PREFACE 



The importance of tropical agriculture in the commerce 

 of the world is increasing daily. Sugar, coconuts, coffee, 

 tea, cacao, bananas, fibers, rubbers, gums, spices, tans, oils, 

 tropical woods, silk, ostrich feathers, and the hundreds of 

 other tropical products hold a large place in international 

 trade. The United States imports tropical products to the 

 value of more than $600,000,000 annually, $350,000,000 in 

 sugar, coffee, and silk. Year by year new tropical products, 

 previously unknown to most of us, are added to the list of 

 the world's economic products. Year by year more tropical 

 products pass from the class of luxuries to the necessities. 



The English, French, Dutch, Belgians, and Italians are 

 putting forth earnest efforts in the development of their 

 tropical colonies, and the Latin Americans in the develop- 

 ment of their own countries. Their great activity in scien- 

 tific research and in the study of labor, transportation, mar- 

 keting, and general economic conditions is sufficient evidence 

 of their keen interest in the future of the Tropics. Experi- 

 ment stations and departments of agriculture are being 

 established everywhere. Studies of the technical utilization 

 of tropical products are under way. Commercial possibilities 

 are receiving expert attention. 



We, as a nation, have reason to be more interested in these 

 matters. The "splendid isolation" of our forefathers is a 

 thing of the past. We are a part of the world. Tropical 

 products are brought to every household. The humblest 

 table bears food products from Brazil, Cuba, India, Java, 

 Molucca Islands, Tahiti, Mauritius, Gold Coast, Jamaica, 

 Hawaii, Porto Rico, and other parts of the Tropics. We are 



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