THK AGlilC 



11! AL NEWS. 



April 25, 190i'. 



WEST INDIAN FISHERIES. 



The Tarpon. 



One iiftlif Lost of game fishes in the tiDjiios is tlie 

 Tarjmn. Althimgh not niuc-h has been written en thi; 

 ocoiiR-nce of this fish in West Indian waters it is 

 important for wintt'r visitors to know that tarjxm fish- 

 ing, as good as that in Florida, C(jiild be had liere by 

 those who are keen on the subject. 



It is not pn)})osed, at present, to do more than 

 mention the tarpon as a \V<'st Indian fish and suggest 

 to those, who are in a ])osition to do so, to eommunieate 

 the results of their own experience for publication in 

 these columns. 



The following interesting particulars have been 

 received from the Hon. Louis J. Bertram, Auditoi- 

 General of Jamaica, formerly Auditor <if the Wiiidw.ird 

 Islands : — 



"I understand you want to know sdinetliinj;' iilmut 

 Tarpon. This niagiiificent lisli is found all over the West 

 Indies under the following names 'Kuffuni' in Demenu-a, 

 "(liiinde Kcaille' in Orenada and the Freneli Islands and 

 Tail">n d.-ii-wliLTC. We in Jamaica have landed tliem with 

 the rod uj> to f<'> pounds, but much bigger ones have been 

 caught in nets. They are found in the sea, in creeks, in 

 rivers and in salt j)oiids. Levera Pond, Grenada, is full of 

 them and also Lake Antoine. It would V)e interesting to 

 prove the latter statement as it seems a mystery how they 

 could ever have found their way into that e.xtinct crater. 

 Their bony scales make it e.xtrcniely ditHcidt to gaff them, 

 the safest place being in the gill. I lauded one for t'aiitaiu 

 ^lontgomei'ie that way the other day, also the cS.5 pounder 

 previously mentioned. W'e have caught them with white- 

 bait, grty nudlet, fly and [irawn. IJy the way, T forgot to 

 mention that you have lots of them in jjarbados. The 

 favoui'ite food of the Tarpon is certainly whitebait, and it was 

 a lovely sight to see them taking the handfuls that we threw 

 them from the stern gallery of H.M.S. "Cliarybdis." Any 

 further information you may desire I .shall be very happy to 

 give you." 



Advantages of Budded or Grafted Orange Trees 



The advantages of growing budded or grafted orange 

 trees of apjiroved merit in the jilace of seedlings are shown 

 ill many ways, such as the early fruiting of the tree ; its 

 freedom from thorns ; easa with which the tree can be 

 jirunecl ; the inqirovcd quality of the fruit, especially as 

 r(!gards a smaller [iroportioii of rag and absence of seeds ; the 

 r(^gular bearing of the trees ; unifornuty of shape and grade, 

 etc.; whereas in the cas2 of seedling trees, though they often 

 liroiluce fruit of high flavour and esiiecial merit, they are 

 usually very thorny ; slow to come into bearii-.g ; irreguiai- 

 bearer.s, carrying a luxivy crop one year and a small crop the 

 uext, and the fruit poss.;.sses numerous seeds and is full of 

 rag, as well as being uneven in gra<le and shape. Infciior 

 .ssedlings are not worth propagating, as the fruits arc usually 

 of poor flavour, have a heavy skin, and are full of rag and 

 .seeds : in brief, they are not worth cultivating, as tliey cannot 

 com|iete in the oj)en market against better varieties. — 

 {QiU'i'iif/aiid Agricultural Journal.) 



SCREW WORM AT ST. LUCIA. 



An insect pest of some im2Jortance is now at work 

 in St. Lucia among cattle and domestic animal.s. 

 This is the Hy known as the ' Screw Worm,' the mag- 

 got of which infests cuts, bruises, etc., on living 

 animals, sometimes causing their death. The in.sect is 

 known to range through South America northwards :v.s 

 tiir as Canada, th(jiigh but few of the West Indian 

 Islands aj)pear to suffer from it. Trinidad and St. 

 Vincent are known localities for the fly and St. Lucia 

 is now suffering from a somewhat serious outbreak. 

 Probably th(^ attacks in St. Lucia will le.s.sen if c<ire i.s 

 taken to check the increase on living animals, by 

 dre.s.'-ing all wounds and exjiosed s])ots on catth' with 

 anti.sejitic and strong snudling dressings. Eveiy stock 

 owner in the West Indies should know of the presence 

 of this ])est which may possibly extend its ravages to 

 neighbouring islands, and it will be well to bear this 

 disease in mind and be abh^ to treat it. A summary of 

 w hat is known of the insect and its habits in St. Lucia 

 has been published as Pam])hlet No. 14 of the Dejiart- 

 ment Series. This can be obtained from the local agents 

 of the Department, a list of whom is given on the last 

 page of this jiaper. This information will prove useful to 

 all wdio are interested in cattle and domestic animals in 

 these islands. The j)est n(-ed not be feared if its attack 

 is recognised and the sintple precautions found usid'ul 

 in St. Lucia and elst-where are adopted in good time 



AGRICULTURE IN BRITISH HONDURAS. 



The new C'olonial Secretary (}\r. P. C. Cork, former- 

 ly of Jamaica) has, already, shown a ileej) interest in 

 agrictdtural matters in British Honduras. Reci-ntly at 

 a meeting, with the (Jovernor in the chair, he read a 

 paper entitled " Hints on Agricultural develojunent" 

 containing useful information in reganl to the culti- 

 vation of cacao and coffee, piiu'-ajiple and other plants. 

 He also touch(^d on drainage, the selection of seed, 

 gathering and packing fruit and labour saving appli- 

 ances. j\Ir Cork coiu'luded as follows: — 



' 1 find a very general imjiression here that agriculture 

 does not jiay. It certainly will not i)ay unless the agricul- 

 turist knows his business and does it. In other tropical 

 colonies I have seen hundreds of tIiou.s;vnds of peoi)le living 

 solely by the cultivation of the soil. I have s.^'cn prolits of 

 from foO to $100 per annum per acre made out of bananas 

 and eiiual amounts made from cacao. I have seen sugar 

 estates, a few hundred acres in extent, yield net profits of 

 $2.5,000 in one yciu-. But I have also seen failm-es : and I 

 have lu) hesitation in saying that failure-s are in most case.s 

 due to the man who grew the croip and not the eroj) itself. 

 The man who goes blindly to work sulVei-s the calamities 

 whicli oxcrtake the blind, and he who liius not energy and 

 perseverance nuist not expect to reap the rewards of industry. 

 If wo can, as the reudtofthis meoting, forma society for 

 mutual assistance and instruction, and if we can .set <nir 

 people's nunds to work, we will create enthusia.siu and enthu- 

 siasm will promiit men to greater exertion re-sulting in 

 increa.sed pro.sperity to tlie conunuidty.' 



