V(ir,. I. X< 



THK ACUUCirLTLMtAL NllWS. 



average was 4.5 inches. In flistrict.N wht-n- tlie soil was 

 light or the raintiill about 45 inches splciulid onions 

 have been grown, 'i'hat the planters are not dis- 

 ciiuraged is indicated In- the tact that three times thi' 

 quantity' of sec'fl oi-dered lust .sea.son has been engagecl 

 for this year's planting. The chief damage by rain was 

 done in the seed-beds which on several estates were, 

 with the vci'ing seedlings, waslu'il awav. 



Vegetables for the Boers at Antigua. 



Thei'e will be a greatly incivased deiiiaiid lor 

 vegetables and fruit when the Kuer pri.soners and the 

 troojis arri\<' in the island. The latter were due on Mav 

 I'-i. and the lornier about -lune 1. At this time dl' the 

 year locally grown provisions are not plentiful, and in 

 any case it is not likely that Antigua will be able to 

 su])ply all recniirenieiits, so that Dominica. Montserrat 

 and the other islands of the Colony will no doubt find 

 a ready sale for sndi products. ( )ne enteipiising 

 merchant wlio has a contract for fresli \eget.ibles is 

 distributing seed fret' to growers in the Liberta and 

 Valley districts. 



Lagos Silk Rubber at Tobago. 



A i)lot of the African or Lago.-i silk rubber 

 (Farttuin'id clusficd ) was planted at the Botanic 

 Station To!)ago, in A[(ril 1!)01. The C'uratoi- ie])orts 

 that the plants have made gotxl growth and flowered 

 for the first time this month. Mr. Millen adds that in a 

 young state the jilant assumes ;i shrubby habit, but b\ 

 ]iruning it can be made to form a trunk. In Lagos it 

 attains a height of from !I0 to 100 feet before branching. 

 This makes it easy for the collector to ta[) the trunks. 

 The latc-x flows readily and rubber is easily produced bv 

 the hot and colil water ])rocess, no chemicals being 

 required as in some lubber-jiroducing trees. From its 

 rapid growth tiie tree is .-qppaii'ntly adapted for culti- 

 vation in Tobago. 



Shipment of Logwood. 



'i'he quantity of logwood shippeil to Europe 

 during last year is the smallest on record for ten years, 

 an<l the statistics, which have been i.ssued by the well 

 known firm of Beiiekendorft', Berger and Co. of London 

 and Jamaica, show that there is a steady tlecline in 

 the imporlati. ii of that product into the principal 

 markets of Hnn^pc. 



I)nririg last year f),()2K tons of logwood, straight 

 ,uid roots, were shippi'd from Jamaica to Eurojjc ; and 

 of iliis <piantity (l,.S!<:! tons went to Havre, while l,7t).> 

 tons Were landed at jiorts in the diitefl Kingdom, and 

 \,'2'-i\ t<ins Went to Haml)urg. The largest consign- 

 ments rerei\ed in Kurope during the ])eriod under 

 ie\ie\'. weiv fVoni Santo Domingo and Haiti, and they 

 aniounteil to 41,(i7<i tons. Honduras is credited witit 

 17,S27 tons. The tot.-d inq)ortations reached !l(),(i()2 

 tons, or fully :5(),.SI2tons below the receipts for 1900. 



The foll.iwHig figures of logwood shipped to 

 Kurope from \,ii ious countries for the p.-ist nine vears 

 mav be of interest, !8!t:!, I8S,(i()4 tons : IN!)4, 208, 1,S.), 

 tons: 18!».5, 22.5.77!! tons: IStHJ, 2(i2,!t30 tons: 1807, 

 l8o,:W() tons: I8!»8, l(i0,O()0 tons: I80i», 100,404 tons: 

 1000, ir)-),(i40 tons; 1001, 124,8:^7 ton^.— f . fa „ri ici 

 T<'h'(ini fill ). 



Flowering Bamboo. 



A cluuqi of bandjoos. probably the ci>nnuon 

 species ( liini/htifid (rrinul i niicea ) is reported to be 

 flowering in Windsor Forest Road, Grenada. Bamboos- 

 \ai\ gieatly in their flowering periods. Some species 

 Howcr freipu'ntly, whilst others, amongst them the 

 one in qui'stioii, oidy at long intervals. In Fuither 

 India, the home of liamhiisn a ra lu] loarcn, the 

 bamboos flower o\ er large tracts of country simulta- 

 neously. In Brazil, jjlagues of miie and rats have 

 occurred after the flowering of the baud)oos and the 



subsecplent enormous production of seeil. 



Vanilla in Tahiti. 



The .lournal of the Board of Trade for .laiiuar\ 2:1, 

 ]1K)2, reports that the French ( iovernment has fi.xed 

 'J,000 Kilograms [22,040 lb.] as the quantity of vanilla 

 produced in French establishments in Oceania (Tahiti 

 and its I)e|iendencies) which during the peiiod from 

 July 1, 1001, to June JiO, 1002, is to be allowed a 

 reduction of .50 percent, of th<' oidinary iuqioil dutv 

 on inqjortation with France.' 



In 1800 Tahiti exported |:!0,ll:! lb. of s.tnilla. 

 The jaice realized was very low, only 4.v. .5{(/. per lli. 

 owing largely to faulty preparation. The Considar 

 Report on the Trade of the Society Islands for T800, 

 says that 'Tahiti vanilla jiroperly cured befia-e shiji- 

 ment generally finds a fair market, although it caiuiot 

 compete in quality with that from Bourbon, Se\ clwlles, 

 Fiji and the West Indi.s.' 



Volcanic Ash at St. Vincent. 



The ( 'urator of the Botanic Station, Si. \'iucent, 

 reports that about :> p.m. on Wednesilay, May 7. pieces 

 of scoriae fell thickly at the Botanic Station and grey 

 ashes also fell to a depth of about one quarter of an 

 inch during Wednesday afternoon and night. Foi-fun- 

 atelv verv little damage wa.s done to the Station. 



United States Fisheries. 



Prof H. F. { Jsborn LL. I)., of t'olunibia Tnisersity, 

 contributes to H(iri>rrK MtKjuzi nt- for March an inter- 

 esting article on the United States Fish tVnnmi.ssion 

 Station and Jlarine Laboratory a( Woods Holl. The 

 article is well illustrated and gives a gooil .-lecount of 

 some of the work carried on at the Station. 



