Vol. III. Xo. i'.4. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



DOMINICA AND SHIPPING FACILITIES. 

 Dr. H. A. A. Xicholls, C.M.U,, ha.s forwardeil 

 a copy of a letter ai.ldre.ssed by hirii, a.s Vice-Pi-e.siiJent 

 of the Dominica Agricultural Society, to the Quebec 

 Steamship Company relative to the present arrange- 

 ment ' whereby some of your company's ve.s.sels pass 

 by Dominica on the outward voyage.' It is also 

 complained that cargo destined for Dominica is kept 

 over by the agents in New York until there is 

 'a sufficient accumulation to warrant, in their opinion, 

 the stoppage of one of the steamers at the island.' 

 That this practice is detrimental to the trade of the 

 island is manifest from the following extracts : — 



As a case in point, I may cite the following facts : — 

 fliu'ing the season a very considerable quantity of fruit, such 

 as oranges and limes, is shipped from thi.s island by your 

 steamers. The trade is a growing one and naturally it needs 

 fostering, if its capabilities are to be realized to their fullest 

 extent. On June '22 last, a shipment of orange boxes was 

 sent to your Xew York wharf for a firm in this island, and 

 the boxes were detained until July '20, by which time 

 your New York agents decided to take freight for Donunica. 

 This occasioned a month's delay "n tlte receipt of the boxes, 

 and it caused, moreover, tlio suspension of fruit shipments by 

 the firm in question, the stoppage of fnrtlier orders for fruit 

 boxes, and the consequent loss of tlie trade to the island and 

 to your compan}'. 



ft may be that in the opinion of your New York agents 

 the trade between tliat city and Dominica is not now 

 sufbc;icntly large to warrant the calling at the island of all 

 the outward-bound ^Vest Indian .steamers, but Dominica is 

 becoming prosperous and its exports and imports arc 

 increasing J early, and the .system adupted by Messrs. Outer- 

 bridge ife Co. is calculated to retard the augmentation of 

 trade relations with New York, and with Canada thrcjugh 

 New York, for in order to save time on the journey it is 

 necessary for fresh fruit shipped to Montreal and Toronto to 

 go via New Ycjrk, as the route l>y St. John, N.B., is 

 long and circuitous. 



I would ask that the above facts may meet with the 

 serious and sympathetic consideration of yourself and the 

 Board of Directca-s of your company, and I trust you will be 

 aljle before long to authorize me to inform the Agricultural 

 .Society that all your outward-bound steamers to the West 

 Indies will call at Dominica, which is on their route to the 

 south, so that the arrangement will involve very little extra 

 expenditure and not much delay. 



THE PRODUCTION OF FISH MANURE 

 AND FISH OIL. 



The Joarmd af fh<; Society of Arts contains an 

 interesting article on the production of fish manure 

 and oil in Saghalion. It is stated that a great demand 

 exists in .Japan for fish manure, and oil obtained by 

 pressure from the fish used for manure is employed, when 

 properly refined, as a lubricant and for other purposes. 

 After describing the fishing operations, the following- 

 description is given of the extraction of the oil, which, 

 in view of the attempts that have been made to work 

 up a trade in fish oils in Dominica, is likely to be of 

 interest : — 



( )n arrival at the beach, the bag net is emptied, and the 

 fish thrown into an enclosure fenced in by laths, some 6 



feet high. On one side of the enclosure are a number of 

 i-ound iron boilers, i or .j feet in diameter, erected on 

 l:.uilt-up fireplaces. The fish are taken from the enclosure by 

 removing tlie laths, aiid arc thrown into the boilers. After 

 cooking, they are put into wooden presses, '2 feet 6 inches 

 square by 2 feet in deptli, the sides and bottom of which are 

 composed of slates, with interstices a quarter of an inch wide 

 between them. A lid is then placed on the top, and pressure 

 exerted in a downward direction by means of le\'ers. The oil 

 and water pressed from the fish escape through the interstices 

 in the side and bottom of the press on to a wooden fiooring 

 from which a conduit leads to a tank. The tank is divided 

 by a partition, two-thinis its height, into two compartments. 

 The conduit leading from the press discharges its contents 

 into the first conqmrtment, and as that fills, the oil rising to 

 the surface flows over intc) the second compartment, leaving 

 the _ water and other heavier substances in tlie first. The 

 oil is then put into cans and is ready for shipment. 



Such- has been the process liitherto followed, but i)i the 

 coming season it is intended partially to refine the oil Iiy 

 straining it through coai'se -Japanese paper previous to 

 canning. The fish after being pressed, form a compact 

 rectangular mass; this is broken into small pieces, which 

 are laid out on straw mats to dry in the sun. When dried, 

 the fish or, as it now is, fish manure, is packed in straw bales 

 for transport, and is ready for use. 



From the foregoing brief description an idea will be 

 obtained of the priiuitive methods employed in this industry, 

 and also of the amount of valuable commercial product 

 which must necessarily be wasted in consequence of the 

 adoption of these methods. l]y the u.se of modern machinery 

 a far larger output of fish manure and oil could be obtained 

 from the .same weight of fisii. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



It is probable that Sir Daniel Morris will return 

 to the West Indies in R.M.S. ' Trent,' leaving South- 

 ampton on October 12. 



Mr. H. A. Ballou, B.Sc., Entomologist on the staff 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, left 

 Barbados in S. S. ' Sibun ' on Tuesday, September 1 3, 

 for St. Lucia. Mr. Ballou will spend some time in 

 St. Lucia for the purpose of inspecting cotton experi- 

 ment plots and advising planters generally as to the 

 cultivation of cotton and the treatment of pests. 



Mr. John Belling, B.Sc., Agricultural and Science 

 Master at St. Kitt's, has been granted .six weeks' 

 vacation leave of ab.sence from September 12. 



Dr. R. A. Stoute, D.V.S., A'eterinary Surgeon to 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture, has been 

 granted eight weeks' leave of absence from September 

 1(3. During his absence, his duties will be performed 

 by Dr. Percy Stoute, D.V.S. 



Bee Farming in Australia. During the year 

 1902-3, there were 4,402 bee keepers with .32,120 hives in 

 the State of Yictoria, Australia. They produced 1,199,331 lb. 

 of honey and 2.3,001 ft. of wax. 



