Editing Economy of Bermuda (section)

==History==
===Early-season vegetable exports to USA before World War II===
[[File:129_Inpackning_af_Lök.jpg|thumb|280px|Onion cultivations on Bermuda, 1895]]
[[File:Bermuda lily field 1926.jpg|thumb|right|280px|One of the over 200 Bermuda lily fields in 1926]]
[[Image:Lawrence Ogilvie, Bermuda 1927.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Lawrence Ogilvie]] in his laboratory]]
The major Bermudian industry since the 1800s was the export by sea of early vegetables and flowers to [[New York (state)|New York]]: Bermuda had three crops per year. The [[Bermuda Botanical Gardens|Bermuda Botanic Gardens]] (now with 38 acres) had been established in 1898.

In 1922, complete, concise and clear acts dealing with agriculture were placed on the Bermudian statute book; inspection of produce was initiated; and seed testing began. Local seedsmen were registered in 1923. Mr McCallan, the Agricultural Director, reorganised the Agricultural Exhibition for 1923. Seed potatoes were gradually improved after much investigation with US experts. A local farmers' market started in 1923.
For a year in 1921–23, Professor H H Whetzel<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Seaver|first1=F. J.|last2=Waterston|first2=J. M.|title=Contributions to the Mycoflora of Bermuda: IV|journal=Mycologia|volume=38|issue=2|year=1946|pages=180|issn=0027-5514|doi=10.2307/3755060|jstor=3755060}}</ref> of [[Cornell University]] advised remedies for the cash crop diseases of potato blight, onion thrips, celery leaf spot, lily ''Botritis'', and melon mildew. He suggested that the colony should appoint a full-time plant pathologist. During this time,  exports of agricultural products to the [[United States]] contributed the most to Bermuda's economy.

[[Lawrence Ogilvie]] from Scotland was the Government's plant pathologist from September 1923 to April 1928. He introduced regulations in 1924 governing the control of local diseases and pests, and the import of plants – so vital for an island. Import embargoes applied for banana plants, lily bulbs, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits from the West Indies, and certain Irish potatoes. In 1924 a concrete fumigation chamber was built to fumigate infected imports. Good crops of [[celery]] were achieved in the 1920s. Citrus cultivation was affected by the [[Mediterranean fruit fly]] and only really developed in 1944.

===1890s to 1920s Economy badly affected by lily virus in over 200 fields===
The early [[Lilium longiflorum|Easter-lily bulb]] exports to [[New York (state)|New York]] and the [[Isle of Man]] – high-value and vital financially to Bermuda – became badly diseased from the late 19th century to the mid-1920s. In 1924 [[Lawrence Ogilvie]] (age 25) saved the industry by identifying the problem as a virus (not aphid damage as previously thought) and instituting controls in the fields and packing houses. There was a marked improvement in exporting 23 cases of lily bulbs in 1918 to 6043 cases in 1927 from the then 204 lily fields.<ref>October 1928 ''Monthly Bulletin of the Bermuda Department of Agriculture and Fisheries'' article by [[Lawrence Ogilvie]]</ref> Still in his 20s, Ogilvie was professionally honoured by an article in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''.<ref>[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] number 2997, 9 April 1927, page 52</ref> The lily export trade continued to flourish until the 1940s when the Japanese captured much of the market.

===After World War II===
Bermuda has had steady economic prosperity since the end of [[World War II]], although the island has experienced recessions, including during the early 1990s, when the contraction of the economy led to a population reduction of 2,000 people (with work permits of many long-term residents not being renewed), and a mild recession in 2001–02, both paralleling recessions in the United States. Its economy is based primarily upon international business (especially [[Reinsurance|re-insurance]], for which it is now a world centre) and tourism, with those two sectors accounting for more than 70% of the total [[balance of payments]] current account [[foreign exchange reserves|foreign exchange]] receipts. However, the role of international business in the economy is expanding, whereas that of tourism is contracting.