A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



URRAk 

 NEW YOI 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. ™ A Z 



Vol. XIV. No. 346. 



BARBADOS, JULY 31, 1915. 



Price Id. 



CONTENTS. 



244 



Book Shelf ... . 

 15ull.uk Creeping Grii 



Ti actor 



■ II Notes 



West Indian < !ol ton 

 I >•■ - ii tmental Report* 

 Experiment Stal ion, 



Tortola 



Fungus Noti 



\ V n For i Black 



Root Disease of ( iacan 254 



Gleanings 252 



Hedges 253 



Insect Notes 



Pink Boll Worm 250 



Items of Local Interest .. 245 

 Jamaica LgriculturaJ 



S. .t-ii-t \ 255 



Loquat, The 244 



Market Reports 250 



Nature Teaching, Art of... 241 



Sugar Industry : 



Manurial Valueoi Filter- 

 Pi ss Cake 242 



Sweet Potatoes, < llassiiica- 



tion of ... 249 



Teak on \\ aste Land ... 253 

 Tobacco, Indian . ... 251 

 Ton ati es, 1 'h ect ions for 



Canning '-'II 



Wattle Bark, Extraction 



of Tannin from 2 19 



We. ds, Eradic f ... 248 



Wesl In. lii's in Canada, 

 1915 248 



The Art of Nature Teaching. 



! ~.y\ ■*-", X important Paper referred to as Circular 

 fiy--^, lY4 '• •< > 4. has been received from the English 

 t Liwa ns^ l!".-ii-il hi Education, containing suggestions 

 for the c msidi ration of teachers and others concerned 

 in til.- work ofelementar) science in primar) schools. 

 The suggestions are quite general in application, and 

 they apply to the junior classes of secondary schools in 

 the Wesl [ndies as well as bo the primar) schools of 

 thesi colonies. In vievv of the encouragement and 

 financial support many of our local Governments are 

 giving tu this side ofelementar) education, a discussion 

 •f certain aspects of the subject in these pages may 

 not be "in 'it place, and especially as the subject is one 

 which directly concerns many of our Departments of 

 Agriculture. 



From tin- riiiiiiiii'iict'ini'iit, the Paper referred to 

 emphasizes the paramount importance of the skill 



(rather than the know ledge) of the teacher. 'He need 

 n.it, it is stated, 'have a specialized training in 

 science; but he should be genuinely interested in tin- 

 subject of his lessons, and. so far as it goes, his 

 knowledge should be first hand and accurate. It is 

 useless for him to select a subject in which he is 



entirely dependent on text 1 ks. Ee should know 



more than he sets out to teach; but good work 

 has frequently been dnm' by teachers whose 

 knowledge has at first been very limited, but 

 who have not been afraid to learn with, and 

 sometimes from, their pupils.' The Paper then 

 goes on to mention the sources from which the teacher 

 may obtain first hand information. 'Probably the best 

 "fall forms of help is obtained by the teacher who is 

 fortunate enough to be in touch with a good local 

 naturalist, and to accompany him mi some of his 

 excursions, or to see him at work. He is il"iil>I\- 

 fortunate if the naturalist himself is. or has been, 

 a teacher of children.' In the Wist Indus this kind 



of assistance can frequently 1 htained from one of 



the local agricultural officers, and by periodical visits to 

 the Botanic Gardens and Experiment Stations. In 

 fact co-operation between the Agricultural Depart- 

 ments and the Schools is a well-recognized condition 

 necessary for satisfactor) progress. 



In framing courses of stud) it is pointed out 

 that regard should be had to the special circum- 

 stances of the school. Man) objects of peculiar 

 interest can be profitably studied only in sp 

 districts, e.g. in dry localities, or on «<t land, or 

 by the sea. In the West Indies such limitations 

 are less than in England, and, on the whole, lack 



of instructive material or phen ena is the one 



thing West Indian schools cannot complain of. Some 

 danger exists in many instances where the teacher 



