Agricultural Finance 



56 



[Jult, 1910. 



country. The other point brought out 

 by Mr. Fraser's report is the inability of 

 the allottees to stand alone. The instruc- 

 tor seems to have been busily employed 

 in keeping his pupils up to the mark, and 

 even so, his advice was not always acted 

 upon. "Neglectful" is a word which 

 occurs with depressing frequency, and it 

 is evident that any relaxation of vigi- 

 lance on the part of the supervisor would 

 speedily result in the deterioration of 

 the allotments and the probable degener- 

 ation of the allottees to the status of 

 " squatters." 



Of course it may be argued that these 

 alloltees of St. Vincent are hardly co- 

 operative small-holders in the sense that 

 natives of this colony anxious to engage 

 in— let us say — banana cultivation would 

 be ; they were settled on the land by 

 compulsion of a great disaster. We can 

 gather but litcle information as to how 

 they would behave if they had to obtain 

 their holdings against competition and 

 under the pressure of a real ''laud- 

 hunger." In so far the lesson from St. 

 Vincent is deficient. But the spirit 

 which, we trust, would be shown may 

 be illustrated from the Old Country in 

 another quotation from Mrs. Wilkins. 

 " It was particularly in the division of 

 the laud amongst the applicants that 

 the benefit was felt on both sides in 

 having it carried out by a Committee of 

 the (Agricultural Organisation) Society 

 than by an agent of the County Council. 

 All the men had local knowledge of the 

 conditions which required fulfilment, 

 and were, moreover, acquainted with one 

 another's affairs. As each man was in a 

 sense responsible for the rent of his 

 neighbour, judgment was displayed as 

 to the amount of land allotted to each 

 one, having regard to his ability to pay 

 or the likelihood of his cultivating the 

 land in a satisfactory manner. A great 

 spirit of fairness was shown in distri- 

 buting this insufficient acreage amongst 

 the would-be small holders, a task which 

 it would have been almost impossible 

 for an outsider not living on the spot to 

 have carried out in such a satisfactory 

 manner. In some cases lots had to be 

 cast ; several men withdrew in favour of 

 those who had not yet had a chance of 

 getting on to the land, and it was neces- 

 sary to cut down the acquirement of 

 many to a lower limit." Now in race 

 and character the Sc. Vincent peasants 

 may be compared to a large section of 

 those of British Guiaua,and two points at 

 least may be emphasised for application 

 here :— one the advisability of a well- 

 conducted and intelligent agency for 

 the disposal of the produce, and the 

 other the absolute necessity for a 



strong Board of Agriculture to advise, 

 instruct, encourage and supervise those 

 who would seek their fortune on the 

 land. 



CO-OPERATION. 



(Prom the Hawaiian Forester and Agri- 

 culturist, Vol. VII., No. 3, March, 1910.) 



By Dr. E. V. Wilcox, 

 Chairman of Commission on Diversified 

 Industries. 



It is impossible for any country to be- 

 come developed to the fullest extent in 

 an industrial way, or to furnish com- 

 pletely f atisf actory conditions for human 

 life and citizenship until a considerable 

 variety of crops have been placed upon a 

 business basis. In no other way can 

 a varied population find satisfactory 

 means of livelihood for all concerned, 

 an 3 the conditions for happiness and 

 contentment which are demanded by 

 human beings. 



So soon, however, as attention is called 

 to the extent of unocupied land, and the 

 desirability of cultivating this land, 

 whether it occurs in small or large areas, 

 we are met with numerous objections 

 and formulated difficulties in the way of 

 raising diversified crops, and of market- 

 ing them profitably after they are 

 raised. After having listened for some 

 time to the complaints which are made 

 by the producer of diversified crops, it 

 occurred to me to be a wise plan to in- 

 vestigate the matter, first from the 

 standpoint of the dealer. It was hoped 

 that in this way satisfactory information 

 could be obtained as to what sort of 

 agricultural produce is demanded by the 

 trade, and therefore desired by the 

 dealer ; the regularity with whieh it can 

 be obtained, the uniformity and quality 

 of the produce offered tor sale, and 

 particularly the attitude of dealers and 

 commission merchants toward Island 

 produce, as compared with that import- 

 ed from California and other points of 

 the mainland- 



Island Produce Preferred. 

 With this idea in mind, extended inter- 

 views were held with the leading grocers 

 and commission merchants of the city. 

 It was found that a very gratifying 

 uniformity of opinion is held by all of 

 these men, without exception. All of 

 them prefer to handle Island produce, 

 rather than imported produce, if the 

 former can be obtained in satisfactory 

 condition and with regularity. No pre- 

 judice was found to prevail anywhere 



