THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 2, 1904. 



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glDriculturut l^leiufi 



Vol. IIL SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 1901. No. 45. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Barbados Cotton in the English Market. 



Inforuifition ha.s been received by the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture from the British Cotton 

 Growing Association with I'egard to the sale of cotton 

 recently shipped from Barbados. Of the 18 bales 

 shipped, 11 were sold at 12i</. per It), and 7 at 

 13i(/. The cotton is reported as being 'good staple, 

 clean, fairly well prepared, but rather deficient in 

 strength.' 



■ I ■ 



Utilization of Sea-moss. 



Samples of sea-moss were recently received from 

 Dr. Numa Rat, of Anguilla, at the office of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture. Dr. Rat mentioned 

 that this moss is exported from Anguilla in some 

 quantity to Briti.sh Guiana, where it is retailed at Sd. 

 per ft., and suggested that an e.xport trade might be 

 developed. 



Messrs. Knight & Co., druggists, of Barbados, to 

 whom a sample of this moss was sent, do not consider 

 that the prospects of such a trade are at all promising, 

 since a similar moss is collected locally and sold at 

 from 6 cents to 12 cents per 11). A sample has also 

 been forwarded to Professor Dunstan, of the Imperial 

 Institute, with a request that he will endeavour to 

 obtain information as regards the value of this 

 product. 



Another use for this sea-moss, suggested by 

 Dr. Rat, is in the preparation of a paste (' stickphast '). 

 As such the product has been found entirely satisfac- 

 tory, and it is possible that a sale might be obtained 

 for it, if it can be manufactured at a sufficiently low 

 price. 



Ginning Cotton at Barbados. 



\Vc (iiidcrstand that at a meeting of the Cotton 

 Committee of the Barbados Agricultural Societ}-, held 

 on Friday November 27, 1903, it was decided to 

 fix the price for ginning and baling cotton at the 

 Central Cotton Factory at 3 cents per Iti. of lint. 



It is generally accepted that during the coming 

 crop seed-cotton in all parts of the West Indies will be 

 ginned at the rate of 3 cents per 11). It is essential, 

 however, that the cotton be sent to the factory 

 carefully assorted and whipped beforehand. 



Cotton Cultivation in Trinidad. 



'I'he following is a brief summary of a paper, 

 published in the Pro(i'e<li nys of the. A(jrictilfti lul 

 Suricfi/, Trinidad, showing the state of cotton cultiva- 

 tion in that island at the end of September 1908, as 

 reported in replies to a circular .sent to all who had 

 received seed from the Botanic Gardens. Thirty-one 

 circulars were sent out, and fifteen replies received : — 



There are about 52 i acres under cotton, some 

 340 Iti. of seed having been sown. Of the seed sown 

 only about 4G per cent, germinated. From the replies 

 as to the state of the cotton, we gather that on about 

 half the estates the cotton was ' growing well,' while in 

 the other cases it was reported as ' fair.' 



Jamaica Exports. 



The Annual Report of the Collector General for the 

 year ended March 31, 1903, is published as a supple- 

 ment to the Jamaica Gazette of November 19, 1903. 



The exports show a net increase of £3.53,193, or 

 18'2 per cent, over those of the previous j'ear. The 

 increases occur chiefly in the following: — cocoa-nuts, 

 bananas, grape fruit, ginger, pimento and rum. A 

 decrease in quantity and value is, however, recorded in 

 respect of cacao, horses and mules, and lime juice. 



The following remarks by the Collector General 

 with respect to certain articles of export are of 

 interest : — 



' The increase in the output and the price obtained 

 for ginger are encouraging. Jamaica ginger has a 

 reputation for its excellent quality, but on account of 

 the primitive method of pre[)aring it for market, and 

 the little attention paid to sorting and grading, Cochin 

 ginger (which is of less intrinsic value than Jamaican, 

 but is much better graded and sorted) obtains 

 a higher price in the English market. It is hoped 

 that the increase in our exportation recorded this year 

 is an indication that exporters are pajing attention to 

 the need of careful preparation for market, b}^ which 

 the confidence of buyers may be established by success- 

 ful competition carried on in the foreign markets. The 

 hone}' industr)' is a fiourishing one anfl the appreciable 

 increase in this years output is one of the welcome signs 

 of the awakening of the small settler to the knowledge 

 that there is within his easy reach means of adding to 

 his income, and the remunerative price obtained should 

 be encouragement to continued cfibrt on his part.' 



