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lo Mimich to obtain a training in plant patholog3\ Thus, at present^ 

 tlie new rubber plantations are being grown with British capital on 

 British ground, but with German and Austrian science. Neither 

 London, Berlin, nor Vienna has been idle. The subject is one of 

 great rrr.portance. The greatest living authority on plant pathology 

 is Professor Czapek of Prague. He was recently invited to London, 

 and oifers were made to him to found a school at South Kensington. 

 For a while it seemed probable that the project would be successful. 

 The money for the necessary building and equipment (£20,000) was- 

 forthcoming, and all appeared to be settled. But Berlin offered him 

 a professorial chair. Then Vienna stepped in. Now word has come 

 from Vienna that Professor Czapek is unable to accept the London 

 offer. No doubt this will prove to be a merely temporary setback. 

 There is a very definite intention on the part of both financiers and 

 educationists to set up a school of this kind in England. The man 

 to superintend it is not forthcoming at present, but the very 

 necessity is sure to produce the man we need. When the school is 

 formed it will become part of the Imperial College of Science and 

 Technology." 



This letter, quoted from the Standard, is of considerable interest 

 as showing that at last England is waking up to its duty towards 

 agriculture. Professor Czapek was in Singapore in 1908 and stoped 



.for som.etime in the Botanic Gardens. There is no doubt that he is 



.one of the great authorities on plant physiology and patholog\'. We 

 . have in England a large number of first botanists able readily to deal 

 with the questions of plant disease, but England in the past has not 

 encouraged these workers. The botanist of the past generation had 

 to make up his miind to the maximum Of hard work and the minimum 

 of salary. Those who could manage to live on the smallest possible 

 pay could take up this life, others had to sacrifice their talents for a 



.living wages. Research had to be done at the investigator's expense 

 and at such odd times as he could spare from the long hours spent in 



.making enough to live on. He usually got no chance of visiting- 

 other parts of the world, to study the physiology or oecology of 

 plants and animals in other climates or to see what other establish- 

 ments were doing. Everything of the kind was strongly discouraged,, 

 if permitted at all it had to be done at the investigator's own cost 

 and in his own vacations. This kind of treatment did not make for 

 progress, nor make it possible for many scientific young men to 

 enter the profession. Very different was the action of Germany and 

 other of the continental countries. Their system was to encourage 

 * work and workers in science. The natural result was first seen in 

 the development of Forestry in India, where the Directors of the 

 Indian Forests for a considerable period as well as much of the rest 

 of the staff had to be drawn from Germany. The same thing appears 



"^fd "^e 'the case now with the great rise of tropical Agriculture, 

 England has been asleep and is waking up but is not ready for the 

 emergency yet. 



