Vol. III. No. 47. 



THE 



AGRICULTTJEAL NEWS. 



41 



I 



Care of Farm Implements. 



The care of implements is a matter to whicli far 

 too little attention is usually paid by agriculturists. 

 It is especially necessary in tropical countries that 

 tools and implements should not be neglected. We 

 would siiggest that efforts be made to instil this into 

 the minds of the 3'oung : lessons might well be devoted 

 to this matter in the elementary schools. Moreover, 

 it should be a sine qua nonofthe receipt of a grant for 

 agricultural teaching that proper provision is made for 

 the tools to be used by the scholars. 



The A(]ricidtur<d World of January 2 draws 

 attention to the necessity of keeping machines and 

 tools under cover when not in use, in order to avoid 

 injury by weathering. The importance of a coat 

 of paint as a protection to woodwork is generally well 

 recognized, but the paint is seldom used. 



Another point is the damage that is done to the 

 wearing parts of machines and implements through 

 neglect to use oil and grease. Again, nuts and screws 

 are allowed to rust through want of oil, with the result 

 that the threads become worn out and the nuts and 

 screws cannot be removed without injury. 



Careful attention to such points as these will 

 ■cause farm implements to last much longer and, 

 further, to give much greater satisfaction while in use. 



Cotton at St. Vincent. 



A short note appeared in the Agrkidtand 

 News (Vol. II, p. iOH) on the state of the cotton 

 experiment plots at St. Vincent. A further report, 

 dealing with the plots in Bequia, has recently been 

 received from Mr. (Jsment, the Agricultural Instructor. 



The plot at Union consists of 5 acres — 2i in 

 Upland and 2i in Sea Island. The condition of both 

 plots was good and the plants were bearing well. The 

 average number of ripe and unripe pods on the Upland 

 •cotton was twenty-five : on the Sea Island, thirty-five. 

 About 800 lb. of seed-cotton had been picked from the 

 Upland plot. Only a small quantity of the Sea Island 

 -cotton had been picked. 



At St. Hillary the plot required weeding, but the 

 cotton plants appeared to be healthy. The same 

 .acreage had been planted as at Union. Over 400 lit. 

 •of Upland cotton had been picked and the plants still 

 had a fair number of ripe and unripe pods on them. 

 'The picking of the Sea Island cotton was still in 

 progress, about .50 lb. having been already picked. 



On both plots the Sea Island plants had been 

 blown over to some extent by the strong winds : the 

 Upland variety has not suffered much, apparently being 

 able to withstand the wind better. 



The Agricultural Instructor also reports on a 

 number of cotton plots, other than Departmental, in 

 the district. The plots, though small, appeared to be 

 well looked after, and the plants were bearing well. 

 Mr. Osment remarks: 'The planting of cotton experi- 

 ment plots by the Imperial Department of Agriculture at 

 Bequia has given the people an opportunity of seeing 

 the proper way cotton should be planted and the 

 necessity for planting the best varieties'. 



Relationship of Woods to Water Supplies. 



We reproduce on page 39 of this issue a 

 summary of the conclusions arrived at by the Forest 

 Experiment Stations in Europe in connexion with 

 investigations as to the ' Relationship of woods to 

 domestic water supplies.' 



It is not considered jjrobable that the rainfall can 

 be appreciably increased by such tree-planting as is 

 possible in Britain, but it is pointed out that the 

 great advantage of woods lies in their conserving 

 .soil moisture and consequently increasing the amount 

 of available water. Not onlj' is the soil protected by 

 the foliage from the hot rays of the sun, but it is also 

 rendered much more retentive and absorbent by the 

 decaying leaves that have dropped from the trees. 

 Moreover, the soil being in a more porous and friable 

 condition, the rain-water finds a more easy entrance 

 than it would in the open country. All this has an 

 appreciable influence upon the fiow of streams that have 

 their sources in a well-wooded district. 



Forests al.so have a cooling influence on the soil, 

 which is due chiefly to the exclusion of the sun's rays. 

 Since, however, this depressing influence is much 

 greater in summer than in winter, the effect of forests 

 is to equalize the tempci-ature of water collected in 

 them, and this, it is pointed out, may be of considerable 

 importance from a hygienic point of view. 



Agricultural Improvements in the Leeward 

 Islands. 



In the Leeward Islands Blue Book for 1902-3, 

 the following review is given of the recent improve- 

 ments in Agriculture in the colony :— 



Owing to the critical condition of the sugar industry no 

 •substantial improvements in niacliinery have been made. 



Increased attention is being given to the cultivation of 

 new varieties of sugar-cane, which have now largely replaced 

 the Bourbon variety tliroughout the sugar districts of the 

 colony. Tlie investigations in connexion with varieties of 

 sugar-cane and tlie manurial requirements of this crop have 

 been continued by the Imperial De[)artment of Agriculture, 

 the expenses being defrayed from Imperial grants. The 

 results of these investigations are followed with considerable 

 interest by those engaged in tlie sugar industry. 



A small, but substantia], onion industry has been 

 established in Antigua, and a useful effort has been made in 

 the same direction in Jlontserrat. 



Owing to the low i)rice of sugar, more attention has 

 been given to the cultivation of corn (maize). 



Cotton lias been planted on a considerable scale in 

 St. Kitt's and ilontserrat, and on a small scale in Antigua. 

 This industry promises to be of very great importance to the 

 Leeward Islands. 



In Dominica the activity in increasing the cultivation of 

 limes and cacao has been well maintained, new plantations 

 have been opened and old ones extended. 



In Montserrat considerable progress has been made in 

 the way of restoring cultivation of lime trees and food 

 supplies after the diastrous hurricane of August 7, 1899. 



In the Virgin Islands efforts are being directed towards 

 the establishment of such industries as cotton growing, 

 limes and pine-apple planting, etc., for which purposes the 

 climate and soil are well adapted. 



