A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THS 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. XVIII No. 454. 



BABBADOS, SEPTEMBER 20, 1919. 



Prick li. 



CONTENTS. 



Paqf. 



Ainrat, Mahal Cixt'le ... 295 



Book Shelf 292 



B»iti.>;h Guiana, Devel- 

 oping 296 



C.imels, Draught 296 



Canadian Trade Prosper- 

 ity 29« 



Coir Fibre Machinery ...291 

 Cotton Notes : — 



Cotton Exports from 

 the West Indies ... 294 



Meade Cotton 204 



Cowpea Preservation ... 303 

 Cfedit Societies, Deposit 



System for 299 



Department News ... 293 



Departmental Reports ... 300 

 Fislierman-Fish, The ... 293 

 Forestry in Trinidad ...291 



Gleanings 300 



Hawaii, Industrial Devel- 

 opment of ... ... 299 



Page. 



Insect Note? : — 



Food of Tipliia and 

 Campsomeris 



Insects Attracted l)}- 



Smuke 



Jamaica Export-, Recent 



Mahoganies, The True ... 



Mwiurial Experiments, 



Disturbing Factors in 



Market Reports 



Miscliief of Wrong Tlieo- 



ries The .."; 

 Motor Tractor for St. 



Vincent... 

 Nitrogen Fixation in 



Tropical Soils ... 

 Notes and Comments ... 

 Plant Legislation in 



Dominica 

 RubberResearch in Malay; 

 Tractor Demonstration in 



Barbados 

 West Indian Product;- ... 



298 



298 

 299 

 29(i 



302 

 304 



289 



301 



297 



29e 



292 



ii297 



301 



303 



The Mischief of Wrong Theories. 



>EOPLE who persist in spreading false 

 theories are responsible for a serious 

 offence. The offence is against society, 

 against education, and against scientific research. In 

 short, such people lend to retard ihe advancement 

 oj civilization. 



The degree of guilt becomes greater if the 

 3Vpportera of false theories persistently spread them in 

 the face of incontrovertible evidei ce that they are 



wrong. Their action then becomes either a moral 

 crime, or else an indication of feeble-mindedness. 



In the last i.ssue of the Ayricultural News we 

 referred to the harm that resulted in Russia some 

 year's ago through a wealthy individual devoting hia 

 money and ability to the purpose of spreading theories 

 in regard to the moon and the weather. It is un- 

 necessary to discuss the supposed effect of the moon 

 upon weather here. We shall content ourselves by 

 pointing out that no credence is given to the supposi- 

 tion in standard works on meteorolgy. Yet we frequent- 

 ly hear in the West Indies even educated people 

 supporting the idea. Occasionally these defenders of 

 the theory go further and deprecate the sy.stem of 

 hurricane detection of these islands, and denounce the 

 practical value of meteorological instruments. 



Action of til is sort is very harmful to the people 

 and to those responsible for their education. It is also, 

 very irrational, for it is hardly likely that able 

 men would devote their energies to meteorological 

 research, and less likoly still, that Governments 

 would vote large sums of money to provide for this 

 work, if it were not pro inctive i>f useful results. It) 

 wouldi surely be much easier and very much less 

 expensive to forecast the weather with caleadars from 

 arm-chairs. 



One frequently hears people in course of general 

 conversation supporting theories equally as false as the 

 weather and the moon idea. Amongst thesu>, wrong 

 theories concerning spontaneous generation, tclegonj 

 and the origin of species may be eaumerated. 



