47 



pathy with the scheme. It is welcomed by the large 

 companies whose estates cover so large a part of the 

 island, and who are ready not only to offer paid 

 positions to those who obtain the diploma of the 

 College, but in addition are willing to assist in 

 obtaining the funds required, which, it is estimated, 

 will amount to about ^"50,000. It is hoped that 

 the Government of Ceylon, as well as the Govern- 

 ments of other countries interested, will give financial 

 assistance to a scheme which promises to have far- 

 reaching consequences in promoting the prosperity 

 of the British tropics, and is not to be regarded as of 

 benefit only to the colony in which the college will be 

 placed, but as serving an Imperial purpose. There is 

 another important reason why the Governments of the 

 Eastern British tropics should financially assist its 

 establishment. In every British colony there exists, at- 

 all events, the rudiments of an Agricultural Depart- 

 ment, more or less completely equipped for the purpose 

 of conducting experimental work in agriculture for the 

 benefit of the colony as a whole, and of affording assist- 

 ance and advice to the resident agriculturist, native and 

 European. It is obvious that if such a department is 

 to be in a position to discharge these responsible duties 

 its work must be directed by an officer who is a master 

 of his subject, and who can discuss agricultural problems 

 with as much knowledge as the average agriculturist 

 of the country in which he is to occupy the position of 

 chief agricultural adviser. 



It is well known that men fully qualified to act as 

 Directors of Government Agricultural Departments 

 in the British tropics are very difficult and often impos- 

 sible to secure. Apart from the usual difficulty in find- 

 ing men who combine some administrative capacity with 

 the requisite technical knowledge, the main trouble is 

 that there is at present no systematic means of educating 

 and training a tropical agriculturist, and the men who 

 to-day occupy these positions are usually botanists or 

 chemists who have trained themselves whilst in office. 

 It is admitted that these men have often been able to 

 render distinguished service, but it must now be recog- 

 nized that the absence of any system of education under 

 which such officers can be trained for their responsible 



