320 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



OcToBKi; 10, 1914. 



■ as event as the passing of the St. Vincent Agricultural 

 •■Credit Ordinance, although it was not done with that 

 motive, can now be seen stimulating the formation of 

 ■credit societies in other places. 



Such examinations of the past enable estimates to 

 be formed of the future, and will provide illustrations 

 of the adage that even in agriculture, history repeats 

 it.se]f. 



Coming more particularly to the recent history of 

 West Indian industries and scientific efforts, no better 

 idea of the tendencies and difficulties can be got than 

 by perusing the volumes of the quarterly journal of 

 this Department. There have been big changes. 

 Occasionally statements are made to the effect that the 

 -average planter tends to be conservative in his ideas. 

 Whether this be true or not the fact remains that we 

 have all lieen forcibly carried along into new com- 

 •inercial and scientific phases. At the beginning of 

 the last decade there was practicall}' no industrial 

 -iirganization in the West Indies and no co-ordinated 

 research. Here the impression must not be given 

 that the work <jf one or two isolated investigators is 

 negligable, nor that the enterprise of individual 

 planters at this time may be (jverlooked. On the 



• contrary', the conunendable and valuable nature of such 

 work from the point of view of the historian serves to 

 show up the general need for more of it at that time, 



• and its worth is thereby I'Uiphasized. 



But from the point of \icw of the genei'al develop- 

 ment of the present industrial fabric, it is interesting 

 to observe that at the beginning of the last decade the 

 ■pioneer investigators concentrated their attention on 

 individual difficulties and requirements. Natvn-ally 

 pi-oblems were definitely circumscribed. There was 

 the new woi'k with varieties of seedling sugar-canes 

 and the investigation of its different diseases: the 

 manurial requirements of vai'ious crops were investi- 

 gated: and attention was more and more drawn to the 

 value of selection and the necessity for introducing 

 new minor crops. Later when the cotton industiy was 

 beginning to be 'establislied special attention was 

 given to the selection of this plant and to the study 

 ■of the new diseases it brought. All these matters, 

 however, were almdst entirely botanical and chemical, 

 though of course there were impbrtant economic aims 

 underlying all this work. But it was not Tintil about 

 190.5 that what may be fittingly termed the economic 

 period began. By now nnich of the chemical and 

 .selection work had resolved itself into routine investi- 

 gation, brightened, it is true, here and thei-e, by an 

 •original investigation carried on perhaps in a few 



spare hours when the routine work so pei'mitted. 

 But the economic period was one of organization, 

 and was characterized by extremely important develop- 

 ments, 



As examples of what has been done, reference 

 may be made to the Government organization of the 

 cotton industries in several islands, to the establish- 

 ment of the central sugar factory system, to the land 

 settlement organizations including credit systems, and 

 lastly t(j two such recent C(voperative institutions as 

 the Antigua Onion Growers' Association, and the 

 St. Lucia Government Lime Juice Factory. Then the 

 general administration of agricultural matters lias 

 vastly improved of recent years, Mhicli means that 

 educational facilities are better and that moi-e agri- 

 cultural literature is circulated. This improved 

 administrative machinery of a very technical kind 

 does not have to rely only upon local scientific 

 research for facts, ideas and material, liut can use 

 its knowledge and experience to draw upon other 

 places and employ imported information or material 

 to the best advantage. Such work is as \aluable 

 in its way as the investigation of local circumscrilied 

 problems, but it is not noticed so much uidess regarded 

 historically. 



Agricultural education has grown by perceptible 

 stages din-ing the last ten years and is now efficient as 

 far as it goes. In the absence of lai-ge sums of money, 

 which education is supposed to require, the West Indies 

 have had to work on the principle, which is a very 

 sound one, that almost anything can be made instruc- 

 tive if regarded intelligently. A typical mo\ement 

 has been to use secondary schools and Botanic (Jardens 

 and Experiment Stations as centres of education as 

 well as the siiiall holdings of the peasants where com- 

 petitions are held. Directed from a central office, 

 courses of instruction are arranged and without any 

 definite educational institution either as regards 

 personel or equipment three or four co-ordinated 

 educational schemes have been evoh ed for the benefit 

 of the inhabitants of these islands. This work again 

 has grown, and for its jjroper appreciation requires to 

 be studied historically. 



The observations that have been made in the 

 course of this article concerning the West Indies 

 in particular refer principally to official or (lovern- 

 ment efforts that have been made of recent years. 

 It will be understood that historical .studies can 

 be made back along other and l(jnger lines. The 



