THE AOKICULTUKAL. NEWS. 



FEBnuAKy 22, 1919. 



islands must be awnlccr.cd to the mccFpity for the 

 exercise of means of ielf-i usuvsiUoi.Mh.y must, survey 

 their posit ion, and see how ih^y can U-st meet ihe 

 attacks of compeiilion. 



Obviouslv, the principal element of strcnpih in 

 their position' lies in the fact that the\ are already 

 in possession of the field; it remains f..r ihtm so strongly 

 to entrench themselves there as to d.-fy auiack. There 

 is no undue selfishness in this, for it impti. s the preser- 

 vation of existing industries to the wor d, instead of 

 leading, by apaihy and inepiiiude on the part of the 

 pcssessors, to induc-ments to devflop i-iinilar industries 

 by new comers in places where those industriis do not 

 yet exist. It means the preservation of the occupied 

 territory to the existing ii.dusiries, and the leadmu' of 

 the explorers of new countries to attempt new indus- 

 tries rather, than to compete with existing onts to the 

 extent of ousting them. 



But such a position lays heavy obligations on 

 the exponents of the existing industries. The eyes of 

 the competitors will be continually upon all their 

 doings, and any shortcomings will be siized upon as 

 inviting competition. It will be a state of perpetual 

 economic struggle, or war, if one follows the prevailing 

 tendency in terminology. 



All this implies the constant, vigilant surv<=y of the 

 position, and the constant scrutiny of every agricultural 

 effort in order to measure its efficiency, and in order to 

 see whether it presents pomts of weakness which may 

 be strengthened. There are many ways in which this 

 vigilance must be exercised. In many industries the 

 keeping of careful account, not . only of the monetiiry 

 transactions of agricultural enterprises, but also of the 

 material involved, will afford some means of gauging 

 the position. In the aug<r factory this is becoming 

 more and more recognized as a sound basis of manage- 

 ment and administration; it has led to many economies 

 and to obvious development. This function is not, 

 however, exercised as fully as the critical circumstances 

 of the West Indian sugar industry really demand, and 

 one feature is largely lacking, that is the (.-xchange of 

 inforination between those concerned in the work. There 

 is also some defect in the manner in which even such 

 information jis is available is scrutinized, so as to derive 

 from it the full 1>'mi tit. that it may confer. 



In addition to ihi.s, agricultural processes need the 

 application more definitely of the principle of keeping 

 records of facts relatinif to the quantity and cost of the 

 various crops produced, and particularly is there the 

 need for studjingand sifting the information that may 



thus be got. The mere compilation of statistics is of 

 little ufc; the point is to force out the lessons which the 

 statistics may ti.-;icb, and to act upon them. 



While the agiicultnrists must each work energeti- 

 cally for the development and protection of his own 

 industry, modern conditions have made community 

 action ess<niial in many directions, so that intense indi- 

 vidualism must ha\e its counterpart in intelligent 

 cmmon action. Much of this implies invoking the 

 fuiiciit)is of goviriiinent, ai.d thus the intelligent 

 co-operation of government officers and legislators is 

 essential lo safety. 



As regards community action, it may be well co 

 poiiu. to some of the principles which guide it. Where 

 the actions of an individual are self-contained,and do not 

 appricial)ly affect hi* neighbours, he may be allowed to 

 follow his activiti-^3 in his own individual way. Buf> 

 there are many cases where such isolation is not possible, 

 and the individual must be controlled for the good of 

 the community. Many such cases arise in connexion 

 wiih pests and diseases— not only those affecting 

 humiin beings, but also in connexion with those affect- 

 ing crops and the animals connected with agriculture. 

 Such considerations lead to regulations taken for the 

 control of plant pests and diseases, as well as those affect- 

 ii g animals. These regulations, in order to be effective, 

 have to be entrusted to the care of government officers- 

 it is, however, very necessary that there shall be a 

 proper appreciation of them on the part of the genera} 

 community, or they are nullified or evaded. 



Another type of community action is exemplified 

 in the cotton industry of these islands. In order to 

 maintain the character and quality of the cotton lint 

 it is necessary to ensure the purity of type of the seed 

 used for propagating the crop. Now the types of 

 cotton grown are not perfectly pure, or true to type, 

 conse(iuently, by cross-pollination there is a tendency 

 for the undesirable types to increase. These would find 

 their way into general cultivation, and the (juality of 

 the cotton produced in a district would steadily deteri- 

 orate, unless special stops were taken to provide pure 

 seed every season, and also to prevent the introduction 

 of undesirable types, liable to add to the general deterio- 

 ration. Such matters necessitate community action, and 

 possibly, even, government interference. 



Many other circumstances warranting community 

 action might be muntioned, such as those coimccted 

 with the production of standard articles, or fruit and 

 the likcj whereby the reputation of a coinmunity is sus- 

 tained, and the industry upheld. Ag;vin, some indus- 

 tries must be conducted on ah adetjiuitelj' large scale to 



