xvi. Timehri. 



ended the establishment of an Agricultural or Farm School may not rank 

 as among local practical politics. The Agricultural Department has made 

 during the past six years numerous enquiries about suggested sites for a 



school. At present Plantation Grove near to Beltield which is the 

 property of the Government appears to be the place best suited and avail- 

 able for the establishment of a farm school, which will especially meet the 

 requirements of the well-populated East Coast district. I have not iu 

 any way changed my conviction that the lands at Suddie are from a 

 practical point of view by far the most suitable as a site of a Colonial 

 farm school. 



The success locally of a more or less theoretical Agricultural College is 

 very problematical, and experience elsewhere in the tropics gives us pause 

 in advocating the establishment of one under the present conditions of lack 

 of intensive cultivations in this colony. The success of a practical farm 

 school is, in my opinion, beyond discussion. I often wonder whether 

 any practical step will be taken towards the establishment of such a school 

 but more especially of a Central West Indian Agricultural College before 

 my official connection with these colonies terminates, as it wi 1 do, in or 

 before 1921. 



A carefully digested scheme for the training of pupil assistants 

 in the Chemical, Botanical, Entomological, Veterinary, and Agricultural 

 divisions of the Department of Science and Agriculture was adopted 

 two years ago by the Combined Court, but up to the present it has been a 

 complete fiasco, as in this very utilitarian colony the great majority 

 of persons appear to expect their sons not only to be given a free scien- 

 tific and technical education by the Government, but to bo paid I'm- accept- 

 ing it. Hence no application from any qualified candidate for training 

 under this scheme has been received. 



District Agricultural Societies. 



The Agricultural Societies of Jamaica and Trinidad have received 

 new leases of life and greatly increased activit\ T through their affiliation 

 of District Agricultural Societies. It is to be regretted that this Society 

 is not in a position to follow their example with regard to the large num- 

 bers of such societies which are springing up lure. 



For administrative purposes such as the holding of local shows and 

 farmers' competitions. District Associations can be affiliated to the official 

 Board of Agriculture but there are many ways in which affiliation under a 

 non-official Agriculural Society taking an active interest in agricultural 

 questions as this should do, would be advantageous to them and to the 



colony. 



Local Foodstuffs. 



In the early nineties the Society devoted much attention towards the 

 quality and purity of our foodstuffs and towards the conversion of locally 

 wrown vegetable products into permanent ones ; the latter, however, with 

 scant success. Mr. da Silva. of the Pomeroon, was tho pioneer in this 

 work and the files of " Timehri " show the direction in which he success- 

 fully turned his energies from 1893 to 18L>7 or thereabouts, The Society 



