776 



Olympia Agricultural Company. [Dec, 



the bulk of which came to Great Britain. Thus the value of 

 eggs and poultry imported into Great Britain during 1920 

 probably reached the figure of £36,000,000. 



The value of eggs and poultry produced in the United King- 

 dom in 1920 is believed to have been between £'50,000,000 and 

 £60,000,000, whereas the estimated value of the wheat crop in 

 the United Kingdom for 1920 was approximately £'31,000,000. 



The first annual report of the Research Department of the 



Olympia Agricultural Company has just been issued. This 



ni • a • i Company, it should be explained, has been 



. , formed with the object, mainlv, of con- 



tural Company's i * • u ■ «. 



Research ducting a purely larmmg business on the 



, . most advanced lines. It is the owner of 

 p * 10,000 acres of farming lands distributed 



throughout the Kingdom. The headquarters are at Off church 

 Bury, near Leamington, where the Research Station is 

 situated. A unique feature of the enterprise, however, is 

 the recognition of the advantages that are likely to be gained 

 from scientific knowledge and research when applied to agri- 

 culture. The report relates to the activities of a staff of scien- 

 tific men who, under the direction of Dr. Crowther, late 

 Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at Leeds and a well-known 

 authority on nutrition, are engaged in original research in 

 fully-equipped laboratories in Offchurch, Bury. It must not 

 be thought, however, that the Company's motives are merely 

 selfish. The intention is that such good as may result from 

 the labours of the scientific staff shall be freely available to 

 all, and advisory services are also offered free of charge to agri- 

 culturists. In this first report, naturally, one does not expect 

 to find more than a record of the commencement of investiga- 

 tions. Sufficient is stated, however, to justify confident antici- 

 pations for the future, particularly in relation to plant breeding, 

 for the Company has been fortunate in securing the services of 

 Capt. H. Hunter, whose success in plant breeding under the 

 Irish Agricultural Department was noteworthy — especially in 

 relation to barley. There has been no precedent for such 

 enlightened enterprise since Sir John Lawes founded the world- 

 famous laboratory at Rothamsted. If the Off church. Bury, 

 station achieves even a tithe of the success of its predecessor, 

 the agricultural community will have good cause for gratitude. 



