M.— AGRICULTURE. 235 



animals breed true instead of undergoing the well-known deterioration 

 which takes place in improved breeds when put upon poor pastures. The 

 better exploitation of the pastures of the Empire is a problem which 

 requires, for a complete investigation, the pathologist and bacteriologist 

 to deal with the diseases which occur in deficient areas ; the physiologist 

 and biochemist to deal with the composition of the pasture and to deter- 

 mine to what extent it meets the requirements of the grazing animal. 

 There is needed also the work of the plant breeder and the soil chemist for 

 the improvement of the pasture as a crop. 



To bring about a concerted and co-operative attack upon such problems 

 as these a certain procedure seems desirable, but before suggesting that 

 procedure, let me point out that the facilities for co-operation are now 

 immeasurably greater than they were even thirty years ago. Rome fell 

 from various causes, but no doubt one of its defects was the absence of 

 newspapers and telegrams by which the outlying parts of the Empire 

 might have been kept in communication in time to avoid or avert some of 

 its disasters. We have no such excuse. Communication is easy, transport 

 is easy, conference is easy. In many ways Pretoria and London, and 

 Ottawa and London are nearer to each other to-day than London and 

 Edinburgh were 150 years ago. Moreover, a foundation for action exists 

 which did not exist in the nineteenth century. In many parts of the 

 Empire and especially in the self-governing Dominions, research has been 

 going on in agriculture for a generation or more, and a great body of 

 knowledge has been built up, much of which can be applied. 



The Procedure for Empire Research. 



Provided, then, that we have a large enough conception of Empire 

 development by research, the procedure should be : 



(a) to outline the problem ; 



(b) to collect all available information concerning it ; 



(c) to make a plan of campaign ; 



(d) to find the money to finance the research ; 



(e) to find the men to do the work. 



To carry out this procedure it so happens that we are in a more favour- 

 able position than ever before in the history of the Empire. The urgent 

 problems that arose during the war demanded a solution on immediately 

 practical lines. Tremendous advances were made in some of the applied 

 physical sciences, as a result of the fact that all scientists who could con- 

 tribute to the solution of an urgent problem were brought together and 

 urged to work in such a way that their energies were focussed on a known 

 objective. Following on this war experience, a similar spirit of co- 

 operation has been developed in agricultural science. It is interesting to 

 trace how this spirit has been stimulated and encouraged. 



In 1925 the British Government set up an Imperial Economic Com- 

 mittee, with an annual grant of £1,000,000, for the purpose of encouraging 

 trade in Empire products in the United Kingdom. The Imperial Economic 

 Committee recommended that the annual grant should be used, first, to 

 create in the United Kingdom a voluntary preference for Empire goods, 

 and, second, upon research to improve the quality and supply of Empire 



