A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. III. No. 61. 



BAEBADOS, AUGUST 13, 1904. 



Price Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Agricultural Societies : — 



>St. Lucia 



Biihiinias, Agriculture in 



Bananas, Chinese 



Bernuula, Eggs and 



Poultry in 



J Britisli Honduras, 



Exports of 



ICitronella Oil, Adultera- 

 tion of 



^Cotton Notes ; — 



Jauiaica 



Porto Rico 



8t. Vincent Cotton 



Growers' Association 

 West Indies, Cotton 



Growing in 



iDepartuient News 



iDepartuient Publicati< ais 

 T De])artuient Rejjorts : — 



Dominica 



Montserrat 



St. Lucia 



iDutch India, Exports of 

 [Educational: — 



Ayricultural Schools ... 



^AGE. Page. 



Gleanings 268 



. 262 Grenada Mango.s in New 



260 York 205 



200 Insect Notes : - 



Cotton leaf-blister Mite 200 



200 Fiddler beetle of the 

 Orange 260 



265 Market Reports 270 



Notes and Ctmiments ... 264 

 25t> Oranges, Packing for 



English nuirket ... 260 



261 Rabbit Keeping 262 



201 Science Notes : — 

 Bread- nut 203 



261 Shipment of Bananas 



from Barbados 2.57 



201 Sugar Industry : — 

 209 Cane sugar and Beet 



271 sugar". 258 



Ideal sugar-cane ... 259 

 267 Trinidad, Seedling 



207 canes at 258 



267 Sweet Potato Meal 263 



205 West Indian Products ... 200 



Virgin Islands, Agri- 

 263 culture in 265 



Shipment of Bananas from 

 Barbados. 



HERE are one or two matters in connexion 

 with the shipment of bananas from 

 Barbados to which we desire to draw the 

 attention of shippers. Mention has already been 

 made in tlie A'jricuUuruI iVfcs of the need for 



greater care in the making of crates. The points for 

 shippers to remember are — first, that in making their 

 crates they should conform to certain standard 

 measurements; secondly, the crates must be made of 

 suitable material and sufficiently strong to enable 

 them to be handled without getting broken. 



First, then, in the matter of the size of crates. 

 Comjjlaints have been made by the Royal Mail 

 Company that many of the packages are far larger 

 than is necessary and consequently take up more than 

 their fair share of space. Mention was made of one 

 bunch which was packed in a crate fully G inches too 

 long and 3 inches too wide. But besides this, as 

 pointed out by Messrs. Pink & Sons in a recent letter to 

 Mr. J. R. Bovell, when larger crates are used than are 

 required, it becomes necessar}' to use more packing. In 

 consequence, particularly at this time of the year, the 

 fruit is kept too hot and is over-ripe when it reaches 

 England. In order to secure as much uniformity as 

 possible, the company has suggested three standard 

 sizes for crates, viz., (1) 27 inches by 15 inches, 

 (2) 30 inches by 17 inches, and (3) 34 inches by 

 17 inches. For these three sizes the uniform rates to 

 be charged to Southampton will be Is. 6d., 2s., and 

 28. G(/. respectively. For all other crates, not conform- 

 ing to these standards, the charge will be 16s. 8(/. and 

 5 per cent, per ton measurement. It will thus be seen 

 that it is both to the shipper's interest and the 

 company's convenience that an effort be made to 

 secure the uniformity suggested. It may be mentioned 

 that, so far as the shipment of bananas by the Depart- 



