320 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION K. 



colleges and secondary schools, and for the maintenance of agricultural schools 

 botanic gardens, and experiment stations, tjpecial attention was devoted to 

 research work in raising new varieties of sugar-canes and other plants, in 

 the investigation of diseases affecting crops, and the general amelioration of 

 the conditions under which they were grown. Further, oy means of .an efficient 

 etafl of travelling agricultural instructors and an abundant supply of literature 

 the Department was brought into intimate touch with all classes of the com- 

 munity. At the end of ten years of strenuous effort it was noticeable, ovvin^ 

 to the expansion and improvement of old industries and the introduction oi 

 new industries, tne general conditions in the West Indies were greatly inipijverl. 

 This may be illustrated by the fact that the public revenue of the Colonies had 

 increased from £2,546,724 in 1894 to £3,914,434 in 1911, while the total trade 

 during the same period had increased from £16,270,474 to £26,949,086. There 

 was thus an increase of 65 per cent, in the total revenue and of 6U-5 per cent, 

 in the total trade. In reviewing the situation in the West Iiidiee, as the result 

 of the activities of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and those associated 

 with it, the late Prime Minister said ' the work of the Department was universally 

 and gratefully acknowledged by the planters to be largely responsible for the 

 improved state of affairs in all branches of agi-iculture, and he believed — and he 

 spoke with some experience — it would be difficult to find a case in which any 

 analogous experiment made by. the Home Government had attained such speedy 

 and satisfactory results.' 



A gratifying proof of the value of the work of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture in the West Indies was the formation of several departments on 

 similar lines, first at Pusa in India in 1902, and subsequently in all the tropical 

 Colonies in the New and Old WorlH. Further, twenty competent officers trained 

 in the West Indies are now in charge of Departments of Agriculture in Ceylon, 

 Mauritius, Federated Malay States, Fiji, and on the staffs of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture m India and the several Colonies in East and West 

 Africa. Another interesting feature of West Indian progress was the wider 

 appreciation of improved methods of cultivation and the value of science by 

 members of the planting community. For instance, in 1898 the aggregate amount 

 voted by the local legislatures for staffs, laboratories, and botanic and experiment 

 stations was at the rate of 14,000^. per annum. Apart from the funds of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, it is probaWe that, directly or indirectly, 

 the total amount contributed locally for scientific services is now not less than 

 60,000Z. per annum. It is also to be noted that during approximately the same 

 period the number of scientific and technical officers had increased from 67 to 

 142. This, however, is not confined to the West Indies, for in a list, published 

 annually at Kew, the number of scientific officers attached to botanical establish- 

 ments in various parts of the Empire had increased from 122 in 1892 to 332 

 in 1918. 



There can be no doubt that not only in the West Indies but in all parts of the 

 Empire ' enlightenment as to the objects, methods, and conditions of scientific 

 research is proceeding at a rapid rate.' A review of the circumstances relating 

 to all the Overseas Dominions would be a task entirely beyond my province. 

 Perhaps the most interesting feature of the progress made is in connection with 

 the application of the laws of heredity to the improvement of such highly 

 important crops as sugar, wheat, and cotton. The problems associated with 

 these involve both scientific and economic considerations. As regards the scientific 

 side, it is fortunate that with the beginning of the twentieth century came the re- 

 discovery of Mendel's facts and the stimulating energy of the genetic school 

 which has brought us an entirely new point of view in regard to the improvement 

 of field crops. 



Great importance is attached to the improvement of the sugar-cane, as the 

 prosperity of many, of our possessions depends upon it. Further, the require- 

 ments of this country approach something like two million tons per annum. 

 The sugar-cane, although its origin is unknown, has been cultivated in tropical 

 and sub-tropical countries from remote ages. Up to a recent date its propa- 

 gation was purely vegetative, as it was supposed to have lost the power of pro- 

 ducing mature seed. Occasionally by bud variation a new cane was obtained 

 possessing special merit. For instance, at Barbados in 1903 a ' sport ' cane culti- 

 vated under normal conditions yielded at the rate of 8,070 pounds of sugar per 



