Vol. XII. No 297. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



297 



Turning to the subject of arrowroot, the follow- 

 ing is found: 'The crop is not always sold at 5c. per Ii>. 

 ihe value even dropping as low as 2ic. per tb. at 

 some times.' [No reference is m.ide to the existence 

 of any organization.] 'Manure for this crop, like all 

 other crop.s grown, is not reckoned, on account of the 

 \alue not being known as yet in ihu island.' 



Whatever the motive underlying the article may 

 be, its effectiveness would not have been let.sened if 

 the author had taken a rather broader, fairer, and more 

 accurate outlook on things in St. Vincent as they 

 really arc. 



Agricultural Development in the West Indies. 



Put tersely, the advice given by Professor 

 Henricksen to West lndit>n agricultural communities 

 at a recent meeting of the Trinidad and Tobago Agri- 

 cultural Society is : Force the Canadian market, guaran- 

 tee cargo rather than provide subsidies, and improve 

 production by method.s of practical demonstration, 



I'rofe.ssor Henricksen is of opinion that a rosy 

 future awaits those islands with >ufficient iniiiative to 

 take up more e.\tensively the cultivation of fruit, and 

 particularly vegetables. The Canadian demand would 

 increase provided produce were shipped continuously 

 and advertised by a commercial agenn. The most 

 ert'ective advertisement of all would be the preliminary 

 waste incurred before now oh.innels of consump- 

 tion opened out. A development of West Indian 

 horticulture would have several beneficial indirect 

 effects as well. Horticulture necessitates and allows 

 of intensive methods, the employment of which in the 

 garden would tend to stimulate their adoption in the 

 field. Carden produce also requires careful handling 

 and quick despatch; the influence in this respect on 

 shipping arrangements would be most desirable at the 

 present time. 



To improve agricultural production it is believed 

 that the work of farm demonstrators would bring 

 about useful changes quicker than second hand 

 reports. In this connexion reference is made to 

 American experience in Cuba, Porto Rico and Hawaii. 



Publications of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture. 



Information is presented in a recent issue of 

 Sciuncc (August M, Wi'i) to the etfect that new plans 

 have boen announced by the Secretary of Agriculture 

 in regard to the publication work of the United States 

 Department. The new changes will ett'ect a general 

 improvement and, as a secondary result, lessen waste. 

 Hitherto the large number of lUiiletins and Circulars 

 of the various Bureaus have been i.ssued and distributed 

 indiscriminately. This has led to a large amount of 

 matter being sent to certain sections of the agricul- 

 tural communities not immediately interested in it, 

 or, if they are, the matter has frequently been found 

 too technical to be of use to the lay reader. 



The most important change will be the substitution 

 of the Jownyal cf Rciearvh for the scientific bulletin 

 system. This journal will be issued monthly and sent 



to those immediately interested in agricultural science. 

 Important papers ])ublished in the Journal nf RcHcarch 

 may also be issued as sejiarates. 



The Monthhi Crop Reporter will no longer be 

 published, on the score that most of the statistical 

 information in this publication has been too late for 

 practical service. A Wecldy News Letter, in type- 

 written facimile form, will be issued instead. 



The E.rpertmevt Station Record, the Weather 

 Revlev and North. American Fauna will be pub- 

 lished as usual. 



The series of Farmer's Bulletins will be continued. 

 The object of these is to cell the people how to do 

 important things. The Yearbook will be restricted to 

 articles of the magazme type, which, it is believed, 

 must add greatly to the popularity and value of the 

 volume. 



Professor John Milne, F.R.S. 



Professor ililne, the seismologist, died at his 

 residence in the Isle of Wight during the night of 

 Wednesday, July :i(), at the age of sixty-two. In 

 an obituary account of the scientist's life, The 

 'J'imes (August 1, 1913) refers to Milne's great 

 work in Japan, where he served the (Jovernment of 

 that country for nearly twenty years. Although by 

 early training a geologist, Milne soon became absorbed 

 in the scientific study of earthquakes. He founded 

 the Seismological Society of Japan, and edited — or 

 rather, to be more accurate — edited and wrote the 

 Seismological Journal, and the Transactions of the 

 Seismological Society. Milne's two volumes of a later 

 date, on Earthquakes and Seismology have long been 

 standard text-books. 



Unfortunately the close of Milne's residence in 

 Japan coincided with a period of deep resentment felt 

 in that country against foreigners generally, and 

 immediately before his departure a disastrous fire 

 occurred at his residence at Tokio, possibly by accident,, 

 but more probably by design. The greater portion of 

 his valuable library and collection of instruments were 

 completely destroyed. 



In July 189.3, Professor .Milne and his wife,. 

 a Japanese lady, arrived in England. Within a few 

 weeks a small brick pier was erected and a pendulum 

 installed at the end of it. This was the foundation of 

 an observatory which, to-day, is well known in every 

 country in the world. With characteristic energy 

 Milne organized a net-work of recording stations 

 chiefly in < !reat Britain and the Colonies, and 

 his annual analyses enabled the scientist to deter- 

 mine the approximate positions of fifty-seven world- 

 shaking earthquakes a year. Not the least im- 

 portant part of Milne's work was the successful attempt 

 to determine the types of building that are best fitted 

 to withstand the brunt of severe shocks. 



In the course of his career. Professor Milne's 

 ability received the highest recognition by the Koyal 

 Society, the Hoyal Geological Society and the Uni- 

 versity of Oxford. For his services to the Japanese 

 Government, he was awarded the Third Class Order of 

 the Rising Sun. 



