28G 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



AiuvsT -27, 1904.. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



EDUCATIONAL 



Canada. 



Under date July !t, Mi: J. Russell Murray sends 

 the following report on West Indian products in 

 Canada: — 



A considerable imjirovenient is noticeable in general, 

 and there is more iniiuiry for .shipments during the last 

 month than in the two previous months, but there is not the 

 volume of trade that was anticipated. Agricultural interests 

 have .somewhat improved, though reports from Ontario 

 indicate a shortness in .several of the fruit varieties. 



SUIiAK. 



The sugar market is strong, and European beet has 

 again taken an ujiward move, to-day's quotation being ds. Gd., 

 or within 1 .\(/. of the point it touched on !May 26, and all 

 factors indicate a further advance. Local refiners advanced 

 their prices to-day 5c. per 100 lt>., but there is no active 

 demand, and West Indian sugars remain quiet and practically 

 unchanged. Fairly bright refining cry.stals and S9 syrup 

 .sugars would find a moderate outlet. The 8.S. 'Larne ' 

 lauded a cargo of 31,000 bags of Trinidad sugar last week, 

 and the 8.S. ' Oxonian " is expected in a few days with part 

 cargo. 



The prospects of beet culture in the Province of Ontario 

 cannot be said to have improved, two factories having closed 

 down recently notwithstanding the Canadian bounty of .50c. 

 per 100 K). and the import tarirt' for refined sugars of !?1'2+J, 

 per 100 lb., which make a practical protection of !?l"74i per 

 100 lb. The bounty is to be continued for anothertwo years. 



MOLASSE.S. 



The molasses trade is in a very uncertain condition, and 

 little is being done. It is rei>orted that a condiination of buyers 

 in the ^laritime Provinces has been formed to purchase in 

 bulk and fi.x selling rates, and a rumour of the formation of 

 a sinnlar corner in the Quebec market is also in circulation. 

 Prices remain steady and the demand is good. 



COCO.\->'UTS. 



The market continues steady, but the shortness of the 

 supply of .Jamaica nuts, hitherto depended ujion, has given 

 an tipportunity for other islands to get a foothold, and if 

 shii'pers will advise me of supplies available, I am in 

 a i>osition to secure them an opening and a profitable business. 

 Shippers must be careful to ship only thoroughly rii)ened 

 nuts. A shipment received to-day had many nuts evidently 

 gathered before they were ripe, as shown by the whiteness of 

 the fibre on the shell, and in every instance the nut was 

 decayed. Prices are slightly lower, but good sound nuts 

 command the full price. 



rr.uiT. 



Limes. — Supplies continue to arrive in moderate 

 quantities, but the continuous cool weather has retarded 

 consumption, and the abnormally low price of lemons is also 

 a potent factor in checking sale.s. 



Pine-apph's. — The market continues well supplied, and 

 deniand is good. The 'sugar-loaf pine is not desired in this 

 market. 



Bananas. — Full supply, and demand is good. 



SPICES. 



Antme(/s. — Grenadas, steady and little demand. 



Pimento. — Stronger. 



Ginger. — Quiet aud unchanged. 



School Gardens. 



The BnUcfiii (if the Dcpdrtmcnt of A<jriculture,. 

 Jamaica, for July, contains an interesting article by 

 ^Ir. T. J. Harris on school gardens. The article is- 

 accompanied by a diagram showing how the garden 

 should be arranged. We reproduce the following 

 extract : — 



The first work to be undertaken bj- the elementary 

 school teacher is to laj- out a garden in such a waj- as to- 

 permit of all the crops planted therein being neatly arranged 

 in straight lines ; to effect this a regular systematic plan 

 should be followed ; accompanying this note is a j)lan of 

 a |-acre garden suitable for a school, in which it will 

 be seen that the whole garden is an exact rectangle witk 

 an intersecting main path down the centre, and side paths 

 leading from it to the garden fence to pernut of inspection 

 without trampling on the plots. The width of the main 

 jiath is G feet, of the side jiaths 3 feet, and the five .sections- 

 24 feet; section No. 6 is 31 1 feet wide, making each side 

 151| feet long: the width of the garden therefore, being 

 72 feet, this will make 10,890 square feet, or } acre. For 

 a smaller garden, say, one-half the size {\ acre), the same 

 ]ilaii may be used, but the .scale, of course, must be changed. 



Having lined out the plots and paths, the temporarj- 

 pegs which mark the .sections sliould be replaced with 

 permanent ones of hard wood to serve as jioints from which 

 to measure when lining out for })lanting the various crops ;. 

 the surface soil of the paths should then be removed to the 

 depth of 4 to 6 inches and .scattered over the adjacent plots, 

 stones or shells laid along the edge of the plots, and the 

 path tilled with gravel or sand. It is highly important that 

 the children be allowed to a.ssist in the laying out of the 

 paths and plots, and if the teacher is careful to get correct 

 right angles and parallels and exact measurements, he will 

 not fail to eidist the interest of the children. 



The work of planting may now connnence, each .section 

 to be taken separately, beginning, .say, with No. 6 : reference 

 to the plan will show this to contain bananas interjilanted 

 with cacao, and i>lantains with cotfee ; the bananas are 12 feet 

 apart and the plantains 8 feet. The cacao and cotfee trees 

 are not planted until the bananas and plantains are large 

 enough to give sufficient sliade. The lining out should be 

 done as carefully as po.ssible ; a glance at the i)lan will 

 suggest the method to be employed. 



The citrus section may be taken next, jilanting corn, 

 when the jiroper season arrives, along the lines marked. 

 The lutrsery will consist of a small seed and nursery bed, and 

 later two rows of stocks set out for budding upon. 



A careful study of the plan will render instructions as to 

 the remaining sections superfluous ; it nuist be understood, 

 however, that this plan is more suggestive than inqierative ; 

 numberless difficulties will beset the teacher, but it is felt 

 that these brief instructions will be found u.seful when the 

 work is taken up in real earnest. 



Sumatra Tobacco in Jamaica. At the meeting: 



of the .laniidca lioartl of Agriculture held on .May 10, it 

 was stated that a Cuban cxjiert had reported that the Sumatnv 

 tobacco grown at Hope Gardens was of very good ipiality and 

 could not be known from genuine Sumatra, and that it was 

 better than that grown in Cuba. The value of the best leaf 

 was estimated at from Gs. to 8.-:. per Iti ; and inferior cpiality 

 at about half that price. 



