A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. III. No. 62. 



BARBADOS, AUGUST 27, 190i. 



Price Id. 



CONTENTS. 



by the planting of rows of suitable trees as wind-breaks 

 or shelter-belts. 



Page. 



Agriculture in : — 



Gold Coast ... 281 



Porfcu<'uesc; East Africa 278 



Educational : — 



School Gardens 286 



Eel- worms in St. Vincent 283 



Gleanings 284 



Horticultural Shows in 



United Kini^dom ... 276 



Page. 

 Insect Notes : — 



Brt)wn Ant in Porto 



Rico 282 



St. Kitt's-Nevis ... ... 282 



Job's Tears as a Famine 



Food 275 



Mango, Budding 283 



Market Reports 287 



Notes and Comments ... 280 



t)nii m Seed for the West 



Indies 280 



Rabbit Keeping in the 



West Indies 278 



Rubber Exports from 



Mozambique 281 



Science Notes : — 



Argan tree of Morocco 270 

 Atmospheric Nitrogen 270 

 Sea- weed as a Manure ... 270 

 Sugar Industry : — 



Virgin Islands 275 



West Indies 274 



West Indian Products ... 286 

 Wind-breaks or Shelter- 

 belts 273 



Wind-Breaks or Shelter-Belts. 



X many of the West India Islands, mors 

 especially those which deforestation has 

 caused to become wind-swept, one of the 

 most urgent requirements, from an agricultural stand- 

 point, is the protection of estates and peasants" 

 provision grounds from the wind. This can be effected 



When the principal crop of such islands was the 

 sugar-cane, and when the peasants were content to 

 grow canes and ground provisions, there was but little 

 need for this protection. Now, however, that other 

 industries are being introduced, when planters and 

 peasant proprietors are commencing to cultivate such 

 crops as limes, coffee and cacao, it is being realized 

 that good results can be obtained only where satis- 

 factory protection is afforded. 



In the absence of such protection the trees make 

 poor growth and the yield of produce is unsatisfactory. 

 In many districts the stunted and backward condition 

 of the plants is at once an indication that the situation 

 is unfavourable. 



Awain, in the case of such trees as those men- 

 tioned, where the yield depends upon the setting of 

 the fruit, it is of primary importance that the flowers 

 shall not be blown away by the wind before this takes 

 place. That is one of the principal reasons for 

 advocating the need of adequate protection for planta- 

 tions of limes, coffee, or cacao. Neglect to take this 

 precaution has been the cause of frequent failure. 



Another advantage of wind-breaks — one that 

 is of considerable importance in districts liable to 

 more or less prolonged droughts — lies in the part 

 played by wind-breaks in conserving soil moisture. 

 By sheltering the land from the drying winds 

 they exercise a strong protective effect on the 



