December 9, 1922] 



NA TURE 



775 



The West Indian College of Tropical Agriculture. 



By Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S. 



THE opening of the West Indian College of Tropical 

 Agriculture by His Excellency Sir Samuel Wilson, 

 the Governor of Trinidad and Tobago, on October 16, 

 was an event not merely of local, but also of Imperial 

 interest, for it constitutes a memorable landmark in 

 the progress of agriculture throughout the British 

 possessions in the tropics. 



The idea of such a college in the West Indies owes 

 its inception largely to Sir Francis Watts, Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, and the project met 

 with support both in the West Indies and at home by 

 men alive to the pressing need for improved facilities 

 for agricultural education and research in the tropics. 



After much preliminary exploration of various 

 possibilities it was finally decided that the College 

 should be located in Trinidid. and few, if any, will 

 now question the wisdom of this decision. The 

 Government of Trinidad has presented a magnificent 

 site of 85 acres, at St. Augustine, which appears ample 

 for present and, so far as can be foreseen, for future 

 developments also. The site lies about 7 miles east 

 of Port of Spain and is situated just south of the Main 

 East Road, close to the junction station for the eastern 

 and southern branches of the railway. In the opinion 

 of the present writer, the College has secured the 

 finest site the island could offer. Not only is the land 

 open and well drained, but it is sufficiently exposed 

 to the trade wind, which blows through the greater 

 part of the year, to ensure an agreeable and healthy 

 climate. 



Further important advantage accrues to the College 

 from its close proximity to one of the principal experi- 

 mental stations and farms under the control and 

 management of the Trinidad Department of Agricul- 

 ture, the director of which, Mr. W. G. Freeman, is also 

 a member of the governing body of the College. Thus, 

 not only will students be able to follow the raising 

 of such staple tropical products as sugar, cocoa, rubber, 

 coconuts, etc., on neighbouring estates under ordinary 

 plantation methods and conditions, but they will be 

 able to study the same crops grown experimentally, 

 and under rigidly scientific control. They will also 

 become acquainted with many other tropical products 

 not usually grown in Trinidad itself, such as cotton, 

 camphor, spices, and so on. Furthermore, at River 

 Estate, another large experimental station, also under 

 the Department of Agriculture, students will have the 

 opportunity of studying methods of propagation and 

 cultivation of cocoa and other plants under climatic 

 conditions sufficiently different from those prevalent 

 at St. Augustine as to afford valuable means of com- 

 parison. Apart from the intrinsic value, both economic 

 and scientific, of the well-planned series of experiments 

 at River Estate, the researches there are conducted on 

 a really large scale, and scale is a matter of no small 

 importance when starting out on agricultural investiga- 

 tions. 



For the present the College is housed in a building 

 of moderate size which was already in existence on the 

 site. It has been suitably altered and equipped, and 

 it will provide sufficient accommodation for a limited 

 number of students pending the erection of the new 



NO. 27/1, VOL. I IO] 



permanent buildings which it is intended shall be 

 commenced forthwith. Residences will also be pro- 

 vided for the staff, and it is hoped that hostels for 

 students may be built if, and when, funds become 

 available. Recreation grounds for students and staff, 

 together with refectory, common - rooms and bath- 

 rooms, are already in existence on the site. 



The future of the College is well assured. In addition 

 to granting the site, the Government of Trinidad and 

 Tobago have given 50.000/. towards the cost of erection 

 and equipment of the College, and that Government, 

 together with the Governments of Barbados, the 

 Leeward Islands, and the Windward Islands, are con- 

 tributing an annual subvention of a half of 1 per 

 cent, of their revenues. The Imperial Government 

 is also providing the sum of 15,000/. spread over a 

 term of five years, on the understanding that the work 

 of the existing Imperial Department of Agriculture in 

 the West Indies shall be carried on by the College. 

 The latter gains in prestige by this amalgamation, 

 for the work of the department, begun by Sir Daniel 

 Morris and continued by Sir Francis Watts, is widely 

 and most deservedly appreciated throughout the West 

 Indies. Substantial contributions have also been 

 promised by Messrs. Fry and Messrs. Cadbury, the 

 Empire Cotton Growers' Association, and the British 

 Cotton Growing Association, while special mention 

 should be made of a handsome private donation by 

 Mr. J. W. Stephens, of Trinidad. It will be seen that 

 the enterprise has already aroused practical interest, 

 and this augurs well for the future. 



The value to the Empire of a College so favourably 

 situated to meet the present urgent demands for 

 training in tropical agriculture should be sufficiently 

 obvious to every one, and its influence will not be 

 limited to the West Indian islands alone, but cannot 

 fail to make itself felt over far wider areas. One may 

 perhaps be permitted to hope that this wider interest 

 will find an expression in returns of a practical nature. 



The first year's prospectus of the College has recently 

 been issued, and copies can be obtained from Mr. A. 

 Aspinall at the London office of the College, 14 Trinity 

 Square, E.C. It will be noted that the academic 

 year has been made to conform with that of British 

 universities, and it is a fortunate circumstance that 

 the agricultural and climatic conditions in Trinidad 

 happen to render such an arrangement a suitable one. 

 The following courses and facilities for study have been 

 provisionally arranged : 



(1) Diploma course. 



(2) One -year course in elementary agricultural 

 science. 



(3) Courses for agricultural officers, scientific and 

 administrative. 



(4) Post-graduate research. 



The diploma course will extend over three years, 

 and its object will be to give a thorough training in 

 the science and practice of tropical agriculture to those 

 students intending to become either tropical planters, 

 investigators or experts in different branches of agri- 

 cultural science or technology. These students will be 

 required to have passed the College entrance examina- 



