39G 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Decembek 3, 190i. 



^■^gt^^^T. 



GLEANINGS. 



Persons desiring to obtain a furthi-r .siqiply of the onion 

 seed iniiiorted from Teneritfe by the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture should ajiply to the Hon. (A A. Shand, Xevis. 



In 190;>, F^urinam exported 370 tons of balata worth 

 7-1:1, 54-2 gulden, as against 321 tons worth 562,587 gulden, 

 in 1902." {Iiidiu-nihhtr Journal) 



The total number of bales of cotton imported into the 

 United Kingdom from the West Indies during the quarter 

 ended jSeptember 30 was 901, weighing 2,156 cwt. {Board 

 iif Truth Jiiiiniii/.) 



In an interview with a representative of the Jamaica 

 Tiiies, J[r. F. A. Hooper, the local representative of the 

 A. I. Root Company, emphasized the necessity of making 

 the bottles in which honey is shipped as attractive as 

 l>ossible. 



!Mi-. ^Maxwell Hall, JI. A., liesident Magistrate in 

 Jamaica, contributes to the Munihhj Weather Rcvlfiit 

 (August) of the U.S. Department r.f Agriculture, an interest- 

 ing article on the 'Origin of the Cuba cyclimes of June 

 1.3-U, 1901.' 



The United .States Consul-General at Vienna reports 

 that there is an immediate demand by manufacturers for 

 potato starch. This might be a favourable opjiortunity for 

 making trial shipments of cas.sava starch from the West 

 Indies. 



With a view to the encouragement of the cotton industry 

 in the British Central x\frica Protectorate, the import duty 

 on the following articles has been temporarily removed : 

 cotton seed, bisulphide of carbon, corrosive sublimate, Paris 

 green, and London purjile. 



^\'it!l rare exception.s, the consumption of tobacco per 

 head in the United Kingdom has increased for a great 

 number of years, although commercial depression or higher 

 jirices may at times have caused a slackening in the rate of 

 increase. {Chamber of Commerce Journal.) 



The quantities (in kilograms) of the principnl exiiorts 

 of ^Mauritius during 1903 were as follows: Sugar, 

 170,416,511: rum, 45,453 (litres) : molasses, 11,412,425; 

 cocoa-nut oil, 4,462 ; aloe fibre, 1,518,648 : and vanilla, 

 3,486. (Atmml Beport for 1903.) 



A company has been registered under the title of 'Pita, 

 Ltd.,' with a capital of £8,000 in £1 .shares (1,000 deferred), 

 to acquire the sisal plantations and works at West Caicos, 

 Turks Island, to manufacture and deal in sisal, ramie, 

 cotton, and other fibrous substances. {Textile Jferctiri/.) 



Mr. A. J. Brooks, Acting Curator of the Botanic Station 

 at Dominica, writes that he has received from Mr. R. 

 Colthurst a sui>ply of seeds of the seeded variety of the 

 bread-fruit {Artocarjim incisa, var. semiii/fera). The .seeds 

 have been sown, and ilr. Brooks will be pleased to supply 

 other stations with plant.s when ready. 



During the fortnight ended Xovember 3, 13 bales of 

 We.st Indian cotton were inqwrted into the United Kingdom. 

 Sales have been effected in Liverpool at the following prices: 

 West India, 4-25(7. to 5-58(/. per fc. ; West India Sea Island, 

 medium fine, 12i'^ ; fine, I3hd. ; extra fine, 15.',('. per lb. 

 ( ]Vei<t IniJia Committee Circular.) 



We learn from the Dominica Guardian that the 

 ' Dominica Sulphur and Shipping Co.' is carrying on the 

 sulphur industry in Dominica, ^lontserrat, and St. Lucia. 

 Very good work is being done at Soufriere, and some of the 

 finest specimens of crude sulphur obtaineil from the works 

 there are on view in Roseau. 



The last year has seen some six or seven new banana 

 plantations started on a large scale by American companies 

 in Honduras. Not only are plantations being made on the 

 line of the railway and for 100 miles into the interior, but 

 the coast is also being develojied. (U.S. ^fotlfIlh/ Consular 

 Reports.) 



H. M. Consul at Palermo, in a recent despatch to the 

 Foreign Office, reports for the benefit of the lemon-growing 

 colonies and the green fruit trade, that the prosi)ects of the 

 new harvest of lemons in Sicily are bad. The new crop is 

 estimated to be half an average one. {I'maril of Trade 

 Journal.) 



According to JJoi/ds' WeeUy ^'eirs. several consignments 

 of choice Engli.sh jiears, aiiples, and plums were, during the 

 pre.sent season, despatched from Covent Garden market to 

 Jamaica. It is rejiorted that the fruit sold for double the 

 price it would have fetched at home and returned a handsome 

 profit. These exportations are to be re[ieated next season, 

 and continued until the trade is put upon a permanent basis. 



Mr. H. E. Henderson-Davis, who was recently acting as 

 Commissioner of the Cayman Islands, has written to the 

 Jamaica Daily Teleiirapili on the subject of the industries of 

 the dei)endenc3'. He states that there are humlreds of acres 

 of land available and suitable for cotton cultivation, and an 

 ex[ieriment in that direction has already proved successful. 



In connexion with the note in the Agricultural A'ews^ 

 (Vol. Ill, p. 364), referring to the publication as picture jiost- 

 cards of the illustrations that have been ajipearing in the 

 West India Committee Circular, it may be mentioned that 

 Mr. J. Baeza has been appointed agent for the sale of these 

 cards in Barbado.s. 



The illustrated aiticles on a tri[i from Canada to the 

 West Indies in the Toronto Saturdai/ Ni'/lit, to which 

 reference has alreadj- been made in the Ar/ricultural A'ews 

 (Vol. Ill, p. 380), are being continued. The issues for 

 October 29 and November 5 have a number of illustration.'i 

 of typical Barbados and St. Vincent scenes including the 

 Botanic Station and Agricultural School in the latter island. 



