312 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 27. 1913. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Barbados. 



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^Igriniltiiral |lriuH 



Vol. XII. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1913. No. 298. 



^NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this niinuber deals with considera- 

 tions in regard to advertising the West Indies. The 

 importance of trade representatixes on the different 

 markets is discussed, together with the value of repre- 

 sentation at exhibitions. 



On page 307, information is given in regard to 

 matters relating to agricultural cc-operacion locally, as 

 well as in the Philippine Islands. 



Under Live Stock Notes, on page 309, a remarkable 

 case cf a fertile mule is described. 



The subject of a reversible steel barrel, which has 

 attracted so much attenlion, has been followed up by 

 this ])epaitment, anil a i;ote thereon will be found 

 on page 311. 



On page 312, a few suggestions are put forward in 

 connexion with the proposed extension of banana culti- 

 vation in British Guiana. 



The rules of the tireijada JSranch Agricultural 

 Societies are summarized on page 313. 



Insect Notes, on page 314, contain much miscel- 

 laneous matter of immediate interest. 



Under the heading, Students' Corner, reference is 

 made to the forthcoming examinations in practical 

 agriculture, conducted by the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Banana Cultivation in British Guiana. 



lender the heading of Minor Agricultural Industries, 

 the Demerara Daily Chronicle (Mail Edition, August 

 20, 1913) — which has for some time agitated for 

 an extension of the area under banana cultivation in 

 British Guiana— warmly protests against a statement 

 made by the United Fruit Company to the effect that 

 the supply of bananas is exceeding the demand. 

 A statement to the opposite effect is quoted from 

 a recent issue of the Agricidtaral Neirs. And our 

 contemporary is perfectly right. So far as reliable 

 information is available, there is no indication of 

 a future glut. For instance the recent special supple- 

 ment to the Chamber of Commerre Journal{Ja\y 1913) 

 says: 'The increasing consumption of bananas in 

 a number of cotmtrics naturally raises the question of 

 an adequate supply to meet the coming demand.' 



The following statistics seem rather significant, in 

 regard to a British Guiana supply. Out of 6,978,807 

 bunches of bananas, valued at £1,904,200, imported 

 into the United Kingdom in 1912, 2,644,311 bunches, 

 valued at £66-5,014; came from Colombia, and 2,-588,109 

 bunches, valued at £648,090, from Costa Rica. Only 

 67,276 bunches, valued at £10,.58(;. went to the United 

 Kingdom from the West Indies. 



Why should not British Guiana participate in the 

 trade of Colombia and Costa Rica:' 



If the existing temerity is chiefly occasioned by 

 the present freight arrangements, proper but deter- 

 mined representation should be made at headquarters 

 immediately. 



Views on the Establishment of Agricultural 

 Colleges in the Tropics. 



The opinion has already been expressed in these 

 columns, that the initiativi- action as regards the 

 establishment of agricuhural colleges in the Tropics 

 should emanate from the British Universities rather 

 than from the general public or from official quarters. 

 Public grants and Government subsidies mightreason- 

 ably be looked for in the Tropics as they are in England, 

 but the initiation and the administrative control 

 should be in the hands of well-established universities. 

 In the words of Professor Farmer, great educational 

 institutions cannot be \;reated by a stroke of the admini- 

 strative pen. They mu^tgrow and justify their existence. 

 The fostering action of a mother institution should 

 tend most of all to"6nsure this natural development. 



In an article in Tropiccd Life (August 1913) 

 great importance is attached to the circuinstance that 

 British financial interests are greater in the East than 

 in the West; this, it is believed, renders tlie raising of 

 funds in the East more practicable than in the West. 

 A further view expressed is that, as regards Govern- 

 ment support, the proposed West Indian agricultural 

 college should be as deserving of as much liberality as 

 an institution like the British Cotton Growing 

 Association. 



The.<e views have much to support them, but it is 

 very necessary to distinguish between the establish- 

 ment and maintebance of different concerns, The 



