B. P. I.— 33. 8. >V P. I. A: I). — J7. 



LETTERS ON AGRICULTURE IN THE WEST INDIES', SPAIN, 



AND THE ORIENT. 



agriculture in the british west indies. 



Port of Spain, 

 Trinidad, British West Indies, 



January 30, 1902. 



Considerable shipments of West Indian yams" have been arranged 

 for, which I believe will form an addition to the root crops of the Gulf 

 States, and of Florida especially. These yams are the staple food of 

 the Jamaican blacks, and are worthy of general introduction to Ameri- 

 can tables. They are totally distinct from what are usually known in 

 America as yams, belonging to quite a different family of plants. They 

 yield a ver} r large amount of food material per acre, the average of 

 three years' trial in Trinidad being over ten tons. 



You will be interested in an account of the preparations which are 

 being made in the British West Indies to establish experiment stations 

 and agricultural colleges for the investigation of problems in tropical 

 agriculture and for the instruction of planters and natives in modern 

 methods. 



I was present at a special meeting of the Jamaica Institute in Kings- 

 ton, where was discussed the plans for an experiment station to be 

 established in Jamaica. I met there the representative scientists and 

 agricultural educators of the island, and at their request spoke to them 

 on the organization of American agricultural colleges and experiment 

 stations. From the acquaintances made at the meeting I learned that 

 it was their aim to model the new station after the American plan. 



The Royal West Indian Commission has recommended in its report 

 on the means which should be employed to relieve agricultural depres- 

 sion in the islands, the establishment of a department of agriculture to 

 be supported by Imperial grant, and not, as in India, to be dependent 

 upon the colonial government. The expressed purpose of this new 

 department is the "restoring of the sugar industry to a condition in 

 which it could be profitably carried on, and to encourage the establish- 

 ment of other industries in such colonies as afford suitable conditions 



« See p. 12 of this bulletin. 



