Sis 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



OCTOBER 2, 1909; 



ELE- 

 Se. D. 



AdRICULTVRE IS THE TROl'K'S : AX 

 II ENTAKY TREATISE, By J- C. Wir.Lis, .M.A., 

 Camhfidijc Jjiological Series. 



This book is not in any way a ' Tropical Agricultuio " in 

 the technical or text-book sense. No attempt has been made 

 in writing it to produce a work that shall be primarily of use 

 in field or factory work, neither is the information in it of such 

 form or character as to make it a mere school-book. All such 

 aims are disclaimed in the preface, and the reader is asked to 

 regard it as a pioneer work, in which tlie subject is discussed 

 in a general manner, before it .shall be approached in a more 

 technical and academic way. It is intended to be ' helpful 

 :uid thought-stimulating for the student, the administrator, 

 or the traveller ' — a purpose which it appears to fulfil 

 admirably. 



The general scheme which is folluwed deals first of all 

 with the things that must be brought under consideration 

 before any definite conclusion can be reached as to the agri- 

 cultural methods which will be suitable for any given country, 

 and shows how those that are already existent in dift'ereut 

 parts of the world are the outcome of the conditions of soil, 

 climate, topography of the countr}-, state of the population, 

 land tenure, tradition, and the infiuence of the more civilized 

 races. In Chapters III and VIII the relation between 

 ])Oi)ulati(in and the provision of labour, and the gradual 

 change that has taken place in agriculture in the tropics since 

 primitive times, are dealt with briefly and clearly. In natural 

 .se(|uence, this part of the subject is folhjwed by an account 

 of the principal plants cultivated in the tropics. Each of 

 these only occupies a brief space, well proportioned to its 

 relative importance, but withal, is considered very completely 

 in a broad and general way, so that the reader easily gains 

 an idea of its mode of growth and cultivation, its economic 

 jKi.sition, and the ways in which products of commercial value 

 !ire obtained from it, without being distracted by a mass of 

 detail that could only be of interest to a s])ecialist. 



In continuation, the third part of the work deals with 

 "ways in which agriculture is, and .should be, conducted in the 

 tropics, especially with reference to the position of the 

 peasant and the capitalist grower in regard to finance ; modes 

 of agricultural piractice and the means to be taken for their 

 improvement, the use of education to this end being con- 

 sidered particularly ; and the agricultural needs of both 

 peasant and capitalist enterprise. Chapters III and IV, which 

 are devoted to the two first mentioned subjects, are notably 

 ■iiseful, and as the broad concise method already referred to 

 lias been followed, they allow them to be grasjied in an easy 

 manner. Finally, in Part IV, consideration is given to agri- 

 <;ultural organization and policy, and the work of agricultural 

 'departments, especially in relation to the administrative 

 functions of the forms of Government in connexion with 

 which they will operate. 



As may be expected, there is a tendency for the subject 

 to be dealt with more especially in relation to Ceylon, 

 where, of course, the author's interests are greatest, but this 

 is never permitted to oust the claims to consideration of other 



tropical countries. Apparently, the conditions which have 

 caused the rise, fall, revival or survival of certain agricultural 

 industries in ditferent parts of the world are given fairly: 

 though, in this connexion, it would have been more satisfac- 

 tory if the statement of the elfect of the continental bounty 

 system in reducing the prosperity of those engaged in the 

 sugar industry in the West Indies had not been deferred 

 from page 54 to piage 187. A certain amount of repetition 

 is noticeable in reading the book, but this is not objectionable, 

 being necessary in a work of the kind, and expedient in that 

 it serves to give a clearer presentation of the subject. Among 

 minor details there may be noted the fact that the descriptiou 

 of green manuring which is given would lead to the idea that 

 leguminous plants, only, are useful in that connexion : that 

 returns for the last f?w years are sometimes omitted from 

 the statistics given in the introduction: and that the index 

 though good as a rule, often fails in the matter of references to 

 native names of plants and products. 



A prevailing note of the book is that of the necessity 

 for the exercise of caution, especially in dealing with native 

 races engaged in agriculture, who have carried this on 

 for centuries in much the same way. It is well brought 

 forward that hasty and ill-conceived action will end in 

 putting ofl' the commencement of progress for a long' 

 period ; that respect should be had to native prejudices : that 

 the correct preliminary to the introduction of innovations is 

 to find out what the peasant already knows and how this can- 

 be u.sed in the process of leading up to the adoption of 

 modern methods : that gradual improvement of native- 

 implements is preferable to the attempt to enforce the employ- 

 ment of modern kinds, vhich the native will find hard t<^ use 

 and impossible to repair : an<l that, before introducing new- 

 plants or different agricultural methods either in cultivation, 

 or manuring, it is well to be convinced of the usefulness and 

 efficacy of these by means of careful experiment. 



Unencumbered by detail and characterized throughout by 

 clearness, this readable book is almost indespensable to the 

 person ignorant of the conditions of tropical agriculture 

 who wishes to gain a knowledge of them, as well as to the 

 one who seeks general information outside that of his owd 

 experience. Over twenty-five good half-tone illustrations add tr> 

 its interest, and it is, needless to say,produced in excellent stvle. 



Dominica Exhibits at the Canadian National 

 Exhibition. 



According to the Dominica Ofiiclal Gazette, 78 

 exhibits were sent, under the auspices of the Permanent 

 Kxhibition Committee, on August 16, 1909, to the 

 Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto. 



Of these, the samples from estates were as follows : — 

 raw lime juice (seven estates) ; concentrated lime juice (four 

 estates) ; distilled lime oil (five estates) ; hand pressed lime 

 oil (three estates) ; green limes (six estates) ; cacao (four 

 estates) : nutmegs with niace (two estates) ; nutmegs (three 

 estates) ; and the following, each from one estate : Liberian 

 cotfee, bay oil, otto of limes, essential oil of limes, mace, and 

 Roseau plumes for decorative purposes. 



From the ]{ot;inic Station there were sent : bush 

 coffee {Cojf'ea sle/iophp/ln), Congo coffee (Coffea ru/mxta), 

 Liberian coffee {Cojf'ed Lihiiiea), cacao, cola nuts, lime juice^ 

 bilimbi fruits, nutmeg fruits and limes. 



Other exhibitors were the Dominica Starch Factory, 

 Ltd., the Dominica Fruit (Growers' A.ssociation, and the Per- 

 manent l''.xliibition Committee. Of these, the first exhibited 

 ' Dominax ' (a food for stock) and cassava starch ; the second,, 

 green limes in a barrel and crates; and the last, Carib baskets. 



