HORTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN GREATER BRITAIN. 93 



to the Indian malee, or gardener, the West Indian Negro peasant, or the 

 so-called " farmer" of the West Coast of Africa. In temperate countries, 

 as at home, the cultivation of the garden is a minor industry when com- 

 pared with the cultivation of the field, but in tropical countries the 

 larger part of the cultivation carried on is that of the garden, because 

 where soil and climate are very productive, and if labour be available and 

 be intelligently applied, such cultivation produces greater proportionate 

 results than elsewhere. Some of the largest productive industries in the 

 tropics are, it may be said, horticultural rather than agricultural ; for 

 example, Tea growing in Assam ; and this fact we popularly recognise by 

 calling land under such a crop a Tea garden instead of a Tea farm. 



The principles of tropical horticulture have, I fear, received even less 

 attention in this country than those of colonial horticulture ; yet it is a 

 matter of very great importance to this country, for although certain 

 articles that formerly were exclusively of tropical origin are now being 

 produced in great quantities in the temperate zone, the fact remains that 

 the great manufacturing regions in the latter zone are becoming more 

 and more dependent upon tropical territory for the raw materials for 

 their manufactures and for certain classes of foodstuffs and food adjuncts. 

 It is, therefore, much to be desired that some public body in England 

 would undertake the systematic study of the horticultural possibilities 

 and necessities of Greater Britain, temperate and tropical ; and to such a 

 body we could in due course with safety look for guidance as to the 

 nature and extent of any possible training at home for work abroad. 

 Whether such a course would be beneficial or otherwise is not, I think, 

 open to question. Before, however, any action can be taken it is advisable 

 that we have a general idea of what is being done in regard to horticultural 

 education beyond our shores, and with this object in view I propose to 

 place before you some data bearing upon the work undertaken in the 

 Dominion of Canada ; the West Indian islands and mainland ; Africa, 

 West, South, and East ; India ; and Australasia. 



Beginning with Canada, we have here a temperate zone where horti- 

 culture is understood in the same sense as we do. Population is, of 

 course, a factor (varying as it does from 51 persons to the square mile in 

 Prince Edward Island to 0*4 of a man in British Columbia) in respect to 

 the attention given to horticulture, and it is a noticeable feature in 

 Canadian schemes that almost the total amount of instruction in horti- 

 culture that is given is intended to directly benefit adults who already 

 have had some experience in land cultivation. Courses of instruction in 

 the theory and practice of horticulture are given in Canada, as far as I 

 can learn, at two institutions only, and both of them are provincial, 

 namely, the School of Horticulture at Wolfville in the famous Apple- 

 producing Annapolis valley in Nova Scotia, and in the Horticultural 

 Department of Guelph Agricultural College in Ontario. The Government 

 of each of the Provinces in the Dominion endeavours, I learn, to diffuse 

 horticultural information among those likely to benefit. In Quebec 

 horticulture is taught in three of the Government agricultural schools ; 

 the Journal d' Agriculture et d' Horticulture is a subsidised organ, and 

 annual grants are given to various associations of fruit-growers who hold 

 meetings from time to time and discuss horticultural subjects ; while 



