Education 1 1 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Agricultural Education in the Dutch and 

 British Tropics compared. 



Tvopical Life, April, 1915. 



The late Dr. Melchior Treub, who, as everjone knows, 

 was Director of the Government Botanic Gardens until 

 1905? 3.nd then occupied practically the same post under a 

 different name as Director of Agriculture until 1909, 

 always regarded it as part of his duty to stimulate general 

 interest in the botanical problems of the Tropics. It was 

 at his suggestion that the old question of agricultural 

 education (dropped about 1884) was again taken up at the 

 beginning of this century. The Agricultural School 

 founded by Scheffer in 1876 (Dr. R, H. C. Scheffer, who 

 was in Java from 1868 until he died in i88o at the Sindan- 

 glaya Sanatorium, not far from the Mountain Garden at 

 'I'jibodas, regretting that his illness had hindered his work 

 in connection with what he called " his children," viz., 

 the Economic Garden and Agricultural School), having 

 been allowed to fall into disuse, the Dutch Indies was 

 without agricultural education for some fifteen years. 

 Unlike this country, however, Holland evidently realized 

 the mistake of such a policy, for we understand that 

 Dr. Treub, deeply impressed with the need, even then, 

 for education under tropical conditions, gave the authori- 

 ties no peace until in 1903, just two years before the 

 appearance of the first issue of Tvopical Life, he eventually 

 succeeded in achieving the establishment of this school, 

 his idea being (and we believe that idea has been fulfilled) 

 to have a school that would assist both the European 

 estates and also (most wise of directors) native agriculture 

 as well, since he reckoned that the young Europeans 

 trained there as estate assistants could, in their turn, 

 impart the knowledge that they have acquired, both 

 theoretical and practical, to some of the future native 

 chiefs, and by sucli means they would be able, later on, 

 to effect improvements generally in the work of the native 

 landowners and agriculturists. 



His, moreover, was no narrow horizon, bounded by the 

 limits of Holland's and her overseas possessions, but his 

 views and wish to help included everyone, native as well 



