PREFACE Vll 



experience is mainly confined to Asia, in Ceylon, India, Java, 

 and the Federated Malay States. On the agriculture of the 

 last named I have written a comprehensive report, which often 

 forms the basis of the present work, and I am much indebted 

 to the Government of that dependency for allowing the use of 

 it. I have also visited the American tropics, but have not been 

 in tropical Africa, though the heads (to be) of many African 

 departments of agriculture have come to Ceylon for part of 

 their training. 



It is a pleasure also to acknowledge the kindly encourage- 

 ment and help of many friends, among whom I would specially 

 mention Mr O. P. Austin, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics of 

 the United States Treasury Department, Dr Melchior Treub, 

 Director of Agriculture in the Dutch East Indies, Mr Francis 

 Darwin, late Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, Mr I. H. 

 Burkill, Reporter on Economic Products to the Government of 

 India, Mr G. W. Sturgess, Government Veterinary Surgeon, 

 Ceylon, Mr E. E. Green, Entomologist, Mr M. Kelway Bamber, 

 Chemist, and Mr T. Petch, Mycologist, of my own department, 

 and last, but not least, my wife. I am also much beholden for 

 loan of blocks for illustration to the Government of Ceylon, to 

 the Kolonial Wirthschaftliche Komitee of Berlin, to Sir Daniel 

 Morris of the West Indian Agricultural Department, and others. 

 I am much indebted for help to Mr A. E. Shipley. 



JOHN C. WILLIS. 



PERADENIYA, CEYLON, 



December 21, 1908. 



