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as are also such important problems of general interest 

 at the present time as the improvement of cotton culti- 

 vation, the fertility of soils in the tropics, the production 

 of fibres, and the preparation of plantation rubber. 

 Sectional meetings will be devoted to the discussion of 

 papers on each important group of agricultural pro- 

 ducts, where also technical questions connected with 

 soils and manures will be considered. 



Special papers on several subjects of general interest 

 will also be given. 



The advancement of tropical agriculture must chiefly 

 depend on the labours of the specialist, the practical 

 agriculturist and the investigator, whose contributions 

 form the groundwork of our Congress. It is, however, 

 important that the directions of advance, the nature of 

 the problems to be solved, and the methods which have 

 to be followed in solving them, should be generally 

 understood, and their great importance appreciated by 

 two other classes in the community : by administrators 

 and officials of Governments, and by manufacturers, 

 merchants, and other users of the agricultural products 

 of the tropics. 



The advance of tropical agriculture by scientific 

 methods neeHs the interest and support of those who 

 have the duty and responsibility of administering the 

 Governments of tropical countries, as well as of the 

 users of the raw materials, the representatives of the 

 great manufacturing industries. For this reason the 

 assistance in the work of the Congress has been secured 

 of a number of distinguished Government representa- 

 tives, and also of manufacturers, companies and firms 

 who make use of tropical agricultural products. 



The list of Honorary Vice-Presidents will show that 

 we have enlisted the interest and support for the 

 Congress of a large number of distinguished Govern- 

 ment representatives responsible for administration in 

 the tropics. 



It has been also the endeavour to bring together 

 scientific and practical authorities on tropical agricul- 

 ture, representatives of the great tropical planting in- 

 dustries, and representatives of the industrial and mer- 

 cantile community concerned in the utilization of tropical 

 agricultural products. In this I think we may claim 



