THE JHAWAIIAN 



rORESTER I AGRICULTURIST 



Vol. XII. OCTOBER, 1915. No. 10 



TJVO RECENT BOOKS. 



In reviewing two new works the Philippine Journal of Science 

 offers the following introductory remarks, the author of the 

 article being Prof. C. F. Baker, A.M., an associate editor of the 

 Journal : 



"The literature of tropical agriculture has been notably en- 

 riched by the appearance of these two new works. The devel- 

 opment of tropical agriculture during the past twenty-five years 

 has presented many interesting and noteworthy features. It has 

 differed markedly from the development of temperate-region 

 agriculture, and it has been able to borrow comparatively little 

 from the latter. Many of its crops are entirely peculiar to the 

 tropics, and tropical conditions furnish a series of wholly unicjue 

 problems. Tropical planters have had to feel their way by pain- 

 ful steps, gradually gaining the local experience necessary for 

 successful, practical operations. Even this kind of development 

 has been far more rapid than in the case of temperate-region 

 agriculture, largely due to the fact that tropical agriculture has 

 been characterized by the investment of large capital. The cap- 

 ital invested gradually drew to its service well-trained technical 

 men from the temperate countries. In late years the establish- 

 ment in colonial possessions of active agricultural experimental 

 stations has given a great impetus to the development of the 

 technical side of tropical agriculture. Much of the early litera- 

 ture of tropical agriculture consisted of accounts of the personal 

 experiences in tropical planting of untrained men, some of whom, 

 however, in the school of hard experience finally became very 

 successful planters. Until within the last decade really high- 

 grade technical works on tropical agriculture were very few, and 

 even yet works like Semler's Tropische Agrikultur and War- 

 burg's Die Muskatnuss remain very rare." 



More than thirty years ago the late Albert Jaeger, the com- 

 missioner of agriculture who started Tantalus forest, remarked 

 to the present editor of the Forester that there was at that time 

 practically no literature of tropical agriculture. According to the 

 Philippine reviewer the lack has been only recently supplied, and 

 that with much yet to be accomplished. Readers of the For- 

 ester will recall some contributions from Hawaii to the literature 

 in question which have had wide publicity in ofticial prints and 



