August 9, 1906] 



NA TURE 



363 



(ion of sricnlilu- nu:M, lonipt'Ujnl lo nid the m;inufaclurer.s 

 of this country in improving their methods and processes. 

 In this work the science of chemistry is one of the most 

 important. There is scarcely an industry to which it is 

 not able to ren<ler immense service. Within recent years 

 this fact has slowly gained recognition, and the principle 

 of State assistance to industry is virtually admitted, both 

 in respect of education and of research. The most recent 

 examples of a recognition of the principle are the grants 

 made from the National Treasury to the new Technological 

 College at South Kensington and to the National Physical 

 Laboratory. 



Not less important than the service which science can 

 render to existing industries and their extension is that 

 which it can contribute to the Imperial problem of ascertain- 

 ing and rendering available for the manufacturer the vast 

 undeveloped resources of our own Possessions. Our own 

 experience and the example of other countries have shown 

 that such work cannot be systematically carried on by 

 private enterprise. Upon its successful accomplishment 

 depends, not only the unrestricted supply of the necessary 

 raw materials for which the manufacturer looks in increas- 

 ing quantity, but also the prosperity of the country which 

 produces these materials. This success can only be brought 

 about by a combined effort on the part of the manufacturer 

 and of the Government. The manufacturer can provide 

 information as to the materials he needs. The preliminary 

 work of discovering suitable material by scientific means, 

 as several foreign Governments have already recognised, 

 must be endowed, directed, and carried on with Imperial 

 funds. It cannot be expected that private enterprise will 

 take steps to explore the resources of little-known countries 

 on the chance of a particular material being discovered, 

 nor can the work, as a rule, be successfully done by this 

 means. Experience shows that the most effective manner 

 of promoting the commercial development of a new country 

 is for the Government to carry out systematically with its 

 own officers the preliminary work of exploration and ex- 

 amination of the natural resources, with the aid of such 

 technical advice as may be necessary from manufacturers 

 and users, and then, having established the fact that 

 _ particular products of value can be found or cultivated in 

 a given country, to leave commercial enterprise to do the 

 rest. By action on these lines immense progress is being 

 made in Fren-:h, German, and Dutch possessions, whilst 

 the United .States Government has taken similar action 

 with the Philippines. In our own case, where this work 

 exists it is in most cases in a more or less embryonic 

 condition, and lacks the organisation which is necessary 

 for success. 



In many of our Crown Colonies and Protectorates there 

 already exist, or are in the process of organisation, agri- 

 cultural and other scientific departments, manv of which 

 include officers who are engaged in the work of exploring 

 and developing the vegetable resources of these countries 

 especially by experimental planting. Chemists are attached 

 to some, but not to all of these departments. In the West 

 Indies the valuable work accomplished bv Prof. Harrison, 

 Mr. Francis Watts, Prof. Albuquerque, Prof. Carmody, and 

 Mr. Cousins is well known, and illustrates the great 

 services which the science of chemistry may render, not 

 only to tropical agriculture, but to every branch of economic 

 development. It is clearly desirable that at least one scien- 

 tific department should be attached to the Government of 

 each of the principal Crown Colonies and Protectorates. 

 As a rule, it is convenient that this should be an agri- 

 cultural department with the services of a scientific chemist 

 at its disposal. In a tropical climate, and with limited 

 appliances at his command, it must be admitted that a 

 chemist is severely handicapped, and, as a rule, he cannot 

 be expected at first to be able to do much bevond the com- 

 paratively simple and preliminary work, chieflv analytical, 

 which, however, in a little-known country is of the sreatest 

 importance to an agricultural department. In addition, hn 

 would have to deal with the composition of natuml products 

 of all kinds, both vegetable and mineral, as well as with 

 the improvement of native industries. If the chemist is 

 able to refer complicated or special investigations to a 

 central department at home, and is provided with assist- 

 ance in the routine work, he would be in a position to 



NO. 191 9, VOL. 74] 



undertake the scientific investigation of a selection from 

 the numerous problems with which a chemist will be 

 confronted. 



\ chemist working in the spirit of an investigator will 

 be able to render special services to the cause of tropical 

 agriculture, and it is therefore of importance that in future 

 the men appointed to these posts should be chosen as far 

 as possible on account of the promise they have shown as 

 investigators. The determination of the constituents of 

 little-known indigenous plants as the first step towards 

 ascertaining their economic value is another department of 

 work which cannot be carried out without a chemist, and 

 the same applies to the examination of poisonous plants, 

 and also of minerals, in addition to the determination of 

 the composilion of foods and feeding stuffs. 



Tropical agriculture is a subject which is now of the 

 first importance, especially in those countries in which our 

 policy is to depend on a native population for the actual 

 cultivation of the soil. We have two functions to perform 

 in our position as supervisors : the one is to ascertain the 

 nature and capabilities of the soil by actual experiment, 

 for which well-organised experimental stations are a neces- 

 sary part of every agricultural department ; the other duty 

 is to convey to the natives, chiefly by means of demonstra- 

 tion, the results of this experimental work, so that they 

 may be persuaded to make it a part of their agricultural 

 practice. 



Work on these lines is being done under Government 

 auspices in the French and German Colonies, and I may 

 allude to the French successes in Algeria, in Senegal, and 

 In the Sudan, and to the advances made by Germany in 

 East Africa. These achievements are mainly due to a 

 policy of continuous scientific work on agricultural lines. 

 We shall have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Greshoff, 

 the eminent director of the Colonial Museum at Haarlem, 

 an account of the chemical investigations which are being 

 carried out in connection with Java and' the Dutch East 

 Indies. 



In many of our own Colonies and Protectorates active 

 agricultural departments, equipped with the means of ex- 

 perimental working, are only now in process of organ- 

 isation. One of the most recently organised of these is 

 that of the Transvaal, which, at Lord Mllner's initiation, 

 has been completely equipped on the lines of that model for 

 all such effort, the agricultural department of the United 

 .States. This department has as its chief chemist Mr. 

 Herbert Inglis, of the Yorkshire College, now the Uni- 

 versity of Leeds. 



If we are to compete successfully with foreign countries 

 it is necessary that the position of science in relation to 

 tropical agriculture should be definitely recognised. The 

 days when a botanical garden served the purpose of an 

 entire scientific establishment in a Colony have passed 

 away, and we now require. In order that a proper return 

 should be obtained, and the natives assisted in their agri- 

 cultural practice, a scientific department with a proper 

 complement of specially trained officers, including a con- 

 sulting chemist, other specialists being added to the staff 

 as the requirements arise. These officers should be re- 

 munerated on a scale likely to attract some of the best 

 educated men from this country, which is at present far 

 from being the case. 



It would be out of place to discuss here the detailed 

 organisations of these scientific departments. I merely • 

 desire to urge the necessity of their functions being ex- 

 tended, and of their receiving adequate financial support. 



It is important that the scientific work which is being 

 accomplished by these various departments should be 

 brought to a focus, and that the results obtained in one 

 Colony should be available for the information of the 

 departments in other Colonies. The work of all such 

 establishments requires to be unified by cooperation with 

 a Central Department which can extend the investigations 

 conducted in the Colonies, carry out investigations and 

 inquiries which cannot be undertaken on the spot, main- 

 tain the necessary touch with the manufacturers, and 

 coordinate the work undertaken and the results obtained 

 in each of the separate Colonial establishments and 

 systematically collate it, so that each may be aware of 

 the results that are being obtained in other countries. 



