A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. III. No. 58. 



BARBADOS, JULY 2, 1904. 



Peice Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Agricultural Schools 

 Answers to Queries 

 Arbor Day, Grenada 

 Arrowroot, St. Vincent 

 Birds of St. Vincent 

 Cotton Notes: — 



Haiti 



Lectures in Barbados .. 



Montserrat 



St. Kitt's-Nevi-s 



St. Lucia 



Seed cake and meal 



Department News 



Department Puljlication 

 East Africa and Agricul- 

 ture 



Educational : — 



St. Lucia Agricultural 

 School 



School Gardens at 



Grenada 



Fodder jjlants in CViCoa- 



nut plantatii ms 

 Fruit, Gathering ior 



Market 



Fungicides 



Gleanings 



Insect Notes : — 



Cliicken Hawk and 

 Mole Cricket 



Page. 

 ,.. 217 



Page. 



211 

 214 

 217 

 216 



2IG 

 21G 

 213 

 213 

 213 

 213 

 221 

 223 



... 217 



221 



217 



212 

 214 

 220 



218 



Lisect Notes : — 



Cotton Stainer 



Grenada 



Java, Exports of 



Lawn Mowings, Utilizing 



M.arket Reports 



Notes and Comments ... 

 Our Book Shelf:— 

 Chemistry of Plant 

 and Animal Life 

 Meteorology (jf Jamaica 

 Poultry: — 



Change of Ground 

 Lice in the House 

 Rice cultivation, British 



Guiana 



Science Notes : — 



Galba 



Leaf Structure and 



Environment 



"SVater sujiplies, Purifi- 

 cation of .., 



Sugar Industry : — 



Jamaica 



Ratoons, Experiments 



with 



Treatment of Plant 



Diseases 



West Indian Products 



in Canada 



218 

 218 

 210 

 213 

 222 

 216 



219 

 219 



214 

 2U 



215 



215 



215 



215 



211 



211 



209 



221 



Treatment of Plant Diseases. 



UR methods of dealing with plant diseases, . 

 caused by parasitic fungi, may be grouped 

 under four heads. These are: (1) the 

 destruction and removal C'f the fungi themselves : 



(2) the removal and destruction of diseased plants or 

 parts of i^lants : (3) the avoidance of cultural con- 

 ditions ^\hich favour infection and also the spread of 

 the disease ; (4) the cultivation of disease-resistant 

 varieties of plants. We intend to deal more par- 

 ticularly now with the methods grouped under the 

 first head. 



It is of great importance, in the first place, that 

 the seeds used for planting should be free from spores 

 of fiarasitic fungi. This is, of course, especially 

 important with diseases which are distributed in this 

 way, and does not apply to soil fungi. Among cotton 

 diseases, it is, at least, possible that both the boll rot 

 and the anthracnose can be carried from jalace to place 

 by spores attached to cotton seeds. 



Two methods of avoiding the spread of disease in 

 this manner may be mentioned. The greatest care 

 should be taken, in selecting seed, that it does not 

 come from diseased plants. If we do use such seed, 

 not only do we directly spread the fungus by its 

 spores, but also we are raising a race of plants which 

 is specially non-resistant to the disease. Again, we 

 can treat the seeds with some poisonous steej) that 

 will destroy any fungus spores that may be attached. 

 This treatment of seeds has been worked out chiefly 

 with regard to the 'smut' of wheat, oats, barley, etc., 

 which used to cause great loss to farmers in temperate 

 regions. 



Very many substances have been used in this way. 

 The cotton seed distributed by the Imperial Depart- 



