practical utility, the advice 

 of the expert will be constantlj- needed. I am glad to be 

 able to report that in a few of the schools of the southern 

 district, exceptionally good work of this character is in 

 progress, and some interesting notes with reference to it are 

 given in the report of the Senior Assistant Inspector. 



