Vol. III. No. 66. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



339 



Five iier cent, increase on a long average is not to be 

 despised, but at the .same time it is not siicli as to satisfy the 

 aspirations either of the )>]anter.s or those engaged in sugar- 

 cane exiierinients. Certainly much more than that i.s liojied 

 for from the raising of see<lling canes, when the large 

 numbers that have been annually raised for the past five 

 years come to be thoroughly tested. 



The juice of B. '20S, both witli the plot-samiiles and 

 .samples grown ou trial areas of an acre anil upwards, and 

 sent from the estate mills, is uniformly very rich and very 

 pure: and on this account the cane merits some attention 

 from muscovado i>lautations. 



B. Ii7, on the other hand, yields a juice which, on the 

 average, is less pure than that of the White Transparent, and 

 in many cases, especially in unfavourable years, would give 

 trouble in the niu.scovado factory. 



These results have been calculated as an average of 

 plots in St. Michael, Christ Church, St. Philip, and St. Lucy, 

 but it .should be pointed out that B. 147 has given uniformly 

 high conii)arative I'esuits, year after year, at Dodds, 

 St. Philip, and in St. Lucy, and that there is no doubt in 

 our minds that in certain thin and well-drained black soils 

 B. 1-1:7 does give a yield which is a substantial increase on 

 the White Transparent. We can testify that the results of 

 the estates of a large comjiany that grow this cane upon 

 a large scale, show that this variety in St. Philip parish can 

 be made to give both as plants and ratoous higher 

 results than the White Transparent, and evidence is 

 forthcoming from other cane-growing countries of the excel- 

 lence of this variety. Still, it is evident that, for general 

 cultivation in other parts of Barbados, this variety cannot be 

 recommended. 



In black soils, the ratoon j'ields of sugar were as 

 follows:— White Transparent, 2,400 ft.; B. 208, 2,900 ft.; 

 B. 147, 2,800 ft. 



The results in red soils are more encouraging to the 

 experimenters than those in the black soils. 



The yields of muscovado sugar of the White Trans- 

 parent variety were: — plant canes, 4,300 ; ratoous, .S,.700 ft. ; 

 average, 3,900 ft. 



B. 208~plants, .5,6-'>0 ft. : ratoons, 3,800 ft. ; average, 

 4,700 ft. Increase over White Transparent, 20 per cent. 



D. 9-5 — plants, 4,-5-50 ft. ; ratoons, 4,480 ft. ; average, 

 4,520 ft. Increase over White Transparent, 16 per cent. 



B. 147— plants 4,070 ft.: ratoons, 2,290 ft.; average, 

 3,180 ft. 



These red soil results, we think, should lead planters 

 to give to B. 208 a careful and universal trial on a small 

 estate scale. B. 208 owes its yield partly to the extreme 

 richne.ss and purity of its juice, and it often happens that, 

 although the yield of canes, and therefore their field 

 appearance, is not equal to that of White Transparent, the 

 results when it comes to the factory eclipse those of White 

 Transparent. We urge a general trial of B. 208 on a small 

 scale in red soils. 



Evidently the ratoon results on red soils of B. 1 47 put 

 it entirely out of the question as a variety for those districts. 



Turning now to the year 1904, taken alone, the results 

 are chiefly of interest as introducing, for the first time as 

 selected seedlings, a few of the newer seedling varieties. 



It is appropriate at this point briefly to view the 

 weather conditions of the season under report. As we all 

 clearly remember, the rainfall for the first nine months was 

 all that a planter could desire, and led to a good spring of 

 young canes and a luxuriant growth. Late in October and 

 in November, however, which is generally recognized as a 

 critical jieriod in regard to the yield of the canCj a period of 



some weeks of severe drought set in, a drought that 

 completely checked the growth of the crop. This was 

 followed by heavy rains that lasted till quite late into the 

 following reaping season. On the whole, the weather 

 conditions were highly favourable to a large return, but at 

 the same time the November drought must have had the effect 

 of sensibly diminishing the crop. 



The crop of 1904 is not what was expected from these 

 conditions. But, in the first place, the conditions were not 

 ecpial everywhere. To leeward, for exanqile, the rainfall 

 could not be painted in the favourable colours used for the 

 rest of the island. Then again the crop is recorded in 

 estimated hogsheads, and the estimated hogshead this year 

 was above the average weight. Were the crop reckoned iu 

 tons, the comparative yield of the year would show up more 

 favourably. 



But over and above these reasons, it .should be borne iu 

 mind that owing to several estates being in recent years sold 

 out in small lots, there is less land under cane cultivation. 

 Then, land that used to be in plant canes is now in 

 ratoons; upwards of 1,000 acres were under cotton, some 

 was under bananas, and lastlj-, the estates have adopted 

 a policy of self-support which involves a rotation of crops 

 and a proportion of land under provision and fodder crops. 



Briefly put, the following are .some of the most interest- 

 ing results in the black soils. 



Yield of muscovado sugar per acre : — 



White Transparent — plants, .5,.560 ft.; ratoons, 2,960 ft.; 

 average, 4,300 ft. 



B. 208— plants, .5,GC0 ft.; ratoons, 3,800 ft.: average, 

 4,740 ft. 



B. 147— plants, .i),320 ft.; ratoons, 3,130 ft.; average, 

 4,230 ft. 



B. 1,.529 — plants, 7,470 ft., i.e., 30 per cent, increase on 

 White Tran.spareiit plant canes of the same year. 



This variety gave favourable yields on single plots in 

 the two previous seasons, a result that led to its trial as 

 a selerrted seedling. The favourable results of this cane are 

 due to a combination of good tonnage and very rich and 

 pure juice. The cultivation of this variety will be extended 

 at once to as many ex[ierimental plots as possible. It is 

 premature to say whether the results of this year will be 

 confirmed in our sul.>sequent trials. 



The remaining seedlings grown in black soils call for ro 

 special comment. The results iu muscovado yields are givcn 

 as follows : — 



U. 842— plants, 5,480 ft. D. 95— plant.s, 5,410 ft.: 

 ratoons, 4,960 ft. : average, 5,190 ft. D. 1,438— plants, 

 5,400 ft. B. 376— plants, 5,300 ft. ; ratoons, 3,032 ft. ; 

 average, 4,160 ft. 



The more interesting red soil re.sults were as follows — • 

 yields calculated on muscovado sugar : — 



White Transparent — plants, 5,400 ft. ; ratoon.s, 4,830 ft.; 

 average, 5,120 ft. ; B. 208 — plants, 7,210 ft. ; ratoons, 

 4,260 ft. : average, 5,740 ft. 



B. 1,529— plants, 6,650 ft. 



B. 376 — plants, 6,360 ft.: ratoons, 5,290 ft. : average, 

 5,830 ft. 



B. 393 — plants, 5,980 ft.; ratoons, 1,950 ft. ; average, 

 3,960 ft. 



B. 379 — plants, 5,480 ft.; ratoons, 5,272 ft. ; average, 

 5,370 ft. 



D. 95 — plants, 5,210 ft.; ratoons, 5,390 ft. ; average, 

 5,300 ft. 



Three varieties, viz., B. 208, B. 1,529, and B. 376 

 have given yields which show an increase over the White 

 Transparent, 



