220 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 2, 1904. 





We uiKler.stanil that at Nl'Vis efi'orts are being made to 

 start frtcao cultivation in certain specially selected localities. 

 At Madden's estate there are 15 acres of 2-year old trees, 

 which are making very satisfactory growth. 



A disintegrator has been erected at Spooner's estate, 

 St. Kitt's, for the treatment of cotton seed. At a trial of this 

 machine last week it was found to give good results, the 

 disintegrated seed being in a very suitable condition for 

 puriioses. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Port ]V)3'al Mountains branch of the .Jamaica 

 Agricultural >Soeietv proposes to hold an Agricultural Show 

 at Hope, on -July 0. 



The Voice of St. Lucia, of June 16, speaking of the 

 name IJarbados bananas have made for themselves in England, 

 states that equally good bananas can be grown in St. Lucia, 

 and asks why this is not done. 



Several pairs of IJelgian hares are now ready for 

 disposal at the Agricultural School, St. Vincent. The price 

 is $rOO per pair. Ages, from tw-o to si.x months. They 

 may be had singly, if desired. 



According to advices from Puerto Cortes, Honduras, 

 n33,900 bunches of bananas were shipped from there to the 

 United States in 1894. In 1903 total shipments were 

 2,048,000 bunches. (Jamaica Gleaner, June 8.) 



According to the Montserrat llerahl of June 11, the 

 Snow scale is doing great damage to the lime trees in that 

 island. It is pointed out that spraying, to be effective, should 

 be done in the earliest stages cif the attack. 



Mr. A. J. Jordan, the Curator of the Botanic Station, 

 ^fontserrat, states that the plants of the Central American 

 rubber transplant badly. Cuttings have been successfully 

 struck from the well-ripened wood of the branches. 



The Toifenburg goat 'Paul,' now at the Agricultural 

 School, St. Vincent, can serve a limited number of goats. 

 A fee of Qd. will be charged. x\pplication should be made, 

 in advance, to the Resident ilaster. 



According to the Ititeviiutional Sn>/ar Juuriiul for June, 

 the amount of Java sugar imported into England is steadily 

 on tlie increase, and, with a continued imiirovement in prices, 

 it should replace a good deal of continental beet sugar in 

 the British market. 



The Tropical Agriculturist for May mentions that, on 

 inquiry as to the result of the importation of Ceylon cattle 

 into Trinidad some years ago, Mr. C. W. Meaden informs 

 them that the cattle were of very little u.se. They are being 

 kept, practically for .show, in the Government House grounds. 



The India-Ruhhcr Journal of Juno (!, mentions a new- 

 patent taken out for the manufacture of lioots, consisting of 

 a very thick can\as, which is coated with a solution of 

 gutta-iiercha, and then put under high pressure. The boots 

 and shoes are said to look exactly like leather (l>Iaekened), 

 and to wear very well. 



feed in i: 



The Central American Rubber tree (Castillon elastica) 

 is now fruiting throughout these islands. Planters and 

 others having this tree are urged to save its seeds for jilant- 

 ing, as it is desirable to extend its cultivation in tlie West 

 Indies. Curators of Botanic Stations will be glad to receive 

 seeds, which will be sown, and the young plants distributed. 



The imiiortation of cacao in a crude form into the 

 United States has increased in value from £200,000 in 1803 

 to about £1,600,000 in 1903, a rate of increase more rapid, 

 proportionately, than that of coffee and much more rapid 

 than that of tea, both of which it looks as if it was going to 

 displace in another two decades. (The Voice of St. Lucia, 

 June 9.) 



The distillation of bay leaves imported direct from the 

 West Indies, is carried on by us on a large scale. A sample 

 consignment from Bermuda yielded an oil of a widely 

 divergent character which cannot replace in practice tho 

 distillate from the West Indian material. Most striking are 

 the considerably higher specific gravity and the ready 

 solubility of the oil. (Semi-Annual Report of Messrs. 

 Schimmel it Co.) 



^Ir. J. C. Augustus, manager of the River estate. 

 Trinidad, recently forwarded to the Botanic Gardens a 

 bunch of Mu.ta. Cavciidis/iii (Governor Fit;, Cavendish or 

 Canary Island banana) weighing 134 U). This, says 

 Mr. Hart, was cut from a cacao 'contract,' and had no 

 special cultivation of any kind. The bunch had thirteen 

 hands, some containing twenty fingers each. 



The Jamaica Daily Telegraph of June 11, states that 

 Mr. G. N. Collins, Assistant Botanist in Tropical Agri- 

 culture, United States Department of Agriculture, is visiting 

 Jamaica for the purpose of studying the agricultural 

 conditions, with reference to their bearing on the development 

 of Porto Rico. Mr. Collins is particularly interested in the 

 cotiee, cacao and banana industries, and the commercial 

 l)OSsibilities of the numerous East Indian and African 

 economic i)lants that have been introduced into this island. 



The following note is translated from the Journal 

 d' Agriculture Tropicale of May 31, 1904, being a review of 

 Prof. H. Marshall Ward's 'Grasses' (Cambridge, The 

 University Press) : ' This manual on tho grasses will be 

 useful both to botanists and to scientific agriculturists. 

 Unfortunately, the author, although he has taught in India,. 

 did not think it [)Ossible to include any but P.ritish grasses in 

 the book. For the execution and control of details the 

 author draws attention to the hell) ''^ received from two of 

 his assistants, whose names are already familiar to the 

 colonial imblic — Jlr. R. H. Bitien, author of researches on 

 gutta-percha, and Mr. Lewton-Brain, now on the staflf of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture.' 



