ltV2 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 31, 1919. 



Another aspect of this hurry to obtain new results 

 is that it leads often to an imlividualism which 

 tends to wa.'itf of time, thought, and energy on 

 the pan of scientific workers. Want of knowledge 

 of what has been achieved in the past in any line of 

 research or endeavour causes a regrettable repetition 

 of work. Instead of starting fresh work from points 

 already reached, a worker regardless of the past does 

 the work over again, only to find that his own labour is 

 redundant or incomplete. However .much knowledge 

 one man may possess, he cannot afford to ignore the 

 accumulated knowledge and experience of the workers 

 of the past, and of other workers in the present. This 

 is an attitude of mind which affects in some degree the 

 work that is going on in these colonies, amongst other 

 places, in conne.vion with the desire to foster develop- 

 ments and improvements. This attitude is concerned 

 with the tendency already noticed of continually press- 

 ing forward, and of being concerned with the work 

 only of the present and the future, to the neglect of 

 •what has gone before. Much that has been done in the 

 past with regard to agricultural research in these islands 

 deserves more consideration than it receives in the 

 pressure of modern life to get ahead. Necessary as it 

 is to look ahead, it is eijually essential to look back. 



To correct this tendency, or rather to give it 

 its proper balance — fji- ch^re is much of vulue in the 

 desire to go forward rather than to stand still — it is 

 ■well that time should be devoted to the study of all 

 available information on the subject in which interest 

 is being taken or investigation made. Nowadays 

 there is such an immense volume of literature bearing 

 on agriculture, consisting of reports of experiments 

 and investigations in every direction, that a worker or 

 student ought to consider himself very poorly equipped 

 for excursion into the vast field of what is still unknown^ 

 unless he makes a starting point from what has 

 already been observed and recorded. 'J'his ti'i|uires 

 patience, and also a certain humility of mind, both of 

 which rjualities have been characteristic of all great 

 pion<;ers in the woild of science. 



'ihese remarks are prompted paitly by consid- 

 eration of the work that has been done in the past 

 in connexion with local agrieu'titre by many of the 

 West Indian agrirultuial departments, and by the 

 valuable information which has been recorded in 

 departmental puhldntions A little research amongst 

 these makes it evi lent that they contain much that 

 ia in danger of beinsr f<iri.'ot ten, and that they contain 

 indications as io lims ( f p'ogivss which may be in 

 daugerof being ovHrionked. A reperusal of them would 



•'oubtless prove stimulating to present worker on 

 similar lines. 



Another corrective of haste in forming conclusions 

 on incomplete gb.n.icili/.ivuiou iviU be the patient 

 revision of the worker's own work. An old Latin 

 proverb has it that no man is wise at all times: even 

 the wisest are liable to make mistakes, especially in 

 first experiments. The continued revision of facts 

 and figures, observations and results, testing these in 

 as many ways as possible, although perhaps irksome at 

 first to the young and ardent student, leads to a very 

 secure foundation of knowledge, and to the ability of 

 becoming a trustworthy guide for others in progress 

 in science and in the arts. 



Besides revision of v/ork done, time ought also to be 

 devoted — much more time probably than is often so 

 spent — in calm reflection over the results obtained, 

 and in contemplation of the direction to which these 

 results point. 



It would seem certain that careful study of records 

 of the past, patient revision of work done, and calm 

 reflection on results obtained will be an adequate means 

 of preventing experiments and investigations being 

 ephemeral, and of little value. Such habits of mind 

 and of study will do much to advance science and 

 practice on the surest lines of progress. Responsibility 

 lies upon those for whom ihis work is done to insure 

 that the workers have time to think, and that they use 

 it in thinking. 



There is another tendency, which the above men- 

 tal habit would do much to correct, namely to look for 

 quick returns from research. Here it is not the men 

 who make reseaiches who are to be blamed, but tho.se 

 on whose behalf and for whose benefit the research is 

 being made, who often press for immediate results. To 

 take as an instance a matter affecting all agriculture, 

 and not least, that in the West Indies, experiments and 

 researches with regard to the effects produced upon 

 different soils and crops by the use of various manures. 

 Often the farmer or plantiT complains because no 

 definite decision can be given by his scientific adviser 

 on a particular instance in this connexion. Ho has to 

 be told that to obtain reliable information experiments 

 have to be conducted over a series of years, and 

 under varying climatic and other conditions. In 

 haste and disappointment the agriculturist) is often 

 led away by sp» cious advertisements to believe that 

 some particular combination of fertilizers will benefit 

 every crop under every condition. Experience 

 usually teaches him his mistake. On the other 



