Vol. III. No. 46. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



21 



COTTON. 



Cotton at Montserrat 



We extract the following information on the 

 cultivation of cotton at Montserrat from papers by his 

 Honour F. H. Watkins, the Commissionei', and Mr. A. J. 

 Jordan, the Agricultural Instructor, in the Wet^t 

 Indian Bulletin, Vol. IV, pp. 231-5. Mr. Watkins 

 states that he is indebted for most of the results given 

 in his paper to Mr. C. Watson, of Dagenham, and 

 Mr. Jordan : — 



As to the character of the land specially suited to cotton, 

 it has been found that soils of a light gravelly nature are the 

 best adapted to its growth, an average of 1,000 lb. of 

 seed-cotton per acre having been obtained as against a yield 

 of 600 K). from heavier soils. 



Encouragement in the shape of free distribution of 

 good, reliable seed has been given to the owners of suitable 

 lands by the local government and the British Cotton 

 Growing Association of Oldham. Of all the varieties of 

 seed the Sea Island is decidedly the favourite, for it has 

 given the best results both in quantity and in the length of 

 the fibre. There is, moreover, a good demand for long- 

 stapled cotton both in America and in England. 



For the crop of 1903-4 it is estimated that nearly 700 

 acres will be planted. The time for planting is in .June and 

 July, or August at the latest. The seeds are planted three 

 to a hole, about 6 to 12 lb. per acre, in 4 feet rows and 

 16 inches apart. Some planters advocate 2 feet by 3 feet. 



The period for reaping extends from the middle of 

 November to May, and on an average, 1,000 lb. of seed- 

 cotton were obtained from an acre. After ginning, the 

 proportion of seed was as 7,163 lb. of .seed to 2,837 ft. of 

 lint in 10,000 B). of seed-cotton or, roughly speaking, 7 to 3. 

 A woman — and picking cotton is work eminently suited for 

 women and children — after a little practice, can pick 40 to 

 .50 B). of seed-cotton in a day, that is, an acre in twenty to 

 twenty-five days : in other words, twenty to twenty-fi-ve 

 women could pick an acre in a day. Care should be taken 

 to pick the cotton in dry weather. Whether it will be of 

 advantage to ratoon the crop, is a question to b(! decided 

 by further exi)erience. The minimum price obtained has 

 been lOt/. per Bb., and a nia.ximum of Is. lUl. per lb. has 

 been obtained. The cotton industry has come most 

 opportunely and may enable the island to tide over, in 

 a measure, a serious crisis in its agricultural history. 



COST OF CULTIVATION. 



Jlost of the land planted in cotton last season was 

 previously in cane, but in one instance some new land was 

 cleared of bush. The bush was first cut and burnt, the 

 debris ranged in lines with a hoe and the cotton seed planted 

 in between the lines. The cost of cultivation was given to 

 me as follows: — 



£ s. d. 

 Cutting and burning per acre ... 10 



Ranging „ „ ... 4 



Planting „ ,, ••• 16 



Three weedings (S; Is. 2c?. per acre ... 3 6 



Picking 1,000 tt). (2 Is. per 100 a. ... 10 



In the case of land planted with cotton after cane, the 

 work was much less. The cane stumps were dug out and 

 the trash ranged in the furrows. The banks were then 

 forked or grubbed over with a subsoil jilough and the seeds 

 planted. Three weedings were given during growth. The 

 cost of cultivation was as follows : — 



£ s. d. 

 Digging out cane stumps per acre ... 2 6 



Hanging trash „ „ ... 2 



Forking banks „,,... 4 3 



Planting seed ,,„... 10 



Three weedings @ Is. Id. „ ,, ... 3 6 



Picking cotton (a L«. per 100 Dj. ... 10 



1 3 3 



When the plough was used instead of the fork, the cost 

 of ploughing per acre was about 3s. 



The first weeding is generally given as soon as the 

 plants are well above the ground, and the second and third 

 weedings at intervals of from two to three weeks, and by 

 the time the last weeding has been given the plants are 

 almost meeting across the rows. 



Cotton Seed Cake. 



The Farmer and Stock-breeder, of November IG, 

 publishes a report on the adulteration of manures and 

 feeding stutfs, submitted by the Consulting Chemist 

 to the last meeting of the Council of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society of England. In this report Dr. Voelcker 

 draws attention to the adulteration of Egyptian cotton 

 seed cake :— 



There is good reason to believe that admixture of 

 Bombay cotton seed with Egyptian-grown seed goes on 

 extensively, the product being sold as ' Egyjitian cotton seed 

 cake', and at the price of the latter. As the Bombay seed, 

 on account of the presence of an excess of cotton wool and of 

 its inferior qualit)', is more than £1 per ton cheaper than the 

 Egyjitian seed, there is considerable margin for profit in this 

 admixture, which is really an adulteration. Purchasers are 

 advised to stipulate in their contracts for ' pure Egyptian 

 cotton seed cake,' and to see that cotton seed cake sold to 

 them is so described on the invoice sent. 



1 19 



Machine for Cutting Guinea Grass, etc. The 



Hon'ble Lieutenant-Colonel A. H. Pinnock writes in the 

 November issue of the Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural 

 Society on the utility of horse-power mowing machines for 

 cutting Guinea grass and cleaning commons. The writer 

 has had in use for eighteen months a ' Deering Ideal One- 

 horse Mower,' and during that time it has cut over 100 acres 

 of grass and commons without requiring any expenditure 

 whatever for repairs. The cost of this machine landed in 

 Jamaica was £10 10s. Colonel Pinnock has found it 

 advisable to attach to it a false shoe by means of which the 

 knife is kept 3 to .3 inches, as required, above the level of 

 the ground. This attachment protects the knife from injury 

 by stumps, etc. It is estimated that with one big horse or 

 a pair of small mules, the machine can cut an acre of Guinea 

 grass in half an hour. This machine has also been found to 

 give most satisfactory results when used for cleaning pastures 

 and commons. Eight to ten acres j>er day would be a 

 reasonable task for a man and two mules. 



