E. J. BUTLER 71 



Article 16. — States bound by the present Conven.tion sliall not treat 

 non-contracting States more favourably than contracting States, 



Article 17. — The present Convention shall be signed and ratified as 

 soon as possible and the ratifications shall be deposited with the Italian 

 Government as soon as at least thiee contracting States are in a position to 

 do so. 



Each ratification shall be communicated by the Italian Government 

 to the other contracting States as well as to the International Institute of 

 Agriculture. 



Article 18. — States which have not signed the present agreement shall 

 be allowed to adhere on their request. 



Colonies shall be permitted to adhere on the same conditions as inde- 

 pendent States, at the request of the States of which they are dependencies. 



Article 19. — Adherence shall be notified through diplomatic channels to 

 the Italian Government and by the latter to the contracting Governments as 

 w^ell as to the International Institute of Agriculture. 



Article 20. — Ratification or adherence shall be accompanied by a formal 

 declaration that the State possesses at least the services indicated in 

 paragraphs 2, 3, and i of Article 2. 



The present Convention will become effective : for the first three States 

 at least which shall have ratified it, in a period of three months from the date 

 of ratification ; for other States, in a period of six months from the deposit 

 with the Italian Government of their ratification or adherence. 



Article 21. — If it should happen that a contracting State wishes to denounce 

 the present Convention, either for the whole of its temtories or only for all 

 or a part of its colonies, the denunciation shall be notified to the Italian Gov- 

 ernment which shall immediately communicate a true copy of the notification 

 to all the other States informing them of the date on which it has been received. 



The denunciation will only have effect in regard to the State which shall 

 have notified it or of such colonies as are indicated in the act of denunciation, 

 and that only one year after the notification shall have boon received by the 

 Italian Government. 



