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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 3, 1904. 



ARBOR DAY. 



Antigua. 

 The following is a letter recei 



,'ed from the Hon. 



Francis Watts in regard to Arbor Day celebrations at 

 Antigua : — 



I have pleasuie in iufonning you that Aibor Day was 

 celebrated in Antigua most .successfully on November 9, not 

 only in St. John's, but in all the parishes in the island. 



The programme for Kt. .John'.s was as follow.s : — 



(1) The iilanting of a group of palms by his Excellency 

 the Governor, Lady Kuollys, Miss KnoUys and Mr. H. L. 

 Knollys opposite the east entriince to Government House. 



Befurc planting the trees his Excellency gave a brief 

 addres.s. 



(2) The planting of thirty-two mahogany trees on the 

 north and ea.st sides of the Cricket Ground, by young ladies. 



(3) Planting of twenty mahogany trees, to double the 

 avenue along part of the road through the Victoria Park, by 

 children of the Moravian and Wesleyiui schools. 



(4) The planting of mahogany trees round the new 

 Anglican school, by the school children. 



(5) The planting of avenues of mahogany and palm 

 trees in the grounds of Buxton Grove by the students of the 

 Training College and pupils of the school. 



(6) The i)lanting of rows of palm trees in Redclitf'e 

 •Street and Tanner Street by the pupils of the Girls' High 

 School. 



(7) The plantiwg of rows of palm trees in Pvedclitfe 

 Street and St. !Mary's Street by boys of the Granniiar School. 



Considerable public interest was taken in the ceremonies 

 which now appear to have become recognized institutions. 



Dominica. 



The fnlldwiiig re]Kirt on Arbor Day celebrations in 

 Dominica has been forwarded by Mr. A. J. Brooks, 

 Acting Curator of the Botanic Station : — 



I am pleased to be able to inform you that Arbor Day 

 was successfully celebrated in Dominica on the King's birth- 

 day. Owing to the existence of such a large number of 

 trees in the island, it was decided that only ornamental 

 trees and palms should be planted. 



The movement was purely of an educational character, 

 the object being to foster a love of plants among the 

 children. For this purpose the boys and girls of the Roseau 

 •School met at the schoolroom and songs and speeches 

 suitable to the occasion were given, after which the children 

 marched to the Savannah where the planting of [lalnis was 

 to take place. Twenty-two palms were planted. The plant- 

 ing having been completed, the proceedings terminated with 

 the .singing of the National Anthem. 



The boys of the ,\gricultural School took part in the 

 movement by planting a row of ornamental trees along the 

 edge of the iforne, the trees used being Cassia Fistu/a and the 

 Flamboj-ant which in time to come should give a beautifying 

 effect to the town. The Arbor Day movement is also to be 

 celebrated by all the schools in the country distriet.s, but 

 as November 9 proved to be inconvenient, the Queen's 

 birthday is to be recognized as a day set aside for tree 

 planting in these districts. 



Each tree planted is protected liy guards consisting 

 of three square posts arotnid which is fastened wire netting 

 to prevent fowls and cattle froiu causing damage. The plants 

 Used were raised at the station, and every assistance was 

 rendered by the local officers of the Department. 



St. Kitfs. 



The St. Kitt's A<lrcrtix''r of November 15 has 



the following account of the celebrations at St. Kitt's: 



Arbor Day was celebrated in this island on the Kind's 

 bu-thday. The day was celebrated in this island and over '^in 

 Nevis with some enthusiasm. The Botanic Station here 

 wore quite a festi\'e appearance under the decoration of tian-s 

 tastefully arranged along the central walk, and a large 

 number of trees was planted within its giounds. The 

 ceremony was formally opened by the Administrator, who 

 addressed an assemblage of over a thousand persons includiu" 

 the children of the various .schools in town. He pointed out 

 the objects for which they were invited to meet together and 

 expressed the hope that not only shoidd trees be regarded by 

 ;dl present as the natural ornament of the land in which they 

 live, but that each should cultivate a love for them and 

 protect rather than injure or destroy them as has beea 

 a common practice. 



At the conclusion of Ins remarks three cheers for His 

 Majesty King Edward YH were raised and the planting 

 ojicrations were then carried out, conunencing with the 

 Administrator and simultaneously followed by members 

 of the Executive and Legislative Councils, members of 

 the Basseterre Town Board, memliers of the ]\Iutual 

 Lnprovement Society, and six pupils each from the Grammar 

 School, Catholic, Anglican, Wesleyan and Moravian schools. 



After the ceremony at the Botanic Station a large part 

 of the assemblage repaired to the grounds of the AVesleyan 

 School, where upwards of thirty trees were planted 



Nevis. 



We are indebted to the Hon. C. A. Shand for the 

 fjllowing account of Arbor Day celebrations at Xevis: 



Arbor Day was celebrated here with great eclat. Fi-oni 

 700 to 800 school children mustered on the Savannah from 

 all quarters at L30. Arrived at the rendezvous, the children 

 were permitted to rest for a short time and then refreshments 

 were distributed. At 3 p.m. the cliildreu fell in and with 

 bands playing set out for the new cemetery which has recently 

 been enclo.sed by the Government and which had beeu 

 selected for the site of the tree planting. The National 

 Anthem was sung, and at its conclusion each appointed child 

 decorously jtroceeded to plant the tree assigned to it. The 

 Inspection Committee passed from tree to tree to ascertain if 

 the planting had been properly carried out. 



Virgin Islands. 



Mr. W. Fishlock, Agricultural Instructor in the 

 Virgin Islands, has forwarded the following note on 

 Arbor Day celebrations at Tortola : — 



Arbor Day was observed in Tortola, Virgin Islands, on 

 November 9, the King's birthday. The children of the 

 Anglican School assembled at 10 o'clock, and after short 

 exiilanatory addresses by the Rev. H. L. Monckton and the 

 Agricultural Instructor, proceeded to the residence of the 

 Commissioner, where sweet orange, date, and rubber trees- 

 were planted. They also i)lanted saman trees in the market 

 [ilace. 



The Wesleyan scholars assembled later, and njarched to 

 the Conmii.ssioner's residence, here they .sang the National 

 Anthem, and jilanted mammy, sapodilla, and pear trees. 

 Later they planted galba trees on the roadside near the 

 station. Bonfires were lighted at Kingston in the eveninff. 



