CHAPTER VII
AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Experiment Stations.—An important means by which a colonial government may assist in the development of agricultural enterprises in the tropics is the establishment of experiment stations and botanical laboratories. The most complete system of this kind is the famous botanical garden of Buitenzorg in Java. This institution was founded in 1817 by Reinwardt. Its original purpose was the collection of Javanese plants and the carrying on of botanical investigations. As reorganized in 1868, it became an important center for scientific investigation and for practical experiments in tropical agriculture. It is the most completely organized scientific institution in the tropical world. In its eight divisions, each with a competent expert as director, it comprises the following institutions: a herbarium and museum, a botanical laboratory, an agricultural experiment station, a laboratory for agricultural chemistry, a laboratory of pharmacognosy, extensive botanical gardens, a library and photographic establishment, and a department of forestry and of tobacco culture. The activities of the agricultural experiment station consist of the 276