;iG 



THE AGRICULTUKAL XEWS. 



SEPTEMliEP. i!4, 1004 







GLEANINGS. 



It is iiotitied tliat tlie fir.st of a series of lectures on 

 Agricultunil Science in>5erliice will be delivered at All Saints' 

 School, New Amsterdam, on I)ecend_)ei- 7, 1904. 



Tlie orange crop of Barcelona wa.s very abundant in 

 1903, and the farmers obtained good prices. From Valencia 

 and 1 tenia -504, 4^^ cases were exported. (C'in.<nf'ir Rrj^nrt, 

 1900.) 



The iiftli annual Agricultural Show under the au.-piees 

 of the Imperial Department of Agricultuic will be held at 

 Mont>errat durinir the month of February. 



The rainfall at Antigua during the year 190o-4 

 amounted to 63"04 inches. This is 7 '80 inches more than 

 in the preceding year, and 16'33 inches more than the 

 average for the past thiity years. 



The Agricultural Instructor at iJominica reports that at 

 St. Sauveur Father Francois has beeu successful in the 

 cultivation of asparagus in his kitchen garden. The croji 

 was ready for reaping in thirteen months. 



Among the exports of St. Lucia during 190.'! the 

 following items are of interest : Cama Fiatulu, 16 packages 

 (value, £-10) : musk seeds, I'o barrels (value, £83 10.<.) : 

 pimento sticks (value, £,')o\ lO.--.). 



.Mr. H. Millcn, C'lu-ator of the Tobago Botanic 

 Station, writes : ' Band.ioos are found growing on almost 

 all the hillsides where cacao is being planted. As they grow 

 rapidly and are not easily uprooted, they are l)eing retained 

 as wind-breaks.' 



Mr. -1. II. l!o\cll. Agricultural Superintendent at 

 Barbados, has received an order from a firm in England for 

 5 barrels of sw^et jiotatos and 1 barrel of yams each month. 

 Any one desiring to ship these vegetables .should communi- 

 cate with ^Mr. Bo'vell. 



A company has been floated in .lamaica for providing 

 a system of cold storage. It is proposed to supply fresh meat 

 to shiiis. The company is also desirous of working uj) 

 a connexion with other West Indian Islands for the su|iply of 

 beef and mutton. 



])\uing the fortnight ended Augu.^t L'."), 47 bales of We.-t 

 Indian cotton were imported in the United Kingdom. Sales 

 have been effected at the following prices : West Indian, 4;'. 

 to G'34(/.i AVest Indian Sea Island, medium fine, 13(/.: tine, 

 14f?.: extra fine, 1G(7. (Tr<..-/ Indai Commiftfc Clr'-idar.) 



The rubber industry should be of far greater importance 

 than it is at present. There are hi Guatemala large tracts 

 of land suitable for growing rubber : but owing to the 

 impo.ssibility of sufficiently policing the country, the rubber 

 i> frequentlv stolen from the trees. (C"/i.<»An- T.'--^.../-?, 

 1902-3.) 



An .Vgricultura! Show will be held at the Agricultural 

 School, St. Vincent, under the ausi>ices of the Imiierial 

 Department of Agriculture and a local committee, in March 

 190-3. It i> hoped that intending com[ietitors will avail 

 thenr-^elves i>f thi- early notification in the ]ireparati<:>n of 

 exhibits. 



At a recent meeting of the Trinidad Agricultural 

 Society, Mr. J. H. Hart exhibited siiecimens of the Mexican 

 melocoton grown in the colony. This vegetable is used like 

 a vegetable marrow. The melocoton has also been grown 

 successfully at the Botanic Station at St. Lucia. 



There has been an increase in the export of orange-- 

 frcmi .lafFa during the last few years. According to the 

 Conmlar Bcport on the trade of Palestine, the exports of 

 oranges in 1903 were valued at £93,43.5 as against an 

 average value of £83,53.5 for 1899-1903. Further planting 

 is in [irogress. 



The Murilliiu- M>ivh(int of August 11 contains an 

 account of an interview with Mr. V. S. Pickford, of the firm 

 of Pickford t^- Black, who has recently paid an extended visit 

 to these islands. Mr. Pickford speaks encouragingly of the 

 improved industrial conditions of the West Indies, making 

 special mention of the sugar industry and of cotton growing. 



Wti arc informed by a successful grower of onions iu 

 Barbados that he has experienced no trouble from ants when 

 the seed has been sown, as recommended in the last is.sue of 

 the Agrtcultund Nev% in drills. Where, liowevei', the seecl 

 was merely scattered over the surface of the bed, a consider 

 able proportion was lost. 



la the course of a discu.ssion at a meeting of the British 

 Cluiana Board of Agriculture on the advisabilit3- of importing 

 cocoa-nuts for cidtiAation, Professor Harrison stated that 

 he had obtained nuts from Singapore and Trinidad, and 

 had come to the conclusion that nuts grown in the colony 

 compared very favourably with those imported. What was 

 reipiired was selection, both for planting and for shipping. 



In the Natal Ai/riculfiira/ Jourunl for July l'l', 

 considerable space is devoted to notes on cotton cultivation, 

 which include a number of extracts from the Wv^t Induai 

 Thdieiin. In an editorial note it is stated that copies of the 

 West Iiiditin llid/efin. Xo). lY, no. 4, have been obtained 

 by the Natal Agricultural I>epartment, which may be 

 obtained on ap}ilication, price \^. 



Particulars cif the cotton exports frir the previous 

 quarter will be found in the Ai-iriadfund Kt-i's (Vol. III. 

 1'. 204). 



