Vol. III. No. 5.5. 



THE AGEICULTUEAL NEWS. 



169 



Exports of Dominica. 



It will be of interest to have on record the 

 following .summary of the principal items of export 

 from the island of Dominica during the j'ear 1903 : — 



Bay leaves, 174 bales, valued at £783 ; logwood 

 and divi-divi, 34 cords (£68) ; fresh fruit to the value 

 of £4,.501 ; preserved fruits (including tamarinds and 

 pickled limes), 7G2 barrels, of the value of £322 ; lime 

 juice (raw), 129,316 gallons, valued at £4,849; lime 

 juice (concentrated), 6,(J70 gallons (£14,17.5); essential 

 oils, 3,081 gallons, of the value of £1,544 ; sugar 

 (crj-stallized) 225 tons, valued at £1,890. 



The exports of fresh truit included bananas, cocoa- 

 nuts, limes, mangos, pine-ajjples, etc. ; and the essential 

 oils, bay, lime and orange. The bay oil (valued at £35) 

 was, however, not the product of the island. 



Vanilla in Pondichery. 



An article, b}' M. A. Block, in the March-April 

 issue of L'Agricidttive 'pratique des Pays Chaiids, 

 1904, gives an account of the trial cultivation of vauilla 

 in, French India. 



The plant was first introduced to the Colonial 

 Garden at Pondichery in 1879 from Reunion, the area 

 jjlanted being about 15 ares (rather more than J acre). 

 The area was gradually increased, until in 1901, 

 3 hectares 77 ares (about 9i acres) were under 

 cultivation. 



The author points out that the cultivation in 

 Pondichery must be considered an artificial one owing 

 to the unfavourable conditions of soil and climate. 

 Vanilla requires a porous, friable soil, rich in humus, 

 and frequent but moderate I'ains. In Pondichery the 

 soil is clayey and for eight months (March to October) 

 there is practically no rain, while torrents from 

 November to February. The cultivation can thus 

 be maintained only by constant care and attention, and 

 by reducing the number of flowers pollinated to 

 a minimum. 



Cotton growing in British Guiana. 



Correspondence has recently been published in the 

 Demerara press between Mr. E. R. Davson and 

 Dr. Rowland, the honorary secretary of the Berbice 

 ■Cotton Growers' Committee. 



The policy of the committee has been to encourage 

 cotton growing among the peasant proprietors, as 

 stated by Dr. Rowland, ' in much the same way as the 

 coolie grows rice, .... and they have only asked the 

 planter to cultivate an acre or so, just as an example to 

 the farmer.' 



In his letter to Dr. Rowland, Mr. Davson remarks 

 that it is a moot point, whether cotton growing should 

 be developed on the large plantation or the small 

 proprietary system, and states that, with a view to 

 settling the point he is having 5 acres planted in 

 cotton on Providence and Bath estates. This will be 

 cultivated on ordinary estate conditions, and will 

 enable sufficient reliable data to be obtained to decide 

 whether cotton is a suitable crop to be taken uj) on 

 a large scale in the colony. 



We have on several occasions expressed the 

 opinion in the Agricidtwml Ni'iv-'i that it is desirable 

 that experiments in cotton growing — as in the 

 introduction of any new industry — should, in the first 

 instance, be conducted only by experienced and skilful 

 planters. It is only in this way that we can arrive at 

 reliable data, as to cost of cultivation, yield, etc., which 

 must necessarily be obtained before the industry can 

 satisfactorily be established, and which can be published 

 for the information and guidance of others. 



« ^ 



The Culture of Grapes. 



The Bidlet ill of the Department of Af/ricidtiire 

 of Jamaica for March contains the report of a lecture 

 on grape vine culture by the Rev. Wm. Griffith, an 

 ardent horticulturist in Jamaica. The lecture, which 

 was one of the recent course for elementary school 

 teachers, contains many valuable hints on this subject 

 which are likely to be of interest to some of our 

 readers, and we theretbre make the following brief 

 summary : — 



The grape vine succeeds well in low-lying 

 situations near the sea. Vines are raised in a variety 

 of ways — from seeds, layers, single buds, and cuttings. 

 The custom in Jamaica is to grow from cuttings with 

 two buds planted firudy in light soil so deeply that the 

 bud just peeps above the surface of the soil. It is a 

 good plan, when the young vine has reached about 8 to 

 10 feet, to cut off about a foot of the top and so restrict 

 the future growth, keeping both leader and laterals 

 regularly pinched back. 



As a rule the question of the next year's crop is 

 settled a year ahead. Pruning does not give fruit, it 

 only settles its method of distribution over the surface 

 of the vine. Two systems of pruning prevail — one is 

 the close or spur pruning, and the other is to leave 

 from two to three buds on the cane when pruning in 

 spring. The latter plan gives larger and looser 

 clusters, and less thinning is required. The proper 

 time for pruning in Jamaica is between the end 

 of January and the middle of March. If the season 

 is dry and warm, the ci^mmencement of pruning may 

 usefully be delayed. After pruning water should be 

 given very sparingly until the buds begin to push, 

 when a copious watering should be given. 



The next important duty is thinning out the 

 young grapes as soon as possible after the fruit has 

 set. Some varieties, such as Jluscat of Alexandria and 

 Muscat Hamburg, give little trouble in this direction, 

 but Gros Colman and many others require from 50 to 

 70 per cent, of the set berries to be thinned out. 



With regard to the varieties to be grown there is 

 a wide range for choice. Muscat of Alexandria is a 

 universal favourite. More vines of this variety are • 

 grown in Jamaica than of any other. It is by far the 

 best mid-year and late grape in cultivation. Where 

 grapes are grown simply for home consumption, and 

 only one vine can be grown, the Muscat of Alexandria 

 should be selected. XVhere there is room for two or 

 more vines, Foster's White seedling, for early use, 

 and Lady Downe's Seedling or Alicante, for late supply, 

 would be serviceable. 



