PART II. ; were sent back to their native villages to work as real agriculturists under Government control. Various agricultural schools existed in the country, and in some parts agricultural shows were organised. In every district agricultural officers in charge included native instruction in their programme of work; under their advice and control native model gardens were made, oxen were trained, mechanical culture taught, selected seed distributed, adequate rotation of crops planted, and encouragement given for the distribution of interesting varieties of various food erops. It might be said that some natives already quite realised the advantages of more advanced agricultural methods, and in some parts of the Congo (Uele, Maniema, Sankuru, ete.) a fair amount of export produce was already grown. In addition, it must be understood that economical conditions in a colony like the Belgian Congo were quite different from those in other countries of East Africa, where mining industries did not exist. In the Belgian Congo those industries (gold, copper, diamonds, ete.) required a great amount of labour, and the Agricultural Department in the Belgian Congo aimed, in the first place, at producing food for these mining labourers. Produce for export was, nevertheless, becoming very important, especially in respect of cotton. Mr. KIRBY referred to the Kilimanjaro Native Planters’ Coffee Association, a society that had made considerable progress. The natives concerned were the Wachagga, who were a progressive agricultural tribe. The Society, as far as possible, managed its own affairs with the sympathetic assistance of the Department of Agriculture and the Administration. There was a small fee for membership. The Society had drawn up rules, and its chief object was to form a public opinion among natives which would foster good coffee production and preparation. It also graded and exported the coffee of its members for sale in London. The Society had no legal powers; it would, however, be able to report cases where preparation or cultivation were unsatisfactory, and legal action would then be taken, if required, by the Department of Agriculture. The Society was young, but popular, and it was, as far as could be seen at present, likely to do very useful work. That was, so far, the only kind of native agricultural co-operation which existed in Tanganyika Territory. Mr. WORTLEY thought it very desirable that a resolution should be passed urging on the various Governments that as far as possible, education in the different territories should be given a strong agricultural bias. * Mr. MILLIGAN said that the subject of agricultural education was brought up before the Agricultural Department in India about 20 years ago: it was rather pressed upon the Department because the educated community in India were themselves anxious to see the peasantry placed on a satisfactory footing. The Agricultural Depart- ment, wisely, he thought, had been very chary of approaching the subject and had practically refused to touch it until they had had some experience of the country. They found that there was no real demand on the part of the agricultural poulation for education generaily. It was feared by the peasantry that their sons if educated would leave the land and join the clerk class in the town. The best thing appeared to be to gain the confidence of the agriculturists emselves in the first place and create a demand for aoricultural « 2! 85