402 



THE AGR1CULTUR.U. NEWS. 



December 27, 1919. 



any particular rese;vreh may be applied to any indus- 

 try. Pure science has been defined as the search after 

 knowledge for its own sake : applied science, on the 

 other hand, may vary very much in its object, trom 

 such unselri-ih ind unremiinorative work as that ot 

 Pasteur for instance, down to the labours of a skilful 

 inventor in order to exploit a patent. Xot that the 

 latter is t<> be thought ill of, for such work, althoii2:h 

 primarily intended for personal profit., ultimately bene- 

 fits the whole community. 



Sharp distinction cannot however be .drawn 

 between the two lines of research. For instance, the 

 results in a chemical lab oritory. of re.soarchcs intended 

 primarily to advance the utilitarian value of the pro- 

 duct.-^ of a factory, have ofcen led to the .solution of 

 problem.'^ which appear to be more of theoretical than 

 of practical significance. On the other hand the 

 . pursuit of knowledge for its own siki-, an example of 

 which may be taken in .Mendel's researches into cross 

 ferfilizition of flowers, have had a far reaching et^'ect 

 on the practice of agriculture throughout the world. 

 At the present time there appears to be some risk of 

 pnre science being eclipsed, on account of the necessity 

 for increasing material production everywhere ; and 

 therefore the trend of ■)pinion leans towards the 

 encouragement chiefly of researches which will conduce 

 to that desiiable object. On the other hand it may be 

 said that the greater the industrial need the greater 

 the demand for research. This is doubtless true, but 

 research only pursued with the special view of material 

 and utilitarian application loses thereby its claim to be 

 called pure science. 



Oftentimes the student who frankly dovotes him- 

 self to the pursuit of knowlebge for its own sake is 

 Iqoked upon as an academic freak, or a somewhat 

 selfish individual devoted to his own mental pleasure, 

 and careless of the welfare of others. That this idea is 

 largely a false one may easily be shown by examples of 

 the lives of scientific men of all ages, from the Syracii- 

 san Archimedes to men of recent times like Sir Isa-ac 

 Newton —not to speak of the scientists of the last five 

 year6--who have turnetl from abstruse speculation to 

 give their time and their knowledge to the services of 

 their country and their fellows, ^whenever occasion. 

 demanded- 



In the oldei and more populous countries of Europe, 

 along with other pltkces where European races are 

 predominant, with their <.*»luc;itional and academic 

 opportunitifts and tniditiorfo, ^fcere have always been 

 and there will probably^ always be devotees of pure 



science. Ic is different in newer lauds with less popu- 

 lation, where the mere fact of the necessity of material 

 advance overshadows the outlook of science as a whole. 

 Again, in smaller places the facilities for the pursuit 

 of any scientific research can hardly be said to exist- 

 Much has been said and written of late about the 

 necessity of founding tropical agricultural colleges, 

 especially in the West Indies tor the purpose of 

 scientific study and instruction in matters relating to 

 the agriculture, which is the foundation of the pros- 

 perity of the tropics in general This is a (juestion of 

 pressing importance: and the pursuit of applied science 

 thus undertaken and carried on to a still greater extent 

 than at present, will doubtless be vastly stimulated by 

 such institutions. Ic may not be too much to hope 

 that the mental value of pure .sc!ence may also be 

 thereby inculcated an<f exemplified. 



There are many men at present engaged in 

 scientific research in various parts of the tropics 

 including these West Indian islands, and good work 

 has already been accomplished in many directions in 

 scientific agricultural, entomological, and mycologieal 

 researches, in so far as these 'juestions aff'cct the 

 industrial prosperity of the communities, but the 

 problems attaching to tne practical side of these scient- 

 ists work leave them little leisure or opportunity for 

 research in the problems of pure .science. The future 

 may witness an amelioration of this condition, and 

 perhaps the solution of problems in pure science 

 which arise from tropical conditions. 



GERMAN SUGAR PROSPECTS 



An article in the Liltrihitional Sugar lournal, Septem- 

 ber 1919, draws attention to the prospects of largely 

 diminished production of German i^ugar in the 1919i!0 

 campaign The article ^^tates that official information disclo.s- 

 es that there will be only 293 raw sugar factories at work, 

 compared with 307 in 19IS, and 3fJ in 191.3. With 

 respect to the beet .sugar ana under cultivation, it i.s stated 

 that the present year shows a decline altogether of 19 4 per 

 cent. It .seems that the area cultivated tbia year is also mo 

 reduced that there is •>^lvillu^ly ;i Hanger of a sugar famine 

 next year in the (Jerraan Kmpire, particularly as it wonid 

 appear already that a considerable number of the f iftories 

 wiilhe unable to work anything like full time, because of 

 the great difficulties that are to be expected in the mati-r of 

 coal supplies. 



Independently of what L:is been stated above, the 

 prospects tliat are ort'ered by the conditions ,of the beetr.Mit 

 fields at present suggest a still more pessimistic estimate of 

 the production an<l lhesu|)ply of sugar in the next campaii^n. 

 The beetroots, owing to late .sowing, shortage of manure, 

 insnfficient labour supply, and the bad weather experien.-eil 

 daring their growth, must also shnw a considerable doterio- 

 rmtion, particularly, it is said, in the large areas of Mi<ldlo 



