102 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 26, 1904. 



TURNER'S HALL WOOD. 



The only poition of the tropiciil forest that once 

 covered the island of Barbados consists ui a few acres 

 known as Turner's Hall wood, in the parish of 

 St. Andrew, about 12 miles froui Hi'idgetown. 



In ]«4S, Sir Robert Schoniburgh referred to it as 

 follows: — 'The lover of Nature can only hope that 

 this relic of the former forest of Barbados may be 

 kept sacred for the instruction and study of future 

 generations.' 



In July 1900, an arrangement was entered into by 

 Mr. George Sealy, the Attorney of Turner's Hall 

 plantation, to preserve carefully this small patch 

 of forest as a ' Nature Garden ' and as a place of 

 interest from an historical, as well as a scientific, point 

 of view to residents and those who may from time 

 to time visit the island. 



It is a pleasure to place on record that the promise 

 made by Mr. Scaly has fully been carried out, as 

 shown in the following copy of a letter addressed to 

 him by the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture: 



Barbados, Kebniaiy 22, 1904. 



With reference to my letter, No. 947 of April 18, and 

 your reply of April 26, 1900, relative to tlie preservaticMi 

 nf the reiiniaut of the iinligeiiou.s forest of the island existing 

 at Turner's Hall plantation, 1 have pleasure in informing you 

 that I visited this iTiteresting locality on Saturday last and 

 I was very gratified to observe that since my last visit the 

 trees and undergrowth appear to have been looked after 

 very eari'fully and altogether they i)resent a very luxuriant 

 condition in marked contrast to the scattered patches of 

 woodland in other parts of the island. 



I quite appreciate the difficulties that have heeii met 

 with in endeavouring to protect Turner's Hall wood from 

 iiijiu'y, and it must be a source of gratification to .Sir Richard 

 Fitzherbert and yourself to realize that this singularly 

 attractive patch of forest is now in such a condition as to 

 afford a good idea of the charactei- of the foi-est growth that 

 once coveied the greater part of this island. 



I trust that it will be found possible still to continMc 

 the protection given to Turner's Hall wood and that it will 

 be preserved strictly from tres|)assers of every kind. Po.ssilily 

 there is no spot anywhere in the West Indies that cjeserves to 

 be so jealously guarded from injury. 



(SgJ.) I). ifOKRIS. 



KOLA NUTS. 



.Several references have been made in the A;jri- 

 f.tdtural News to the different kinds of kola that 

 exist in West Africa and in the West Indies, and to 

 the fact that the kind with two cotyledons is preferred 

 in the market. This was also the subject of an article 

 in the TlV.s7 Indioji BtilHin (Vol. IV, pp. 182-^i), and 

 further iiupiiries have been made by Mr. J. R. Jackson, 

 A.L.S., who has contributed the tbllowing notes : — 



In connexion with the trade in kola and the (luestion of 

 the identification of the sjiecies yielding the different forms 

 of seeds known in commerce, which has formed the sulyect 

 of a .special article in the ll^s^ Indian liidhtin (Vol. IV. jjp. 

 182-8), the following extracts IVom letters f have leceive.l iu 

 answer to my imjuiries on the subject will he of interest. 



They are the opinions of exjierts both in Iviidnn and 

 Liverpool. The former writes :- 



'So far as London is concerned, there is a kiml nf famine 

 in kolas West Indian kolas are preferred to West .\frican 

 in this country and the halves (as the two-cotyledon ones 

 are called) are i)referred to the quarters. In London 6(/. per 

 II). is obtained for good halves and the same article sells at 

 from \lil. to '2<l. in Liverpool where most of the West Indian 

 kola nuts are imported. The reason of their low juice in 

 bivci-[iool is that they are bought on the ipiay and the 

 buyer has to pay all dock and delivery charges. Kresli 

 kola nuts Iiring a higher price than dried on account cif the 

 tact that the kolanin exists in these in cond.iuation with the 

 body which lorms kola red, hence, if a preparation contains 

 undecomposed kolanin, that substance is slowly split up in 

 the body with the consequent sustaining action tliat comes 

 from slow iihysiological infiuence. The demand for kola 

 nuts in this country has gone oft" very materially. They are 

 scarcely used at all in pharmacy, and Tibbie's Vi-Cocna people 

 are probaldy the biggest buyer's. Two or three years ago 

 there was a very large demand for the nuts in this c-oimtry 

 for the puri)ose of making vai-ious aerated beverages, but the 

 ]mlilic have got back to lemonade and ginger ale and very 

 little kola is now used. In France where apei-itives and 

 medicated wine are much more used than in this i-onntry, 

 and the need foi- remedies for troubles that follow excess is 

 greater, kola is lai'gely used." 



Little more than the aliove information was gained 

 fnMn my inquiries in Liverpool further than to endorse the 

 opinion that the West Indian nuts are much preferred l)y 

 f^nglish buyers, as they are considered superior to the West 

 African, and that preference is also given to those seeds 

 which have the two cotyledons joined together. Supplies are 

 also reported as very scarce and consequently higher jirices 

 have been realized, though as a rule the average price is 

 about 2(/. per It). At this rate it is considered there would 

 be a brisk market for kola of good ijuality, as many iiiquii'Ies- 

 are again being made for them. 



CORN STALKS FOR HAY. 



We take the folhjwing note on the valued of i.orn 

 stalks as fodder and their preservation in the form of 

 hay, from the Jmi nud of tli.e Hrdisli lloudu rii< Nof/c/,*/ 

 of A fjr 11- id I II. If and ('ummeive : — • 



The value of the maize or corn stalk as a hay or feed 

 for stock, es|)ecially cattle, has too long remained unrecog- 

 nized. Hundreds of acres of corn are grown and no use is 

 made of the stalks after the cob has been removed. 1"liere is 

 no reason why this really valual)le stock food should not be 

 highly api)reciated. Kvery year this ci-o|) is grown and the 

 stalks are allowed to go to waste, while thousands of dollars 

 worth of hay are imported to feed cattle and horses. But 

 until this idea receives practical acceptance, the stock interest 

 will remain, as now, ignorant of the real utility of one of the 

 most valuable of fodder crops. 



To harvest and cure a crop of corn stalks is not a <lifficult 

 matter. (Jonunoidy the ears of corn reach an advanced stage 

 of ripeness long before the stalks and l)lades of the plant have 

 ceased to be green and juicy ; then the ears of coin may « ith 

 safety be removed from the stalks any time after the grain 

 has become firm, a condition clearly indicated by the dense 

 glazed look of the corn grains. If the hay, therefore, be 

 gathered at this stage and put away under shelter from the 

 weather, it will keep good almost indefiiutely. It is doubtful 

 whether any other forage crop will jiroduce s<i large an annual 

 growth of good stock food as corn. 



