Vol. X. No. 231. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



71 



THE IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF 

 AGRICULTURE IN THE 

 WEST INDIES. 



A paper with tliis title was read, with lantern illustra- 

 tions, by Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M ()., late Commissioner 

 of Agriculture tor the West Indies, at a meeting of the Royal 

 Colonial Institute, held at the Whitehall Room?, Hotel 

 Metropole, on January 10, 1911. The chair was taken by 

 the Right Hon. Lord Brassey, G.C.B. Sir Daniel prefaced 

 his paper by draw-ing attention to the possession by the 

 British of some of the richest portions of the tropics, the 

 extent of the area being about 3,000,000 square miles, or 

 1,920 million acres, with a population of about 300 millions, 

 and an estimated value of exports of not less than '230 

 million sterling. In regard to the portion of this area known 

 as the AVest Indies in its widest sense, that is comprising the 

 West Indies, the Bahamas, Bermuda, British Honduras and 

 British Guiana, it was stated that the area is 109,836 square 

 miles, with a population estimated at 2,300,000, and a total 

 trade having a value of about 22 million pounds. Further, 

 in regard to the West Indies it was pointed out that thi.s 

 total trade had increased, in exact figures, from £15,647,SIG 

 in 1903 to £21,429,301 in 1909. Sir Daniel gave as the 

 causes of this increased prosperity : (1) the revival of confi- 

 dence in the sugar industry as the result of the abolition of 

 bounties; (2) the increase in the production of cacao in 

 Trinidad, Grenada and .Jamaica; (3) the development of the 

 American fruit trade in .Jamaica; (4) the introduction of Sea 

 Island cotton into St. Vincent, Barbados and the Leeward 

 Islands: (.5) the extension of the cultivation of limes in Domin- 

 ica and of rice in British Guiana. 



Coming to the subject of the paper, namely the work of 

 the Imperial l>epartment of Agriculture in the West Indies, 

 it was pointed out first of all that this Department was 

 created on the recommendation of a Royal Commission, made 

 in 1897. For the purpose of this creation, funds were voted 

 by Parliament on August 2, 1908, on the motion of 

 Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, and the average amount that had 

 been expended up to 1908 was at the rate of £17,400 per 

 annum, of which about £.5,000 was required for the Head 

 Office, the remainder being used for grants in aid of r.otanic 

 and Experiment Stations and agricultural education in 

 the individual colonies. The account proceeded to a descrip- 

 tion of the wide activities of the Imperial Comiriissioner 

 of Agriculture both in connexion with tlic larger and 

 the smaller colonies, and pointed out that, as far as 

 the larger colonies po.ssessing their own departments of 

 agriculture are concerned, Trinidad had taken advantage of 

 the services of the Mycologist, in 1906, while the Govern- 

 ment of British Guiana had made application for the services 

 of the Entomologist, in 1908. 



After giving an outline of the general duties of the 

 Department, and stating that the details of its working have 

 been presented regularly for discussion at tiie several West 

 Indian Agricultural Conferences that have been held, the 

 lecturer pointed out that, among the experiments carried on 

 by the Department, those with .sugar-cane had proved of 

 great service in the West Indies, and that their usefulness 

 had extended to other countries, such as the Southern United 

 States, Australia, Xatal and Mauritius. In the s.ame con- 

 nexion, reference was made to the developments in the 

 direction of the establishment of .sugar factories in Antigua, 

 with a pro.spective factory in St. Kitts, owing mainly to the 

 efiforts in the former instance of Sir Gerald Strickland, 

 K.C.M.G., late Governor of the Leeward Islands, and 



Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G.,the present Imperial Commissioner. 

 The sugar industry, further, was showing the good fruits of 

 the recommendation of the Royal Commission to which 

 reference has been made, namely that less dependence should 

 be placed in the West Indies on that industry, and that 

 a greater diversification of agricultural interests should be 

 brought about. In illustration of this, the value of sugar- 

 cane products had declined during the past few years, while 

 as has been seen, the total exports had increased. 



As an example of a case where the greatest good had 

 resulted from a scientific investigation conducted by an 

 Officer of the Department, Sir Daniel referred to the work of 

 Mr. Jlaxwell-Lefroy, the first Entomologist on the StaflF, in 

 connexion with the moth borer of the sugar-cane — work that 

 had placed planters in possession of a full knowledge of the 

 life-history of this pest, as well as of the means of controlling 

 it. 



The industry second in importance to sugar, namely 

 cacao production, had also greatly benefited by the work 

 of the Depaitment. Later, reference was made to limes 

 and lime products, which form the material of an industry 

 not as old as the sugar and cacao industries, but one which 

 has been established for some years, and is making good 

 progress, notably in Dominica, Montserrat and .Jamaica. In 

 this relation, reference was made to the useful work that is 

 being done by the West India Committee in extending the 

 interest in limes and lime products, in the LTnited Kingdom. 



For the purpose of showing the possibility of the develop- 

 ment of new industries in the West Indies, attention was 

 drawn to rice-growing in British Guiana, the cultivation of 

 Sea Island cotton, the increased exports of limes and lime 

 products, and the greater interest that is being taken in 

 tobacco-growing, particularly in Jamaica, as well as to the 

 establishment of rubber plantations, more especially in British 

 Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago. The development of the second 

 of these, namely the growing of Sea Island cotton, had been 

 initiated by the importation by the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture of the best seed from the .Sea Islands, in 1903. 

 The growth of the industry is shown by the fact that, while 

 7,600 acres was planted in 1904, the area in 1908 was 24,000 

 acres, and there was the further circumstance that the total 

 exports of cotton from the West Indies, including Marie 

 Galante, now amount to 1.5,000,000 lb., with a value, in 

 lint and seed, of £800,000. In connexion with this matter, 

 Sir Daniel referred to the valuable assistance that has been 

 received from the British Cotton Growing Association, as 

 well as from the interest of manufacturers in Lancashire, 

 through whom most useful guidance for dealing with the crop 

 had been obtained in the West Indies. 



After referring to the work of distribution of planting 

 material from Botanic Stations in the West Indies, the 

 lecturer gave a review of what has been done in connexion 

 with education and with the co-ordination of the etlbrts of 

 scientific workers in dififerent parts of the colonies. The 

 success of the Department in this and other work had led to 

 the formation of l)epartments of Agriculture in other parts of 

 the world, on much the same lines — a policy that was show- 

 ing itself worthy of continuation. 



In conclusion, the lecturer made special reference to the 

 valuable assistance that has been given by the Royal Gardens 

 at Kew, with the aid of the Imperial Institute, as well as by 

 the West India Committee and the West India Club, finally 

 quoting opinions as to the usefulness of the work of the 

 Department, expressed by members of the recent Royal 

 Commission, and stating that, with the guarantee of its con- 

 tinued maintenance for a further period of years, it will do 

 much toward the general advancement of the West Indies. 



