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gators and place it in the possession of the people. This it 

 does clneiiy through the young as in all branches of education, 

 but those of the middle aged and the old, who are yet young 

 in spirit should profit much by its teaching. 



Until a very few 5^ears ago practically all the work of re- 

 search in agriculture had been done in the temperate zone. 

 It is true that there had been botanic gardens in tropical coun- 

 tries, where collections of tropical plants had been cultivated, 

 but experiment stations or other institutions for the study of 

 the laws of agriculture in the tropics or of the application of 

 known laws to tropical conditions are of the most recent ad- 

 vent. Naturally enough, however, these stations have pre- 

 ceded the institutions for higher agricultural education. The 

 unique opportunity has presented itself to the people of Ha- 

 Avaii to establish the college of tropical agriculture of America. 

 There is today no college on American soil so located and 

 equipped as to supply the needs of the American student seek- 

 ing instruction of a high grade in tropical agriculture. The 

 need of such an institution is apparent in view of the tropical 

 areas which have recently been added to the domain of the 

 United States. The Philippines, Hawaii and Porto Rico will 

 call for a large force of young men trained in tropical agri- 

 culture. A few years ago there were those who prophesied 

 that there would be an over-production of graduates from the 

 colleges of agriculture on the mainland. As the number has 

 grown the demand has increased, and there are today more 

 openings for the hundreds than there were a few years ago 

 for the tens. These yoimg men are demanded not only by 

 institutions for research and instruction, but by private em- 

 ployers in many capacities. The man of wealth with large 

 country estates seeks a manager at the agricultural college or 

 among its men already in the field. Further, the young man 

 of today who intends engaging in agriculture as a private 

 business, if he is alive to his opportunities, avails himself of 

 the advantages afforded by one of the agricultural colleges. 



As progress is made in the development of the agricultural 

 resources of Hawaii and other American tropical territory 

 there will be an increasing demand for young men trained in 

 tropical agriculture. I know of a young man who recently 

 received an offer as a plant breeder in the tropics. The offer 

 came from a business corporation, and the remuneration 

 would have been in the neighborhood of $5,000 per year at 

 the start. This single field of plant breeding will occupy the 

 attention of large numbers of young men in the future, and 

 no field is more promising or will be more prolific in results 

 than the tropics. Little has been done to improve tropical 

 plants and with the exception of a few species, there has been 

 practically no plant breeding. The work of Burbank, which 

 has justly attracted so much attention will be repeated in 



