222 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO BULLETIN. \XVIII. 4. 



Agricultural Chemist should be performed by an ofl&cer of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and that the connection of the Government Analyst 

 with the Department of Agriculture should cease. It will probably be 

 convenient to place the Government Analyst under the control of the 

 Medical Department, which is directly concerned with the administri- 

 tion of the Foods and Drugs Acts and other public health laws which 

 provide most of the work of the Government Analyst and it may be 

 found possible to effect some economy of staff by associating him with 

 the Government Bacteriologist. When the staffs of the Department 

 and Board are combined, the Superior Staff of the Department should 

 include a Botanist, an Agricultural Chemist, an Entomologist and a 

 Mycologist. There is no reason why any of these four technical posts 

 should be specially associated with the offices of Director or Assistant 

 Director of the Department as at present. It is desirable that these 

 offices should be held by whichever of the four officers are considered 

 most fitted for them. 



It is not necessary at this stage to deal with the junior staff of the 



Department. 



VETERINARY SURGEON. 



28. When Sir Henry Jackson's proposals for the establishment 

 of a Department of Agriculture were referred to the Imperial Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture, Sir Daniel Morris suggested that the Veterinary 

 Officer should be included in the new Department. I concur in this 

 recommendation and I consider that it is desirable that the Government 

 Veterinary Surgeon should be a whole time officer whose services should 

 be at all times available to advise stock owners as to the improvement 

 of breeds and the prevention and treatment of disease. Owing to the 

 terms of the appointment of the present holder of the office of Govern- 

 ment Veterinary Surgeon, it is impossible to bring in this change until 

 a vacancy occurs. I have, however, recently made the Government 

 Veterinary Surgeon a member of the Board of Agriculture in order to 

 bring him in touch with the Department of Agriculture and the 

 members of the Board. 



CENTRAL OFFICES FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 



29. In view of the inconvenience and inadequacy of the office 

 arrangements described in paragraph 8 above, the provision of a central 

 office and laboratories for the Department is an urgent need. After 

 careful consideration of the several alternative proposals, I have come 

 to the conclusion that the most suitable place for the headquarters of 

 the Department of Agriculture is the St. Clair Experimental Station, 

 Port-of-bpain. It is important that the headquarters should be so 

 situated as to be conveniently accessible to planters. For that reason 

 the capital to which they all pay occasional visits to sell their produce 

 and to purchase supplies has obvious advantages, while the nursery and 

 experimental work carried on at St. Clair give that place advantages 

 over other possible sites in Port-of-Spain. 



I propose that the surplus balances of the St. Augustine and River 

 Estates, amounting probably to about £9,000 should be assigned to the 

 construction of suitable headquarters for the Department of Agriculture 

 at St. Clair with accommodation for the combined staffs of the Depart- 

 ment and the Board. 



