338 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 28, 191L 



there is little doubt that such an etfort at specialization 

 as is here suggested will be of iiiuaense service in 

 economizing the energies of those engaged in the var- 

 ious duties and in informing ihe public for whose bene- 

 fit these organizations or instituiions exist, of the 

 real nature of the dutii-s they profess to undertake. In 

 this waj^ the public is enabled to judge more accurately 

 of the \alue of the work that is done, and incidentally 

 to form a clvar idea oi' the needs of the institutions and 

 to ensure the pmpiT nppii)pririii(in of funds, and of 

 other means of support and management. 



To scientific workers in agriculiure, the specializa- 

 tion aimed at would prove to be of great assistance. 

 The immense volume of agricultural literature renders 

 it impossible for any individual to deal with more than 

 a very linuted portion, and there is always the fear that 

 some important {loint may escape notice; while the feel- 

 ing also exists that valuable time may be lost by expert 

 workers in reading much material having solely for its 

 object the presentation of well-known, (siablished facts 

 in a form that will render them attractive and ultimate- 

 ly serviceable toiess informed readers. 



What is said with regard to publications niaj- in 

 a great measure apply to the institutions themselves. 

 Under the large conditions of the United States, it is 

 poasiblu to a.i-k f(ir a marked degree of specialization in 

 the work of various institutions dealing with agricul- 

 tural matters in their different phase?: hence, as time 

 goes on, an increasingly complete severance of such 

 functions as teaching and investigating, and of speciali- 

 zation in these branches themselves, may be expected. 

 With large communities and complex conditions, spec- 

 ialization is an essential feature of development; but one 

 which, if carried to extrvines, brings concomitant disad- 

 vantages. 



In turning attention to colonial ami particularly 

 West Indian conditions, it is readily seen that these 

 preclude specialization in any high degree; indeed, 

 a feature of colonial life is its retpiirement of ability to 

 cope with a wide range of conditions and circumstances 

 and to perform functions that, in older or larger com- 

 munities, would be assigned to special experts. This 

 phase was largely in evidence in the United States 

 until quite recently, but appears, at least in populous 

 centres, to be passing away. Ic is a state that still 

 exists to a considerable extent in communities in the 

 West Indies. 



This condition is reflected in rhe work of local 

 Departments of Agriculture in the West Indies, with 

 their associated Botanic and Experiment Stations. 



Popular conception, rarely precise, demands of these 

 most diverse duties^duties that tiuctuate largely 

 from year to year with the changes in local conditions 

 and needs. These instituLions are required to com- 

 bine the functions of experimenting in the introduc- 

 tion of new cr.ipsand new methods or the improvement 

 of oid one.'; of performing the duties known as exten- 

 sion woik. that is to ,say the efforts at popularizing and 

 applying the knowledge so gained; while at the same 

 time they are called upon to act as centres for 

 the distribution of plants and seeds needed for local 

 industries, thus undertaking many of the functions 

 which in larger ])laces de\olve upon ommercial 

 nurserymen. Further, they are regarded as the 

 repositories of information concerning local agriculturail 

 industries, and particularly as regards difficuliies or 

 troubles that may arise, as for examjile, in connexion 

 with pests or diseases, or imperfect methods of dealing 

 either with soils or products There is the added fact 

 that in the majority of cases the work is carried on in 

 furroundingj having the natn.re of parks or gardens, 

 regarded by the public as places of resort for pleasure 

 and recreation. 



No doubt this ;aust be accepted as essential to the 

 partictdar stage of development; but what is implied 

 by the conditions should be clea.ly evident to the minds 

 of those responsible for maint.iining ami working agri- 

 cultural institiitions under these circumstances. As has 

 been indicated, the state of evolution of the experi- 

 ment station in the West Indies necessitates its employ- 

 ment in several various directions and for many 

 different needs. It is therefore the duty of the worker 

 in it carefidly to discriminate between the purposes 

 for which it is employed; while those for whom it exists 

 should be able; to take a broad view of the rjtnge of its 

 activities, in order that they may appreciate the fact 

 that its work cannot be made subservient to any 

 limited set of interests. 



'I'he matter under discussion reijuirod this digres- 

 sion from the consideration of the pttrposes fulfilled in 

 the issue of publications, to that of t!ie many-sided 

 work of the experiment stations. To return to the 

 former, it is expedient, in this plac&, to ind cate the 

 functions of the chief publications issued by this Depart- 

 ment In these an attempt is made to attain, at least 

 in some degree, the specialization which is requested 

 in the publication n.imed at the commencement of this 

 article. This present journal, the Agricultar'd News, has 

 for its particular object, to state it shortly, that which is 

 epitomized in the expression Extension Work; while the 

 llVsi Indian BidUiin [mvporls to deal with mattery 



