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COLLEGE OE TROPICAL AGRICULTURE. 



University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, 



Los Bangs, October 22, 1912. 



The Editor of the Tropical Agriculturist, Colombo, Ceylon. 



Dear Sir: — I note in your issue of September, 1912, pages 225 

 and 256, some observations regarding the need of a tropical col- 

 lege of agriculture, and the statement that "Neither Great Britain 

 nor the United States of America can be said to have a tropical 

 department worthy of the name, attached to any of their agricul- 

 tural colleges." This is probably literally true, as the Philippines 

 are not, strictly speaking, a part of the United States, and the 

 University of the Philippines is supported entirely from the rev- 

 enues of the insular Government. There is, however, the College 

 of Agriculture of this University operating under the American 

 flag, thoroughly well established with some 280 students and more 

 than three years of work to its credit. I believe that it accom- 

 plishes exactly the end you desire to be accomplished by a tropical 

 college of agriculture, and that the instruction given in it covers 

 sufficiently closely that which is desired in Ceylon and elsewhere 

 in the tropics, so that students trained here would be found well 

 trained for use in other tropical countries. 



However, I do not, for a moment, think that the presence of a 

 well equipped college in the Philippines which has already demon- 

 strated that it can give a good education in tropical agriculture, 

 is to be entertained as a reason for not establishing similar insti- 

 tutions in other tropical lands. On the other hand, the demand 

 which has been shown here for instruction in tropical agriculture 

 is the best possible reason for believing that similar institutions 

 will succeed elsewhere. This college opened its doors in 1909, 

 and during the first year had 55 students. The attendance was 

 95 the second year, 177 the third year, and is now, as already 

 stated, more than 280. The demand for admission promises to 

 be so great next year that the proposition of limiting the attend- 

 ance seems to be seriously considered. There is such an indus- 

 trial demand for the graduates that, except in the case of a few 

 individuals who are educated under contract to enter the Govern- 

 ment service, none of them have so far been willing to do so. I 

 do not imagine that there is such a demand for agricultural edu- 

 cation in Ceylon or in any other tropical British colony as there 

 is in the Philippines, but the success which has attended the work 

 of a college of agriculture here should certainly be a great en- 

 couragement to those interested in this project elsewhere. 



Very respectfully, 



E. B. COPELAND, 



Dean, College of x\griculture. 



