82 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 12, 1904. 



The first important matter to arrange for is the 

 destruction of all old cotton plants at the end of the 

 present crop so as to leave nothing for insects and other 

 pests to feed upon to carry them over until the next 

 crop. There should be no attempt to ratoon any areas 

 in cotton this year. Those who do so will only have 

 themselves to thank, if their plants are affected with 

 disease and the crop is injured. Nothuig can justify 

 any attempt at carrying over a ratoon crop this year. 

 It is hoped that no one will attempt anything of the 

 kind. The risk is too great, and, besides, the yield of 

 a ratoon crop from the present plants is likely to be so 

 small as to be hardly worth the trouble. 



The next point is carefully to select new land for 

 the next planting. The soil should be good and deep, 

 of a light loam}' character and in a sheltered and 

 accessible situation. The land should be ploughed or 

 forked and well broken up so as to form a mould. The 

 locality should not be a wet one. A rainfall exceeding 

 80 inches per annum may be regarded as probably too 

 hea\'y for profitable cotton growing. 



'Die selection of good seed has been urged so often 

 that it is hardly necessary to repeat recommendations 

 under this head. None of the seed grown this year in 

 the West Indies should be used for planting purposes. 

 The Imperial De]3artment of Agriculture is prepared 

 to sujjply the best seed direct from the Sea Islands at 

 cost price. Further, this seed will be disinfected 

 beforehand. 



Perhaps the most imjjortant point of all is to 

 prepare for the attacks of the cotton worm. This 

 attacks cotton everj-where. It is proved, however, 

 that the treatment with Paris green and lime is 

 absolutely trustworthy, if applied in time. For every 

 acre planted in cotton there should be kept at 

 hand, ready for use for the cotton worm, at a 

 moment's notice, at least 3 It), of Paris green and 18 

 tb. of slaked lime ; also bags of coarse osnaburg for 

 distributing the mixture consisting of one part of Paris 

 green to six parts of lime. Those who are prepared to 

 carry out fully these suggestions and give close 

 attention to the cultivation and care of their cotton 

 fields need have little or no anxiety as to the future 

 of the cotton industr}- in these colonies. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Blindness Caused by Sand-box Juice. It 



is generally known throughout the West Indies tliat tlie 

 juices (' milk ') of the .sand-bo.x, the inanchineel and other 

 trees are of an injurious nature. As a case in point, mention 

 might be made of a man in Trinidad who has lieen blind 

 for about four years, the blindness lia\'ing been caused, it is 

 said, by the juice of the sand-box tree (Ilura crejiitciitx). 



Sugar-cane Experiments at Britisti Guiana. 



The following concludes the jirogress report, the 

 first instalment of which was published in the previous 

 number of the Agricultural New.-<: — 



Half of the older plots on North field received 

 tlressings of slag-phosiihatcs in .lune 1901, applied at the 

 rate of 6 cwt. per acre. The means of the yields of the 

 varieties of canes grown upon it without and with slag- 

 pho.sphates, wlien reaped in 1902 as plant canes, were 68'6 and 

 G8 tons resiiectively. 



The following shows the tons of canes jier acre rea[)ed 

 from each variety in December 190;? as classed under their 

 various .systems of nitrogenous manuring : — 



1st. ratoons. 



Sixty plots on this field were occupied by four varieties, 

 one-third of the plots receiving in 1902, at the jilanting of 

 canes, slag-phosphates at the rate of 6 cwt. ]ier acre, one-third 

 ' l)asic superiihosphate' at a similar rate, while the remaining 

 third did not receive any phosphatic dressing. The results 

 in tons of canes per acre were as follows : — 



PLANT C.iNES. 



On South field, using ninetj-two plots with varieties 

 as plant canes, the comparative results with and without 

 slag-phosphates were as follows : — 



