A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. III. No. 45. 



BARBADOS, JANUARY 2, 1904. 



Price Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Agi-icultural Shows : — 



Barbadiig 13 



F(iithc(Jining 13 



Agriculturo in Peru 3 



Cocoa-nuts and Molascuit 



in Canada 13 



Cocoa-nuts for Planting ... 3 

 CoU'ee Culture in Queens- 

 land 9 



Cotton : — 



Barbados, in English 



Market 



By-products, Utilization 



of 



Ginning at Barbados ... 



St. Kitt's 



Trinidad 



Cows' Milk, Variation in 

 Composition of 



Department News 



Department Publications... 



Educatiimal :— - 



Agricultural Scholarships 11 

 Essential ( )ils and Drugs ... 7 

 Fruits, Food Value of ... 4 

 Geology in Relation to 



Agriculture 3 



Gleanings 12 



Insect Notes : — - 



Some Peculiar Structures 10 

 Thrii>s on Cacao and 

 Onions 10 



Jamaica 



Page. 

 ... 8 



Exports 



Lemon Trade in Sicilj' ... 4 



Market Rejn.rts 14 



Minor Industries in the 



West Indies 9 



Notes and Comments ... 8 

 (.)nion Seed as Affected l)y 



Age 10 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Kultur des Kakaobaumes 11 



The Soil 11 



Picking and Ginning Ccttnn 1 

 Pine-apples and Mangos, 



ComjKisition of 4 



Poultry G 



Science Notes : — 



Custard Ajjple 



Formation of Carbo- 

 hydrates in Green 



Plants 6 



Sea-moss, Utilization of ... 8 

 Sea-weed as Manure ... 5 

 Sugar Industry : — 



Antigua, Raising Seed- 

 ling Canes at 2 



Beet Sugar Industry in 



United States 3 



Situation in Regard to 



Sugar 3 



Trinidad, Forest Resources 



of ... ... 9 



West Indian Products in 

 Canada 13 



Picking and Ginning Cotton. 



MONG the points upon which the successful 

 establishment of a cotton industry in these 

 islands depends we may mention the jjick- 

 ing and ginning of the cotton, and it must clearly be 



understood by all cotton growers that success in the 

 enterprise will largely depend upon the care which is 

 exercised in the proper preparation of the cotton for 

 market. It is just as important for the cotton grower 

 to see to the picking and assorting of his cotton as it 

 is for the fruit grower to pay attention to the handling 

 and packing of his fruit. 



In picking cotton it is essential that nothing but 

 perfectly ripe bolls should be picked. If immature 

 bolls — that is bolls that are not fully open — are 

 allowed to be picked, the quality of the cotton will be 

 depreciated. Cotton from unripe bolls is weak and 

 brittle and high prices cannot be expected for it. The 

 picker must have two hands free for the picking 

 operation, and this is secured by his being provided 

 with a bag, 2 feet by 3 feet, suspended from his shoulders. 

 Each boll should be grasped firmly in the left hand 

 while the right removes the contents. The bags when 

 full may be emptied into sheets or baskets placed at 

 convenient spots at the end of the rows ; the sheets (if 

 used) could be folded together and tied, and the cotton 

 carried to the store in them. After a little practice 

 the picker should find no difficulty in his work; but 

 he must be given clearly to understand that no 

 impurities are to get into the bag with the cotton. 

 A careless picker will gather with the seed-cotton frag- 

 ments of pods, leaves or twigs, and these will later on 

 have to be removed. It is with the view of preventing 

 this that afrangements should be made for the picker 

 to have the free use of both hands. 



After the seed-cotton is brought in, the next step 



