EDITORIAL. 
AN IMPERIAL AGRICULTURAL BUREAU. 
“At the recent meeting in London of the Imperial Education Con- 
ference, a strong opinion was unanimously expressed on the need for an 
Imperial Agricultural Bureau, the objects of which would be— 
(1) To collect and to present in an available form information 
on the various agencies for agricultural education within the 
United Kingdom, the Dominions, India, and the Crown Colonies 
and Dependencies. One function of the Bureau would be to 
provide advice as to the ‘education best fitted for an intending 
settler in any part of the Empire, to inform him of the facilities 
and their cost. The Bureau would also promote the interchange 
of teachers between institutions within the Empire; 
(2) To perform a similar function with regard to agricultural 
research. ‘The Bureau would draw up a synopsis of the existing 
research institutions, and of the work that had been done or was 
in progress. It would inform inquirers as to the most probable 
sources of advice on problems met with in practice, and would put 
individuals or commercial firms in touch with the investigators 
they require. ‘The Bureau would be able to assist investigators 
in search of material, and promote their occasional interchange. 
The Bureau might publish a regular abstract of investigations, and 
from time to time a review of progress in particular directions; . 
(3) To collect and distribute information on the agricultural 
resources of the Empire for the service, on the one hand, of 
intending settlers and planters, and, on the other, for merchants 
and manufacturers. The necessity of this work is apparent from 
the consideration that agriculture is by far the largest industry 
within the Empire, and that in its diversity and varied character - 
it covers almost the whole range of agricultural puoducts. 
Tt is suggested that the Bureau should be constituted on the lines 
of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, and should similarly be 
under the Lord President of the Council. At the meeting referred to, 
the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries expressed their willingness to 
initiate the preliminary organization necessary for the formation of 
such a Bureau, and it is proposed to hold a Conference at an early date 
with the object of considering the subject and appointing an interim 
committee to take action. 
WAR MATERIALS—NITROGEN FIXATION AND SODIUM 
CYANIDE. 
Under this title, the American Department of the Interior, Bureau 
of Mines, has published a Bulletin giving brief accounts of the efforts 
of the United States authorities to supply from domestic sources those 
raw materials that are needed for the great industries, especially the 
war industries, and for which in pre-war times we had been largely, 
and, in some cases almost wholly, dependent on importations. ~The difli- 
culty consisted, not merely in the shutting off of the supply from the 
countries at war, but the shortness of tonnage and the need of it for 
transportation of troops and supplies, still further emphasized the 
importance of domestic sources. Among the raw materials that were 
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