Vol. III. No. 67. 



THE AGKICDLTUEAL NEWS. 



363 



EDUCATIONAL. 



School Gardens at Tobago. 



Mr. H. Milleii, Curator of the Botanic Station 

 at Tobago, ha.s forwarded the following note on school 

 gardens in the island : — 



!Most schools have attached to them a plot of land 

 devoted to the growing of tropical and temperate economic 

 plants. There e.xi.st twentj'-three gardens in the i.sland. 



Recently these have been insiiected by the Curator and 

 Agricultural Instructor, and some of the gardens are very 

 creditable ; the gardens are worked entirely by the boys 

 attending the schools. It was noticeable that the gardens in 

 Country Districts are generally kept in a better condition 

 and more interest is taken in them than those in or near 

 a town. At the next School Garden Show to be held in 

 November some good exhibits are expected ; the Botanic 

 Station has assisted in distributing seeds and plants; but to 

 secure a regular supply of European vegetables seeds should 

 be imported at intervals. 



Agricultural Education at St. Vincent. 



The following extracts relating to the teaching 

 of Agriculture are taken from the report of the 

 Inspector of Schools for the Windward Islands on the 

 examination of the elementary schools of the colon}' of 

 St. Vincent held between May 20 and July 27, 1904:— 



This was the first occasion on which this subject also 

 formed part of the school curriculum. With the exception 

 of the examination at Chateaubelair Wesleyan School, the 

 whole lot of examinations was conducted on purely 

 theoretical lines. Sidiool gardens have been laid out at the 

 following schools: — Chateaubelair, Troumaca, Buccament, 

 Chauncey, Camden Park, and Brighton, but only those at 

 Chateaubelair, Chauncey, and Camden Park have been 

 cultivated, the others probably having been allowed to await 

 the incoming of the rainy season. The pupils of Kingstown 

 Anglican, Itoman Catholic, and Wesleyan Schools which have 

 no plots attached to them, pursued their studies during the 

 year at the Agricultural School in Kingstown on certain 

 regular days appointed for the purpose. There are, in addition 

 to these school gardens, plots under Government control 

 Available for primary school work at Belair and at 

 Georgetown, adjoining the schools there ; while at Stubbs 

 and Jlarriacpia, there is ample frontage for making good 

 gardens. 



The teaching has been confined as a rule to a very 

 elementary course of study : but Chateaubelair, Kingstown 

 Anglican, and Brighton did rather more advanced work than 

 the others. The first mentioned was by far the best in the 

 colony. The pupils gave practical demonstration of their 

 knowledge of the theory taught them, by the ease and 

 familiarity with which they dissected and removed the 

 several parts of bean seeds, showed and handled separately 

 the different parts of the hibiscus fiower, unpotted plants 

 and understood their re-potting, and answered questions 

 particularly relating to soils and drainage, together with 

 various other tests undei-gone by them. Their garden was in 

 excellent order notwithstanding the fact that the dry season 

 had scarcely then passed. On the whole, first principles 

 were well and carefully taught in all schools oft'ering this 

 subject. Blackie's TiopkaJ Headers have been sujiplied in 

 all the schools and are made use of by the }iupils, the 

 -teachers suj^jilementing the information therein given, when 



found necessary, from the notes taken at the lectures 

 attended by them. There was hardly any cultivation of 

 plants in pots or tubs. Those schools which possess no 

 garden might advantageously make an effort in that 

 direction, especially as the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture awarded Diplomas of ]Merit to several schools for 

 the excellence of their exhibits in pots and tubs at the 

 Agricultural Show held in the month of March of this year. 

 From the very satisfactory results obtained at the 

 Chateaubelair Wesleyan School, I strongly recommend and 

 advise teachers to teach ' object-lessons' as frequently as 

 opportunity will perndt, from plant life and agricultural 

 subjects. The subject should be taught in the lower 

 standards with the view, among others, to becoming the 

 handmaid eventually, lit/ vimas of lessons on i^lant life, etc., 

 of the more advanced study of agriculture. As taught at 

 present, this latter is not unfrequently looked upon by junior 

 men as being merely an overgrown parasitic off-shoot of the 

 former and nothing more, ilanagers, by co-operation with 

 such teachers, can readily disabuse their minds of this fallacy 

 and, as time goes on, the harmonious relationship of the two 

 subjects will naturally Ije brought into full play, almost 

 unconsciousl}', with all the advantages derivable therefrom. 



YLANG-YLANG OIL. 



The Board nf Trade Juaraal for September 8 

 has the following extract from the ' Monthly Summary' 

 of commerce of the Philippine Islands : — 



Among the other products of economic value in the 

 Philippines, ylang-ylang oil as an export amounted to 

 §123,182, or about .50 i)er cent, increase over the trade in 

 1902, the shipments to France advancing in about the same 

 proportion. Some consider the oil as equal in perfume to 

 attar of roses, and by the greater yield of essence furnishing 

 a less expensive base, it becomes a strong competitor of the 

 latter, the perfumers of the United States to whom exporting 

 houses in Manila shipped nearly §10,000 worth last year, 

 making it the base of some of their most expensive extracts, 

 ihe ylang-ylang tree grows best in the Philippines and it 

 takes about 7-5 lb. of the (lowers, worth from 8c. to l-oc. gold 

 per lb. to yield 1 R). of oil. The cost of manufacture is 

 about Sf, and it sells readily for from §40 to §.50 in open 

 market, with the supply unequal to the demand. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial Commis.sioner of Agriculture return- 

 ed to Barbados on Monday, October 24, and re.sumed 

 the duties of his office the same day. 



The Imperial Conitnissioner of Agriculture, accom- 

 panied by Messrs. E. Lomas Oliver and Richard 

 Stancliffe, the Deputation from the British Cotton- 

 growing Association, left Barbados on S.S. ' Dahome ' 

 on November 1, for the Northern Islands. It is 

 expected that Sir Daniel Morris will return to Barbados 

 in S.S. 'Orinoco' on November 11. He will leave 

 soon afterwards with the members of the Dej)utation 

 for the Southern Islands. 



Consequent on the departure from St. Vincent of 

 Mr. C. H. Knowles, B.Sc, and pending the arrival of 

 his successor, Mr. A. J. Clarke, of Barbados, has been 

 temporarily appointed to carry on the duties of Resi- 

 dent Master at the Agricultural School. 



