Vol. III. No. 60. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



247 



DOMINICA AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 



Extracts from Ledger kept by a Pupil. 



The following are extracts taken from the ledger 

 kept b}- a pupil of the Agricultural School at Dominica. 

 It will be seen that each boy keeps an accurate record 

 of the work done in the carrying out of each experi- 

 ment : — 



SWEET POTATO EXPERIMENT. 



Area, 900 .sq. feet, or jV acre, approximately. 



Previous cfop. — Onions and cabbage. The land was, 

 however, resting for a coisiderable time. Number of banks, 16. 



I'l-qxiration of land. — November 26, 1902. 



The land was staked otf at .3 feet apart at each of the 

 long sides. The line was stretched and the land hoed up 

 into banks 2 feet high. 



Preparation of cuttings. — November 26, 1902. 



Good, liealthy potato vines were selected for making 

 cuttings. From these, cuttings 9 to 12 inches long were made 

 by cutting these just below a node and taking off the lower 

 leaves, that is, the portion of the cuttings which are to be 

 buried below the soil. 



Planting. — November 26, 1902. 



The cuttings were planted 9 to 12 inches apart on the 

 banks. The method adopted was to make the holes with 

 a 'dibbler,' then put in the three lower nodes of the 

 cuttings and draw the soil firm around them. Two rows 

 of cuttings were put on each bank. 



After-cult Ivat Ion. — The weather being wet, the cuttings 

 came on rapidly, and soon covered the banks. The weeds 

 were thus kept down, and the plot was only weeded once — 

 the first week in -January 1903. 



Iiea2jln</ and reaults. — The vines were cleared off and 

 the jiotatos dug on March 25, 1903— four months after 

 planting. Tliey were forked out, weighed, and stored uji in 

 a house after being lightly cleaned of tlie soil. 



The crop from the 100 sq. yards was 288 lb. of potatos 

 in all, that is, a return of 6-2.5 tons per acre. 



Value of crop at Id. per R). 12s. Od. 



„ per acre £29 Os. ^d. 



WHITE BEAN EXPERIMENT. 



Preparation of land. — December 12, 1902. 



The potato Imnks that were in the plot were levelled 

 down with the hoe. As by this means the soil was already 

 quite loose, no forking was done. The land was after^vards 

 levelled with the rake. 



Plant hi(/. — December 12, 1902. 



The land was staked otf 2 feet apart along the long sides, 

 and the line stretched between opposite stakes. Holes were 

 made about 3 inches deej) and 3 inches apart close to the 

 line, and two beans planted in each hole and covered over. 

 The soil being very loose was trampled down firm over the 

 holes. The jdot was then raked over. 



After-eultlvatlon. — On Jiinuary 14, 1903, the cultivator 

 was passed between the rows of beans to cut off weeds and 

 stir up the soil. At the same time the beans were hilled up 



by drawing \\\) the soil on both sides to about 6 inches high 

 around the plants. On Januarj- 22, the beans that were not 

 hilled up on the first occasion were now done ui). 



Reap)lny. — The beans were alloweil to dry on the plant 

 before being picked. The first picking took place on 

 February 21, when 9| lb. of cleaned beans were got. 



The second reafiing took place on March 3 ; the plants 

 with the beans on were pulled out and put in the drying 

 house. The total weight of beans got was 13J tb. Of these 

 12 07.. mildewed. 



YAM BEAN EXPERIMENT. 



Previous croii. — Plantains with bonavist peas between. 

 Number of banks, 15. 



Preparation, of land. — The land was pickaxed some 

 time in March, and left in that condition. 



June 8, 1903. It was on this day gone over, and the 

 lumps made fine, after which baidis 4 feet wide were made. 



Planting. — June 9, 1903. Holes about 3 inches deep 

 were made at 2 feet apart on the tops of the banks and two 

 seeds were i)ut in each hole. The rainy season had just set in. 



EXPERIMENT ON DESTROYING TICKS ON A C;OW. 



A COW at the school being affected with ticks was 

 treated with a strong prei)aration of kerosene emulsion 

 which was made and applied as under : — 



Prepiaratlon of kerosene emulsion. — (Stock Solution) 

 May 26, 1903. 



Half a kerosene tin of water was put on the fire to boil. 

 When boiling about 2d. worth of soap was put in and stirred 

 until it had quite dissolved. The tin was then tivken off the 

 fire and one quart of kerosene was immediately added to it, 

 the whole being well stirred up at the same time, to get the 

 kerosene well mixed up with the soap solution. 



Vigorous stirring was then kept up for some time, until 

 the mixture became white and creamy. 



Application. — The emulsion was mixed with water in 

 the proportion 1:2 and the whole well mixed together. It 

 was then sjirayed on the cow with a ' Knapsack sprayer ' and 

 rubbed on to her with the hand. This was continued every 

 five or seven days until she was free of the ticks. 



POULTRY NOTES. 



The Water Supply. 



^Ve reproduce below (fig. 9) an illustration of a simple 

 little contrivance for the poultry yard. 



The illustration is taken from the Senior Country 

 Reader, III, which is reviewed on p. 251. 



Fi" 9. Plan fop, keeping the Drinking Water clean. 



It represents an inexjiensive and easily made arrange- 

 ment for keeping clean the water supplied to fowls for 

 drinking purposes. The fowls can put their heads through 

 between the laths and drink from the pan without dirtying 

 the water. This plan might also be adopted where skimmed 

 milk is fed to poultry. 



