A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. XVII. No. 414. 



BARBADOS. MARCH 9, 1918. 



Price Id. 



A Tropical University in Being. 



THROUGHOUT the Empire at the present 

 time the general question of education and 

 , technical training is receiving much attention. 

 The Education Bill recently introduced into Parliament 

 by the President of the Hoard of Education, and the 

 Reports of the various Committees appointed by the 

 P.oard of Trade are evidences of the feeling in the 

 United Kingdom that in spite of the progress which hai 

 undoubtedly been made in education in late years, ar.d 

 especially in technical education, the position even 

 there is far from satisfactory. Still more is this the case 

 in the smaller dependencies of the British Empire- 

 There technical educixtion on scientific lines is almost 

 unattainable. 



For centuries Great Britain has been the great 

 colonizing power, but cannot be said to have made full' 

 use of her opportunities as regards the provision of 

 facilities for thorough and scientific education for 

 the natives of her dependencies. The large .self- 

 governing members of the Empire have developed their 

 own educational systems: and in the great Empire of 

 India many colleges and universities have been founded 

 in -the interests of higher education, but doubts have 

 been expressed for the most part whether these have 

 been best suited to the Indian type of mind, or to the 

 furtherance of the immense agricultural interests of 

 that empire. 



This is not to be wondered at, when it is remem- 

 bered that the educational system in England is 

 predominantly of a traditional and pedantic type. But 

 there is certainly a change coming in the point of view 

 from which education is looked at. It will no longer 

 be considered that high technical training is necess- 

 ary for those only who intend to enter the ranks of 

 the three so-called learned profes«ons,but that in every 

 calling in life in which technical knowledge and skill 

 are required, good training and the best technical 

 instruction shall be obtainable. Particularly will this 

 be the case as regards the science of agriculture, which, 

 although a foundation of national prosperity, has 

 been regarded in the past as worth acquirino- only 

 by rule of thumb. 



For some years past there have been put forward 

 from time to time sujrgestions as to the desirability of 

 establishing one or more colleges in tropical parts 

 of the British Empire for the scientific traininc of 

 students in the principles and practice of tropical 

 agriculture. Recently the n:ovement has been more 

 definitely focussed on Ceylon and Trinidad as 



