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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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Dr. Butler stated that a considerable initial expenditure would be necessary- possibly £500-in connexion with laboratory equipment, books, etc. The Committee provisionally authorized an advance of £50 to Dr. Butler to meet immediate expenses. It was also agreed that Dr. Butler should be authorized to engage a typist at a cost not exceeding £145 per annum, and to obtain a typewriter and the necessary stationery from the Stationery Office.
58936
No. 150.
MINUTES OF THE THIRD GENERAL MEETING OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE OF THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF MYCOLOGY, held at THE COLONIAL OFFICE on the 26th November, 1920, at 3.0 P.M.
Present:
VISCOUNT HARCOURT (Chairman).
PROFESSOR BOWER.
MR. COTTON.
PROFESSOR Farmer.
CAPTAIN ARTHUR HILL.
PROFESSOR LANG.
SIR DANIEL MORRIS.
MR. MURRAY.
SIR DAVID PRAIN,
MR. RENDLE.
SIR H. READ,
DR. BUTLER (Director).
MR. BECKETT (Secretary).
THE Chairman called on the Secretary to read the letter from Mr. Pethybridge,
of which a copy is appended.
The Committee then proceeded to the discussion of Dr. Butler's proposals,* and of the financial position arising out of them. It was unanimously decided that the Secretary of State for the Colonies should be asked to take the necessary steps to arrange for the increase of the annual amount received by subscriptions to £5,000. This amount to cover the cost of publishing an abstracting journal. It was con- sidered necessary to await the result of such an appeal before taking steps to publish the journal, and in the meantime it was decided that Dr. Butler should begin work on the lower basis set forth in Appendix II to his proposals.
The question of advertisements was discussed, and it was decided that when the time came to publish the journal, advertisements should be accepted (except in the case of proprietary articles), and it was understood that the Director would keep in touch with the Board of Agriculture on this question.
The Secretary drew attention to the fact that in addition to the sums set forth in Dr. Butler's proposals there would be an expenditure of £75 per annum as a composition fee for light and fuel, although the premises were being provided free
of rent and rates.
The Committee endorsed the action of the Finance Committee in authorizing certain items of expenditure by the Director, and sanctioned an expenditure up to a total of £500 out of the reserve on apparatus, books, etc., this sum to be accounted for later, and to cover the £50 already advanced. The Secretary was accordingly instructed to authorize the Crown Agents to hold £450 at Dr. Butler's disposal for this purpose.
It was also decided that the Crown Agents should be authorized to invest £4,000 of the reserve fund in six or twelve months' Treasury Bills.
Arising out of Mr. Pethybridge's letter the question of information to home workers was discussed, and it was agreed that while overlapping with the Institute of Plant Pathology is undesirable, the Director should be left full discretion in this
matter.
The Director raised the question of making a public announcement as to the initiation of the Bureau. It was decided that arrangements should be made for an article in The Times and for publication in the appropriate technical journals. It
* No. 147.
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was understood that in the case of Colonial papers the necessary arrangements would be made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies through the officers administering the Government.
Professor Bower raised the question of relations with the corresponding American Department which had been instituted during the War as the War Emergency Board of American Plant Pathology, and subsequently developed into the Advisory Board of American Plant Pathology. It was understood that this Board covered Canada as well as the United States of America. The Director stated that he was in close personal touch with the Board, and it was left to him to explore the possibilities in this direction.
ANNEXURE.
Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland. (Seeds and Plant Disease Division.)
DEAR SIR,
Royal College of Science,
Upper Merrion Street,
Dublin, 25th November, 1920.
I REGRET that I shall not be able to attend the meeting of the Managing Committee of the Imperial Bureau of Mycology to-morrow afternoon.
I have just glanced through the papers connected with the agenda which I received this morning, and I am in general agreement with the points brought forward in the memorandum by the Director, Dr. Butler.
I should like to say, however, that while no doubt, at first, the work of the Bureau will be of interest chiefly to those who deal with economic mycology in the overseas parts of the Empire, I hope that the interests of the workers at home in the British Islands will not be entirely left out of account.
If the work of the Bureau develops, as I think it should, it will become of considerable value to home workers as well as to those overseas. For, not only over- seas workers but also workers on plant diseases at home meet with difficulties, and from time to time require help of the nature suggested in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Dr. Butler's memorandum. I have myself recently, in an informal way, obtained advice and assistance from the Bureau through Dr. Butler's kindness, and hope to be able to make further use of it in the future.
There are many workers in the British Isles who are to some extent isolated (not, it is true, in the same degree as overseas workers), particularly in regard to matters concerning mycological literature and systematics. It is my view that the Bureau should ultimately become a sort of clearing house through which all workers, whether at home or abroad, may obtain assistance in their work, and through which, when necessary, workers at home may get into contact with those overseas working on similar or allied problems.
The chief difficulty in making an effective start would appear to be the important one of finance. I do not know what support to the Bureau (if any) has already been promised from the home Government, or other home sources. If, how- ever, the Bureau lays itself out to assist not only overseas workers, but also those I would at home, it would be in a good position to claim help from home sources. suggest, for instance, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, and the Development Commissioners, as bodies which might be approached with a view to supporting the Bureau. Possibly, support might, also, be forthcoming from such bodies as the Royal Horticultural Society, or others whose interests would be furthered as a result of increased knowledge of plant diseases and the methods of their control.
It is, I think, most desirable that a periodical abstracting journal should be published; and, if expense could thereby be saved, the possibility of temporary joint publication with the Imperial Bureau of Entomology is a matter which I think should be fully explored if this has not already been done.
I think we should not be too faint-hearted in our preliminary proposals. If we can, at the outset, publish something of value to show what the possibilities are, this should lead to further support being given to the Bureau to enable it to continue and extend its good work.
The Secretary,
Imperial Bureau of Mycology,
Colonial Office.
Yours, &c.,
GEO. H. PETHYBRIDGE.