Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-14

|. B. PoIe-Evans Studying
American Methods.
IN AGRICULTURE
Anxious to Learn How Federal and
State Governments Divide OPP
erations and Expense.

Although the United States is still rec
ognized abroad as leading in government
fostered agricultural work. other cOun-
tries are taking more and more interest in
the development Of their own agriculture
and are sending their representatives to
the United States to study American
methods. A visitor here in that line today
was 1. B. Pole-Evans Of the department of
agriculture in British South Africa. He
had introductions to the officials of the
Agricultural Department and spent the
day in looking over the big department
and studying its methods of work.
Mr.. Evans comes from Pretoria, and
is connected with the bureau of plant
industry there, or rather with what
corresponds to that bureau in the South
African department. He had a number
Of complimentary things to say about
the amount of work that the United
States government is doing in agri-
culture. About South Africa he said:
You know that there are four big
states there-Natal. the Transvaal, the
Orange River Colony and Cape Colony.
They were under entirely separate gov
ernments till recently, when they were
merged into a great federation. Each of
them was carrying on agricultural and
ity and now that the governments are
merged the central administration, which
corresponds to your federal government,
has taken general charge of the work.
Federal and State Work.
What I want to know particularly is
the relation that your federal government
maintains to the state agricultural de-
partihents and how the work and expense
is divided between the two. 1 am max
ing study of their executive and admin
istrative work so as to report on it.
MY own particular line Is plant breed
Ing and that is the work that want par
ticularly to watch while I am In this
country. We are doing something in that
line in South Africa. We have q great
many experiment stations and We are
adapting plants to local requirements OF
soil, climate and moisture We are work.
mealies or what you would call corn.
Fighting Disease.
I'VE have some Of the same problems
to deal with that you have. We have
some Texas fever, but the most impor-
tant trouble with cattle in South Africa
is what they call east coast fever. 1t Is
tick-conveyed disease like Texas fever,
but they know something of its peculiari-
ties now and they are making a good
fight to clean it out.
I'VE have not anything yet specific that
would be of particular interest to Amer
lea. All governments are recognizing more
and more the importance of government
agricultural work, and all governments
are doing more each year in that line. We
appropriated about 10000 pounds for the
work last year.
when l leave here l shall go to the
Pacific coast, where l want to see some
thing OF the citrus fruit industry. the
packing and handling and the treatment
of diseases
The general work of the department of
agriculture in the new South African
Union is under Gen Botha, who gave the
British government such a hard fight
during the late South African war. He
has beaten his sword into a plOwshare
or, what amounts to the same thing, has
turned his ability and attention to de-
veloping South African agriculture. He
has proved as popular and able in civil
life as he was in military, and is making
his department one of the most important
in the new federation.