Agricultural Finance & Co-operation. 322 



[October, 1910. 



These societies are registered under 

 the Friendly Societies Acts without 

 share capital, and consist mainly of 

 small holders in Agricultural districts of 

 England and Wales. The societies are 



distinguished from ordinary friendly 

 societies in that the amounts of the 

 insurances are not limited by the Act. 

 In practice, however, the insurances are 

 for small amounts only. 



EDUCATION. 



THE WORK OP NATIVE TRAVEL- 

 LING INSTRUCTORS IN THE GOLD 

 COAST COLONY. 



By W. S. D. Tudhope. 



(Prom the Philippine Agricultural 

 Review, Vol. III., No. 7, July, 1910.) 



1. Native travelling instructors shall, 

 for the most part, travel and instruct 

 chiefs and native farmers in the best 

 methods of growing and cultivating 

 economic products and preparing them 

 for the European markets ; but they 

 may be employed in such other capacity 

 as the Director of Agriculture may from 

 time to time consider necessary. 



2. The points to receive most atten- 

 tion during the periods they are em- 

 ployed on instruction are briefly sum- 

 marised as follows : 



Cocoa. 



(a) The native farmer must be im- 

 pressed with the importance of raising 

 his plants from selected pods, and, where 

 possible, selected trees, and not from 

 the inferior fruits of his plantation. 



(b) Wider planting than is adopted 

 in the majority of cases should be 

 enforced, and 12 to 15 feet apart is the 

 distance that should be recommended. 

 To produce the most and the best 

 fruits, good trees with sound stems are 

 essential, and if the trees are planted 

 too closely together this end cannot be 

 attained, 



(c) The native farmer should be taught 

 to pay more attention to weeding and 

 cultivating his plantation, both in the 

 early stage and when the trees are full 

 grown, as this will result in a more 

 healthy and vigorous growth of the 

 cocoa trees. 



(d) He should also be taught to 

 observe the signs of disease or insect 

 attacks in their earliest stages and in- 

 structed to report their presence to the 

 nearest government official, who, in 

 turn, will take steps to inform the Agri- 

 cultural Department. 



(e) Instructions should be given in 

 the means of treating such attacks, 



either by the application of insecticides 

 or fungicides by spraying, etc., or, as in 

 the case of borers, by removing the 

 insects and destroying them ; and by the 

 excising and burning of all dead branches, 

 In order to prevent decay, tar, or 

 some such resinous product should be 

 applied to the part of the growing tree 

 from which excisions have been made. 



(f) The best method of pruning cocoa 

 trees should be taught. In this connec- 

 tion it is better not to recommend too 

 drastic pruning, and, in most cases, the 

 removal of sucker growths will be 

 sufficient. The importance of cutting 

 off the pods and making all necessary 

 primings with a clean cut should be 

 shown and the farmer instructed upon 

 no account to break or tear off the 

 branches or fruits. 



(g) Pods should be gathered as they 

 ripen and not allowed to remain on the 

 trees after they are ripe, or the seeds 

 will germinate on the tree and the pods 

 will be spoiled. All diseased pods should 

 be removed from the trees at each 

 gathering of the ripe pods and collected 

 and buried. Empty pods should ou no 

 account be spread about the plantation, 

 but should be buried at once, as they 

 form a ready breeding ground for in- 

 jurious insects and fungoid diseases. 



(/i) Instructions should be given in 

 the best method of fermentation ; the 

 form of boxes, etc., to be used and the. 

 general treatment of the bean. Insist- 

 ence should be made on the effectual 

 drying of the beans and on the import- 

 ance of taking them immediately they 

 are dried, to market, unless suitable local 

 storage accommodation is availabie. The 

 beans may suffer much damage from bad 

 storage and their value be considerably 

 reduced. 



Robber. 



(3) Instructions should be given in the 

 growing of rubber plants, tne methods 

 of propagating and planting trees ; in 

 tapping and preparing the rubber from 

 the latex, etc. The following are the 

 chief points that need attention : 



(a) The natives should be encouraged 

 to plant rubber seedlings wherever they 

 have suitable available areas of land. 

 The variety to be recommended will 



