136 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Apkil 23, 1904. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well 

 as all specimens for naming, should be addressed 

 to the Commissioner, Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, Barbados. 



Communications are invited, written on one 

 side of the paper only. It should be understood 

 that no contributions or specimens can, in any 

 case, be returned. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricul- 

 tural News' should be addressed to the Agents, 

 and not to the Department. A complete list of 

 the London and Local agents will be found at 

 foot of page 143 of this issue. 



The 'Agricultural News': Price Id. per 

 number, post free I'/id. Annual subscription 

 payable to Agents 2s. 2d. Post free, 3s. 3d. 



gigricultiiral |linufi 



Vol. III. SATURDAY, APRIL 2:5, 190-t. No. 53. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Leeward Islands Sugar-cane Experiments. 



Part II of the Report on the Sugar-cane 

 experiments conducted in the Leeward Islands in the 

 season 1 902-3, under the direction of the Imperial 

 Dejjartment of Agriculture, has recently been issued. 



The price of the Report has been fixed at l.s. for 

 each part or 2.s. per set. This publication may be 

 obtained of all agents of the Department. 



Exports of Barbados. 



We e.xtract the following figures relating to the 

 ex|)orts of Barbailos for 1903 from a statement in the 

 Official (iazdte of March 31, 1904:— 



Sheep, goats and swine, 720, valued at £G01 ; 

 butter, 741 llx, valued at £2.5 : fruit and vegetables to 

 the value of £7,099 ; hides, £.509 : ice, £21.S: building 

 lime, £1,.547; manjak, ().50 tons, valued at £0,50fS : 

 molasses, 30,344 puncheons, valued at £130, .548; 

 muscovado sugar, 3.5,170 hogsheads, valued at £232,122; 

 dry sugar, 3,4.53 hogsheads, valued at £27,024 : and 

 tamarinds, 8(i0 barrels of the value of £866. 



The following items might also be mentioned as 

 some of them occur now for the first time: — prepared 

 cacao, £10: raw cotton, .550 lb., valued at £28: cotton 

 seed, 3,700 ft., valued at £1 3 : cured fish, £5 : Barbados 

 petroleum, £18 ; salted and pickled pork, 200 it)., 

 valued at .£4 ; succadcs, £240 : and tar, £45. 



"West Indian BuUetin. 



It is desirable to mention that the supply of the 

 ^YeKt IiuUdji Bulletin (Vol. IV, no. 3), containing 

 general information respecting the cultivation of cotton 

 and other matters, is now exhausted and further copies 

 cannot be supplied. 



The Department is desirous of obtaining clean 

 copies of this numlior. Any persons having them for 

 disposal might communicate with the local agents of 

 the Department, who are authorized to pay Sd. per 



copy. 



Copies of the It'csi Indian Btdlrtin {\o\. IV, 

 no. 4), containing later information embodied in 

 a Report by Sir Daniel Morris and Mr. J. R. Bo\ell on 

 Sea Island cotton in the United States and the West 

 Indies, are still available and may be obtained from all 

 Agents (price 0*/., free by post 8(/.). 



Shipments of Cotton from Barbados. 



During the current season Mr. Bovell reports that, 

 according to returns furnished by the Comptroller of 

 Customs at Barbados, there have been shipped, up to 

 March 31 last, 244 bales and 2 bags of cotton, 

 containing 01,000 It)., of the estimated value of £3,050. 

 The Central Factory shijjped 135 bales of Sea Island 

 cotton, 21 bales of Egyptian cotton, 1 bale of Upland, 

 and 2 bags of cotton from native plants. (Jthers 

 shipped 82 bales of Sea Island cotton and .5 bales of 

 Egyptian. This is interesting as a record of the first 

 shipment of cotton from Barbados on a commercial 

 .scale probably for forty years. 



The United States Cotton Crop. 



Frequent references have been made in the 

 United States press to the anticipated results of the 

 recent rise in the price of cotton, and to the specula- 

 tions of the great dealers in this commodit}'. The 

 New York Time>i of March 19 draws attention to the 

 failure of the attempt to create a corner in cotton, 

 taking advantage of the fact that the cotton yiekl of 

 the United States was bi'low the normal reciuirements 

 of the world. 



Referring to the same subject, the Barbados 

 AdrocaJe of April 7 points out that, in spite of the 

 repeated warnings of the press and the United States 

 Department of Agriculture to farmers not to increase 

 their sowings, it appears that the average increase 

 throughout the whole cotton-producing area is about 

 30 per cent. Such an increase would naturally have the 

 effect of lowering the prices to a considerable extent, 

 notwithstamling the ever-increasing demand for cotton. 



This fact need not, however, discourage West 

 Indian planters from increasing their sowings of Sea 

 Island cotton, for, as stated by the Advocate : — 



Sea Island cotton, which is the variety indigenous to 

 the West Indies will be little, if at all, affected by the 

 increased acreage hero referred to. So that i)lanters who are 

 proiiosing to go in for cotton cultivation on any .scale need 

 not be deterred from doing so. The area suited for the 

 cultivation of this variety in the United States cannot be 

 indefinitely enlarged. It is, in fact, already fully appropri- 

 ated. Hence the liigh market value, which the Sea Island 

 cotton lias attained on account of the length and (juality of 

 the fibre which make it adapted to u.ses to which other kinds 

 ai'e not suited is not likely to suffer any considerable decline. 



