Miscellaneous. 



450 



[May, 1912. 



of successes and failures for the inform- 

 ation of any bona-fide inquirer. At these 

 stations careful efforts are being made 

 to prove the value and suitability of 

 different crops and breeds of stock, and 

 the value of these institutions cannot 

 easily be overstated. The Director of 

 Agriculture rightly remarks in his re- 

 port of 1910-11 :—" Competition and 

 rivalry make it imperative that only 

 the best stock be bred, the more suitable 

 varieties of crop be grown, and the 

 very best methods be adopted in their 

 management." And it is here that the 

 experienced planter may easily score 

 over his neighbours, Indian, Goanese 

 and native. Their coconut groves are 

 badly laid out as a rule, and the palms 

 suffer severely through the neglect and 

 mismanagement to which they are sub- 

 jected. When one sees the magnificent 

 palms producing fairly well, despite 

 deep cuts in their sides made by natives 

 in search of nuts, and others dwarfed 

 and stunted because of tapping for drink- 

 making purposes, it is easy to realize 

 what remarkable result must follow 

 on proper planting and cultivation by 

 Europeans in well-chosen ground. British 

 East Africa is outside the hurricane 

 zone, and although in parts the borer- 

 beetle is a troublesome pest, it is not 

 a serious danger to the young plants if 

 proper precautions are taken. Constant 

 supervision is necessary to ensure suc- 

 cessful results from coconuts, as indeed 

 from every other crop, although when 

 once established the overseer's work in 

 the plantation is reducible to a minimum. 



THE MADRESFIELD AGRICUL- 

 TURAL CLUB. 



(From the Gardeners' Chronicle, No. 

 1,302. Vol. L., December 9, 1911.) 



I think the title which would best 

 describe the scope and work of a club 

 such as the one which forms the sub- 

 ject of this article would be "Agrihorti- 

 cultural Club," both elements playing 

 an important part in its activities. Un- 

 fortunately there is often a tendency 

 to ignore the claims of horticulture in 



favour of those of its more utilitarian 

 sister-craft ; a tendency which is appa- 

 rent in the policy of the present Govern- 

 ment. The Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries has truly as much to do with 

 horticulture as it has with the industries 

 which it ostensibly governs ; but that 

 is not saying much. And why should 

 not " horticulture " be especially men- 

 tioned in the title of the Board, instead 

 of being tacitly included under "Agri- 

 culture"? The two industries although 

 closely allied, are clearly quite separate 

 and distinct. Horticulture is becoming 

 of greater importance year by year ; 

 more labour is employed in this service, 

 more land placed under floral cultiv- 

 ation, more results obtained from even 

 the same acreage by the application of 

 the system of intensive culture. 



There are, however, signs of agencies 

 at work which, if rightly and wisely 

 directed, should bring about a great im- 

 provement in the status and develop- 

 ment of these industries. 1 allude, for 

 instance, to the recently established 

 Development Fund, a portion of which 

 is to be devoted to numerous experi- 

 ments of a scientific nature in horti- 

 culture and agriculture. The Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society's experimental station 

 in their gardens at Wisely was esta- 

 blished with a similar object, though in 

 relation only to horticulture. 



Nature study, botany, gardening, <fcc, 

 are taught in Government and council 

 schools and colleges, both day and con- 

 tinuation, all over the country, so that 

 opportunities are offered to all to learn 

 at least something of these fascinating 

 subjects. Indeed, to me, as a practical 

 gardener, there appears even a danger 

 of overdoing the scientific and theor- 

 etical side of horticulture ; this is use- 

 less unless it is accompanied by really 

 hard, persistent practical work. Horti- 

 culture would never have been brought 

 to its present position had it not been 

 for the unremitting industry and toil 

 of thousands of working gardeners, 

 many of whom had no advantage what- 

 ever in the way of scientific instruct- 

 ion or knowledge. 



