301 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 10, 1904. 



>-'.«^>'^i^^~i*--^=S 



GLEANINGS. 



The value of toniatcis .shipped from the Canary Islands 

 during 1903 was £182,000, and that of potato.s £-30,886. 

 (Consulr,!' Bejjoi-t for 1903.) 



We learn with much pleasure that His Maje.sty the 

 King has granted a charter of incorporation to the West 

 India Committee. 



The judges in the Prize Holdings Scheme in Jamaica 

 report excellent results in the competition in the parish of 

 St. Elizabeth. There -were eighty-four entries. 



The rainfall at Belize, Briti.sh Honduras, during the year 

 1903, amounted to 70-90 inches. This was 10-.58 inches 

 below the average for the last twenty years. 



At a meeting of the Antigua Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society, held on August 5, it was stated that two 

 lots of cotton shipped from the cotton factorv had been sold 

 at 16R per H). 



We learn tliat two experts are shortly to visit the ^^'est 

 Indies on behalf of theBriti.sh Cotton Growing Association for 

 the puri)Ose of reporting on the development of the cotton 

 industrj-. 



According to returns published in the Annual Repurt on 

 Bermuda, the rainfall at the Prosjiect Camp Observatory 

 amounted to 9214: inches during the year, or 0"93 inches less 

 than the average of the past nine years. 



The yield of ground nuts in Egypt is about -55 bushels 

 per acre. They are not generally manured. They are 

 chiefly exported to Turkey. {Bulhfhi 62, Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 



The Chemist and Drugght of July 30 contains a 



valuable article by Mr. C. J. Sawer, F.L.S., F.C.S., on 



' Citronella and Lemongrass.' Special reference is made to 

 essential oils from the West Indies. 



The Acting Agricultural Instructor at St. Lucia reports 

 that a planter is intending to take up iiine-aj)ple cultivation 

 on a fairly large scale in that island. The black Antigua is 

 the favourite variety in St. Lucia. 



A committee of the Antigua Agricultural and Commercial 

 Society has been appointed to inquire into and report upon 

 the feasibility of introducing a .system of irrigation into the 

 island. It is stated that during the last seven months there 

 have been only 13 inches of rain. 



During the fortnight ended August 11, 136 bales of 

 West Indian cotton were imported into the United Kingdom. 

 The latest (piotations are : AVest Indian, 4(/. to 6'24rf.; West 

 Indian Sea Island, medium fine, 14rf.; fine, l-Jf/.; extra fine, 

 IGi/. [icr It). {]Vift India Committa- Circular.) 



Dr. J. E. Duerden, of the Univer.sity of Micliigan, 

 formerly Curator of the Museum of the Jamaica Institute, 

 is at jiresent engaged in a study of living corals in the 

 Hawaiian Islands under the au.spices of the Carnegie 

 Institution. 



At the Agricultural School at Geisenheim (Germany) 

 extra courses on the methodical u.se of fruit have been 

 organized. They include : prejiaration of fruit wine, of 

 vinegar, spirits, and sparkling wine, of fruit pastes, jellies, 

 marmalades, preserves, and juices, and practical hints on the 

 keeping and jiacking of fre.sh fruit. (Consular Report on 

 trade of Frankfort.) 



In reference to the notice in the Aijricidtural Neu^s 

 (Vol. Ill, p. 238) inviting applications for the post of 

 Curator of the Botanic Station in the Bahamas, «-e are asked 

 to state that owing to a clerical error we were informed that 

 the appiiintment would be for three years oidy ; the duration 

 of the Piill is five years. 



A stock of plants was raised at the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens, Kew, from kola seed believed to be Cola vera 

 (with two cotyledons) obtained from Sierra Leone. A case 

 containing forty plants has been sent to each of the 

 Botanic Stations at Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia, and 

 St. Vincent. 



The Grenada Fenleralisf states that the excess shipment 

 iif cacao this season over last still holds good. Up to August 

 24, the colony had exported 3,439 bags more than at the 

 corresponding period la.st year. The next season's crop also 

 promises to be a good one, the trees being heavily laden with 

 young pods. 



l'l]On the .suggestion of Sir Daniel Morris, Mr. F. V. 

 Chalmers will probably visit Jamaica shortlj' to study the- 

 tobacco industry and advise the Board of Agriculture as to 

 the best means of extending it. From samples of tobacco 

 that have been submitted to him, !Mr. Chalmers is of opinion 

 that there are great possibilities for the tobacco industry in 

 Jamaica if it is taken up on the right lines. 



Writing from Dominica in reference to the note in the 

 Agricultural Keu's (Vol. Ill, p. 263) on bread-nut trees, 

 Mr. R. Ci-lthurst offers to supply the Im})erial Commissioner 

 of Agriculture with seeds of the seeded variety of the 

 bread-fruit (Artoc<njtus incisa, var. seminifera). Curators ot 

 Botanic Stations are invited to apply to the Commissioner 

 for a sup])ly of these seeds. 



The St. Thomas Bulletin states that Dr. P. Mortensen 

 Las received a very satisfactory rejiort from the Vejle Cotton- 

 spinning Company, of Denmark, upon a shipment of cotton 

 grown by him from seed obtained from the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies. According 

 to the report the cotton was ' long, of excellent quality, and 

 capable of being made to suit the highest purposes.' 



