Febedaey 10, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



231 



The Jamaica correspondent of the London 

 Times writes that a conference at Barbados, 

 under the auspices of the new Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in the West Indies was 

 called for January 7th and 9th. The chief chem- 

 ical and botanical oflScers in the West Indies 

 have been invited to take part in it. These in- 

 clude the officers in Jamaica, British Guinea, 

 Trinidad and Antigua as well as Barbados. 

 The object is to devise means for the prosecu- 

 tion of a policy of cooperative effort in the eco- 

 nomic interests of the various colonies. Dr. 

 Morris, the Commissioner of Agriculture, wisely 

 holds that the teaching of scientific agriculture 

 is a subject that requires very careful consider- 

 ation, and has, therefore, extended the invita- 

 tion to some of the principals of high schools 

 and colleges. The delegates from Jamaica 

 are: Mr. W. Fawcett, B.Sc, F.L.S., Direc- 

 tor of Public Gardens and Plantations ; Mr. F. 

 Watts, Government Analyst, and the Rev. 

 W. Simms, M.A., Principal of University Col- 

 lege. Among the subjects to be discussed are 

 the cultural and chemical experiments to be 

 undertaken to improve the saccharine con- 

 tents of the sugar cane ; the scientific teach- 

 ing of agriculture in colleges and schools ; a 

 more skilful treatment of the soil and use of 

 manure ; and concerted action to prevent the 

 rapid spread of fungoid and insect pests. There 

 is no doubt that definite conclusions will be ar- 

 rived at on these important points and common 

 action determined on which may prove of the 

 greatest possible service in developing the re- 

 sources of the West Indies. Although the Im- 

 perial Department of Agriculture has been estab- 

 lished with the specific aim of assisting the Wind- 

 ward and Leeward colonies and to enable experi- 

 ments in cane cultivation to be carried on in 

 continuation of former efforts in British Guiana, 

 Barbados and Antigua, the fact that Jamaica 

 has been invited to send representatives to the 

 conference has been taken here as a justifica- 

 tion for assuming that this colony may also 

 come within the scope of its operations. It 

 is thought that the Imperial Government 

 should establish at least an experimental sta- 

 tion in this island, seeing that the taxpayers 

 already pay so much for the maintenance of a se- 

 ries of botanical gardens, a chemical department 



and an agricultural society. Despite the ex- 

 istence of these organizations, practically noth- 

 ing is known yet regarding the varied character 

 and possibilities of the soil. 



Mk. Albert B. Lloyd, a young English- 

 man, who has just returned after traversing 

 Stanley's great pigmy forest. He is reported 

 by Renter's Agency to have said: "I was 20 

 days walking through its gloomy shades. I 

 saw a great many of the little pigmies, but gen- 

 erally speaking, they kept out of the way as 

 much as possible. At one little place in the 

 middle of the forest, called Holenga, I stayed 

 at a village of a few huts occupied by so-called 

 Arabs. There I came upon a great number of 

 pygmies who came to see me. They told me 

 that, unknown to myself, they had been watch- 

 ing me for five days, peering through the 

 growth of the primeval forest at our caravan. 

 They appeared to be very much frightened, and 

 even when speaking covered their faces. I 

 slept at this village, and in the morning I asked 

 the chief to allow me to photograph the dwarfs. 

 He brought ten or fifteen of them together, and 

 I was enabled to secure a snapshot. I could 

 not give a time exposure, as the pygmies would 

 not stand still. Then, with great difficulty, I 

 tried to measure them, and I found not one of 

 them over four feet in height. All were fully 

 developed. The women were somewhat 

 slighter than the men, but were equally well 

 formed. I was amazed at their sturdiness. 

 Their arms and chest were splendidly de- 

 veloped, as much so as in a good speci- 

 men of an Englishman. These men have 

 long beards halfway down the chest, which 

 imparts to them a strange appearance. They 

 are very timid and cannot look a stranger 

 in the face. Their eyes are constantly shifting 

 as in the case of monkeys. They are fairly in- 

 telligent. I had a long talk with the chief, and 

 he conversed intelligently about the extent of 

 the forest and the number of his tribe. I asked 

 him several times about the Belgians, but to 

 these questions he made no reply. Except for 

 a tiny strip of bark cloth, men and women are 

 quite nude. They are armed with bows and 

 arrows — ^the latter tipped with deadly poison — 

 and carry small spears. They are entirely no- 

 madic, sheltering at night in small huts, 2ft. to 



