86 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 12, 1904. 



MINOR INDUSTRIES AT BARBADOS. 



At a uieetiiig of the Barbados Agricultural Society, 

 held on February 19, after the special business before 

 the meeting had been disposed of, the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture addressed the members in 

 reference to the present position of minor industries in 

 the island. The following is a brief summary of his 

 remarks : — 



Next t(i the sugar industry, tlie sulyects that were of 

 greatest iiioinent to tliu island were the experiments that 

 were beiiig carried on in tlie cultivatiim (if cotton, onions and 

 bananas. These experiments had been going on for some 

 time and were still more or less in the exiieriniental stage. 

 Hence it was of great imi)ortiince that the planters should 

 consider the circumstances connected with these industries 

 and see what could be done in order to place thera on 

 a thoroughly satisfactory footing. 



COTTON INDUSTRY. 



With regard to the cotton industry, the general 

 impression amongst members of the planting connnunity was 

 that the experiments of the last season had beoi a good deal 

 interfered with, first of all by the cotton worm, and next by 

 the unfavourable weather that had prevailed during the last 

 three or four months. Nevertheless, the prospects for the 

 present season were promising. He had already received 

 orders for .something like S.JO bushels of the be.st cotton seed 

 to be obtained from the 8ea Islands, and the invitation to 

 growers to pay for it within a certain time had been well 

 responded to throughout the West Indies. To show that the 

 people were in earnest in the matter in this island, he would 

 mention that Mr. Bovell had received orders and payment for 

 about 4,800 lb. of seed, which meant that at lea.st 800 acres 

 would be put under cultivation during the next sea.son. He 

 had little doubt that, if the planters would exercise due care 

 with their crops, they would have a fair chance of success. 



With regard to planting for the next season, he would 

 strongly advise that every effort slK>uld be made to prevent 

 the carrying over of diseases to the new crop. With that in 

 view it was necessary that every portion of the last cro[) 

 should be buried or burned ; that oidy selected seed, previou.sly 

 sterilized, should be sown; and finally that the cotton should 

 be planted on entirely new land. 



If it were found, ultimately, that the conditions of 

 climate and soil were unfavourable to cotton, by all means let 

 them try something else ; but until they had carried on 

 experiments for another year or two, he was of oiiinion that 

 they would not be in a position to say what the future of the 

 industry was likely to be. 



The Hon. Forster Alleyne briefly stated to the meeting 

 his experience and mentioned that although lie was a little 

 disappointed in the yield, yet he was not discouraged in the 

 least and was intending to plant as much, if not more, cotton 

 this year. 



ONION CULTIVATION. 



Sir Daniel Morris then proceeded to make some remarks 

 aViout onion cultivation. He said that this cultivation had 

 been carried on in some cases with success ; in others it had 

 not been so successful. As far as he could gather, there had 

 been two or three reasons why the cultivation this year had 



not been so succes.sful as liefore. One of these was that the 

 season had been an unfavourable one for onion growing. The 

 weather had been very wet, and in some cases the bulbs 

 hail commenced to rot. The Department was hoping to 

 obtain seed in .Inly this year. Growers should try to plant 

 their oiuons this year .so as to get them ready for the market 

 aliout the middle or end of January. At any rate, the 

 experiments were well worth continuing. 



Mr. Scibcrt Evelyn agreed with Sir Daniel Morris that 

 the weather had lieen most unfavourable for onion cultivation, 

 but considered that, on the whole, the experiments had been 

 satisfactory and should be [lersevered with. The Hon. Forster 

 Alleyne also exiiressed him.self as .satisfied that onions were 

 a most satisfactory crop to grow in Barbados, and stated 

 he intended to continue their cultivation. 



SHIPMENT.S OF FEUIT. 



Sir Daniel Morris said he would next touch on the 

 expoi-tation of fruit. The planters had been trying the 

 experiment of shiiiping bananas from this i.sland to the 

 ]']nglish market, packed in crates as in the Canary Islands. 

 On the whole, these ex]ieriments had not turned out badly. 

 Some growers had made money, others had lost. If the 

 growers of bananas would grow large launches ai\d cut them 

 exactly at the right time for shipment, there was little 

 doubt that there was a jirospect of a remunerative trade 

 between this island and the United Kingdom by means of 

 the Itoyal Mail Steamers. He suggested that a conference of 

 the banana growers should be held to consider what might 

 be done to advance their interests. 



Sir Daniel Morris then read a letter (dated Jaiuiary 13, 

 1!)04), that he had received from the Chairman of the Jioyal 

 !Mail Steam Packet Company. The following is an extract 

 from this letter : — 



Fi'oiii my previous communications you are awaie that the 

 question of the conveyance of fruit from the West Indies lias 

 lieeii havintf; my close personal attention. 



CUI.N'ESE BANANAS FKOM BARBAHOS. 



I note that your desire is to establish a trade in the Chinese 

 banana from Barbados on entirely different lines from those 

 adoiited at Jamaica by the Ignited Fruit Company, of U.S.A., 

 or at Trinidad b}- the Symington Syndicate, and that in your 

 Opinion, a sj-steiii of veiitilatitm by means of fans is sufficient to 

 enaVile the Chinese banana, when packed in crates, to arrive in 

 England in good condition. 



I aLso note that cold storage is not recpiircd for bananas 

 from Barbados, provided the fruit chamber is thoroughly 

 ventilated by fans sufficiently large to ensure a ciirient of air 

 through the eompartinent. 



OUliIXAUY li.ANAXAS AMI OTHER KRIIT. 



The result of my recent investigations has caused me to 

 form an opinion coincident with your own, as to the best system 

 of fitting steamers for the carriage of fruit, and I have now 

 arranged to tit the system reconimended bj' you in the 'Tagus' 

 and ' Trent,' in place of the existing system. The same air will 

 then lie continually |iassed tlir<aigli the chambers and returned 

 to the refrigerate Ji-s, when, on each occa.sion, it will be deprived 

 of any moisture. When this work is carried out, and we have 

 had time to asceitain by practical experience if the I'esults are 

 satisfactory, my coiniiany will take into consideration fitting a 

 similar system in the other mail steamers. 



Eelworms in Tobacco. Mr. John Ikdling, B.Sc, 



writes from the Agricultural School at St. Kitt's : 'Some 

 plants of Sumatra tobacco, grown at the Botanic Station, 

 suddenly wilted when about a foot high. In tran.slucent 

 swellings on their young roots I found motionless nematodes 

 or eelworms. The infection was traced to the compost in 

 the boxes in which the seedlings were first pricked out.' 



