136 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



April 22, 1916. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 





NOTICES. 



Barbados. 



The Ajowan Plant in the West Indies. 



During April 1915, a quantity of seed of Garum 

 copticum, the Ajowan plant, from which thymol is 

 obtained, was received from the Royal Batanic Gardens, 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 ■specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 •Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 H'ews ' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents, and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page 3 of 

 ■the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, 



Agriculture for the West Indies F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Scientific Assistant and 



Assistant Editor 

 Jlntomoloyist 

 -Mycologist 



CLERICAL 

 •Chief Clerk 

 Assistatit Clerk 

 ■Junior Clerk 

 Assistant Junior Clerk 

 Typist 



.Assistants for Publications 



W. p,. Dunlop. 

 H. A. Ballou, M.Sc. 

 W. Nowell, D.I.C. 

 STAFF. 



A. G. Howell. 

 M. B Connell. 

 W. P. Bovell, 

 P. Taylor. 

 Miss B. Robinson, 

 f A. B. Price, Fell. Joiun. Inst. 

 \L. A. Corbin. 



Jigriculiural Ifeiufi 



Vol. XV. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1916. No. 



365. 



Some interesting items ofnews will be found under 

 the caption Down the Islands on page 1 'M. 



Insect Notes in this issue contains an article deal- 

 ing with the sugar cane borer and its control by means 

 of parasites and poisons. An article on sings will 

 also be found on the same page. 



Kew, and distributed to the different islands of the 

 Windward and Leeward groups. The plant in question 

 is grown principally in India, and as a cold weather 

 crop. Observations concerning its power to grow in 

 the West Indies are therefore of considerable botanical, 

 as well as of economSfc interest. 



A letter has recently been received from the 

 Agricultural Superintendent, St. Kitts, to the effect 

 that the seed germinated well at the Experiment 

 Station, many plants being raised. They grow to 

 a height of about 2 feet, and seed is being collected for 

 further trials. The plants were much beaten down by 

 heavy rains, however, and it would appear that drier 

 situations might yield more satisfactory results. As 

 noted in the Agricultural Neivs, No. 3.5.5 of 1915, 

 a similar report to that from St. Kitts was received 

 from St. Lucia. The plant is also known to have 

 developed satisfactorily in Montserrat, and if the 

 damage inflicted by heavy rains could be avoided, 

 there seems to be no reason, especially after acclima- 

 tization, why this plant could not be grown on a com- 

 mercial scale in the West Indies, provided there was 

 sufficient economic inducement to do .so. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this issue deals with the necessity 

 for a system of education which will engender a scien- 

 tific habit of mind amongst individuals in every 

 community. 



On pages 134 and 135 will be found an account of 

 part of the second day's proceedings at the West Indian 

 Cotton Conference recently held in St. Kitts. The 

 account will be continued in the next i.ssue of this 

 Journal. 



The New School of Tropical Agriculture, 



Ceylon. 



The opening of the School of Tropical Agriculture 

 in Ceylon in January this year is referred to again in 

 a recent issue of The Tropiral. Agriculturist. This 

 institution is in pro.ximity to the famous Botanic Gardens 

 at Peradeniya, and has been inaugurated in an 

 economical way, no excessive outlay having been 

 incun-ed on buildings and equipment, while the 

 expenditure connected with providing a teaching staff 

 will be met to some extent b}- tuition fees of the 

 students. 



Although sonic years must necessarily elapse 

 before the effect of the school is clearly felt and under- 

 stood in the agricultural welfare of Ceylon, it is reason- 

 able to believe that this effect will be cumulative. 



The providing of some elementaiy scientific train- 

 ing for young men "who intend to devote themselves 

 to agriculture is only a part of the objects of the 

 School. The teachers of the (Jovernment vernacular 

 schools are to take the course in order to qualify them 

 for teaching agricult?h"e. The nuiid)er of these teachers 

 will probably be increased annually, till all who pass 

 the Training College will be sent to Peradeniya, 

 before being appointed to village schools. Boys in the 

 country will therefore be taught something about the 

 land and its products by teachers possessing some 

 knowledge of the subject themselves. In this way, too, 

 the functions and benefits ot the Department of 

 Agriculture will become familiarized to the minds of 

 the people, enabling the Department to get into close 

 touch with both the planter and village cultivator, 

 and their needs. 



