International Agricultural Institute. 



i5 



of trade currents, i.e. the very subjects which are of most 

 interest. A renewed attempt must therefore be made to obtain 

 better results. 



Another subject referred to the Department of Agricultural 

 Statistics related to the preparation of a Report on the stocks, 

 and on the consumption and distribution, of the principal 

 agricultural products. It was the intention to supply a statis- 

 tical summary of the production of, and trade in, agricultural 

 products, and to indicate as accurately as possible the average 

 quantity of the principal agricultural products required for 

 consumption in the various countries. It was, however, not 

 even possible to commence the work, because one source of 

 information failed, viz., the trade statistics, and the statistics 

 regarding the stocks were very incomplete. 



Yet another preliminary inquiry was proposed, viz., a 

 collection and analysis of the resolutions adopted by Inter- 

 national Statistical and Agricultural Congresses. The import- 

 ance of the subject cannot be over-estimated, because it indi- 

 cates the experience of past years. This work has been satis- 

 factorily completed, and it will be published as an appendix to 

 the Report on the statistics of agricultural production and 

 cattle, to which reference has already been made. 



In addition to preliminary collection of facts, the Depart- 

 ment was authorised to form an "intelligence department " for 

 the seven products included in the scheme which the Institute 

 intends to inaugurate in 1910. The attempt has been made, 

 and the result is of great importance to the Institute, but it 

 is not of sufficient public importance to justify publication. 



It is not surprising, from the above description of the work 

 of the Department of Agricultural Statistics, that its staff 

 consists of fourteen officials of various grades, in addition to 

 two Heads of Branches. The officials were appointed gradu- 

 ally as required, provisionally in the majority of cases, and 

 as non-established. By this means the staff could be easily 

 reduced if the normal work justified such a course. 



Plant Diseases. 



I have completed my observations on the Department of 

 Agricultural Statistics, and I now give a short account of 

 the two other Branches of the Second Division. The Branch 



