, 1896-01-29
Barbados agricultural Reporter, 10TH Jan)

Barbados Agricultural Reporter, l0h Jan)
-
The New Year has dawned propitiou>lv.-
with two crops on the land.-the old with q
promising appearance but somewhat riddlei
by fungus and thieyes-more by the latter
than by the former while the young with
tender sprouts is just peeping above the soil.
Above the din Of war and the brazen cl sh
Of the cymbals of a new iingolsm. We hear
the calm voices OF the men Of peace who de-
hight only in the humanizing strife u indus
try and we await the issue Of the mad coulu-
versy between the AnglO-SaXon nations with.
out fear, because we know that the things
winch make for peace are stronger than those
which make for war. We cannot believe
that the scroll las yet white and msulIicd)
of the newborn year VIII be stained with
fraternal blood therefore we have sown a.
We hope to reap in the faith that the two
greatest commercial nations Of the earth.
whose material interests are so thicklv inter
laced will conserve their dearest interests.
preserve the peace of the world ana maintain
existing commercial relations. Already
there are signs Of revival in the sugar market.
The Louisiana Planter tells us that the cru)5
Of that State will be about 1QO, 900 tol
short. The Cuban crop unfortunately has
l 'tAIlhSctj anu iuC european crops are
not likely to be so large as usual. 1t is true
that the prodigious yield of the "a crop
deIuged the market with excess. bu: the
oyer8tock is being used up rapidly. Hence
the reported rise in the American market;
and it is probable that when our West Indian
crop is reaped the sur 'lus viii have vanished,
and for us, if only temporarily, there will.
we trust, be some advantage, -soreIy needed
by a people who have literally suffered from
the effects Of several years of depression, aud
to whom o few years of plenty would be a
boon indeed.
Economy with efficiency must hencefolth
be 4 motto Of this Island: life is a pracli-
cal affair altogether, and, as we we'll know.
the two ends never meet in the household, on
the estate, or ia the State where woeful waste
obtains. But for work to be conducted
economically, it must be carried out on sure
and direct lines, otherwise waste Of time,
energy, and money ensueS; for dircctness of
application of force depends on accurate
knowledge. Our Annual Industrial EXhibi-
ton makes this point clear. There we see
evidences Of skill goodly products of un-
trained talent which are the results of undi-
rected lab0ur admirable and very often
beautiful effects, which would have been
much more admirable, much more beautiful
dllu ~ vi expenditure OF On6-Gentn the ld-
bour, had the workers received the requisite
technical education. Technical training is
the great want of this country; without it
our indust rial life is but q left handed sort Of
life, w~asteful, and lacking, as we nave said,
that great essential of economy,-directness.
And yet we spend something like Eli, 900
per anlum on a system of education which
for the most part diSregards the practical
and never cares about the usefulness of the
individual, or the training of his bread-earn-
ing powers, 1t may safely be asserted that
two-thirds of the children Of the labouring
classes leave the Primary Schools with a
parrot-like knowledge Of tall facts, too soft
handed for manual toll, mentally and ply
slcally unframed forlplactical life, and ds5,
tined after a desultory and idle life to fill a
pauper's grave. Training of mind and body
with a direct view to bread and butter would
change all this, would decrease pauperism,
treble industrial activity and thereby in.
crease the wealth of the country. The money
We spend on education is derived from in