40 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 24, 1902. 



PEASANTS' PLOTS AT BARBADOS. 



Aiiidiig tlio (Toiis i;n>«ii liy tlie pea.santry ill IJarliadus 

 arc Uic cereals, Indian and f J.iiuea corn, and ]ii'as and bians 

 such as ]iige()n [itsis, ii>Mncival ]>ea, inciea.se pea, lionavist 

 an<l l)ean. These are not j^rown seiiaraTelv, liei'ause, in most 

 cases, the l)lot is not hirge enough, the desire and aim of the 

 peasant l)eing to get as luuny crojis as possible out of lii.s 

 land. Hem-e cereals are sown .side by side with other crops 

 on the same land. l'eas<ints' plot.s vary in size from one rood 

 to one or two acres. In the eurly part of the year, during 

 the dry season, the soil is prejiared by being forked or 

 hoed, manure is put in, and cane and corn holes are dug. 

 Early in tlie month of .June, when the rainy season sets in, 

 seed is sown. Indian corn is |)lantod on each side of the 

 cane holes, sometimes in alternate rows ; f iuinea corn is sown 

 at shorter distances apart than Indian corn : l>i>navist, jieas 

 and beans are sown aro md the liedgerows and sometimes 

 inside the plot. Wh'jn ripe, the crops are reajied. On small 

 plots the Indian corn i.s sold, as it stands, to women who 

 break off the ears iind prepare them for market by cutting 

 the ends and stiiiijung off a few of the thin leaves which 

 cover the grain. In this .state, the cob is retailed at 

 the rate of three or four ears for one cent, and is cooked liy 

 roasting. On larger plots the corn is allowed to remain in 

 the fields until it is ipiite dry, when it is sold at about f^O 

 cents a Im.sliel. This corn is ground in small mills into meal 

 whiirh .sells at the rate of fi-om two to four pints foi- 10 

 cents. 



Guinea corn, if allowed to .seed, fetches about SO cents a 

 bushel, but it is u.sed chiefly as fodder for cattle and fetches 

 fiom .') to G cents j>er 100 H). In dry sea.sons, when other 

 fodder is .scarce, it rises to as much as 40 cents per 

 100 tl). With regard to the peas and bean.s, they are i>icke(l 

 when ripe and sold to hucksters who retail them, shelled, at 

 the rate of two to three pints for 10 cents.. Pigeon peas aro 

 .sometimes allowed to dry on the bushes and then command 

 the same Jirice as in the green state. 



Each of these crops could \h' more extensively grown to 

 sujijily the wants of the population anil thus lead to the 

 reduction of the large inijiortations from America and else- 

 where. Better crops could be obtained if more care wire 

 taken in sjle'ting only the best seed for |ilanting, and if llir 

 .seed were sown at proper distances. In planting Indian 

 corn, for instance, the .seed should be taken from full, sound 

 ears (see A^/ricii/tifraf Xuvs, \t. 2()) and not more than three 

 grain.s should be put in a hole. ^\ lim the corn has 

 r(;ached a height of Icn or twelve inches, all .--ickly an<l 

 weak-looking stalks should be pulled out. So too with 

 Guinea corn : it is often planted too thickly, too many 

 grains are |iut into one hole, ami sulHcient care is not taken 

 to see that the seed planted is sound and free from Might. 

 .Moie than si.\ grains of Guinia corn should not be planted in 

 one hole \.here the <'orn is intended for sei'd. For foddei-, 

 eight grains are enough ; and even then, to ensui'e a healthy 

 growth, all thin, W(«k looking shoots should be pulled U|i. 

 .Ml these plants grow re;idily in shallow, friable soil, an.l 

 better crops are always obtained by manuring. 



Mole Crickets. These pests, known in .St. j.iieia 

 as ' Coehon tcrre,' have been doing considerable damage 

 recently to ro.scs, tomato.s, oranges ami other plants at the 

 Botanic Station at St. Lucia. .Methods for dealing with this 

 destructive creature are given in the Weal ItidUin /liiZ/ctin, 

 Vol. 1 1, p. ."! ty. 



SCREW WORM. 



In ciiiitinuatiuri of tht' intormation ivspecting 

 the screw Worm givcj-n on jj. 8 of this Joufiial we may 

 mentiDii that a full account of the in.sect is containi''! 

 in linl/rtiii X<>. .7, A'''w S>'ri/'s, iJir'txinn nf Kiifnimiloj/i/, 

 I'liitod States l)ei)artmcnt uf .\giicultiiie. IN!)(i. and 

 among other information we notice a suggestion that 

 may, pi>.s.sil)ly, prove n.seful at St. Liieia. In applying 

 carbolic acid or othtT liiinids to woniid.s infected w-ith 

 screw-woiiii maggots, there is .sometime.s a difficulty in 

 getting the ]ii|uiil to jn'netrate to the extremities of 

 Wounds. This may I'asily Vie effected by using an 

 ordinary oiler or oil-can by which a few drops can 

 be placed in the wound without waste. Such oilers 

 are used for ajjjilying oil to sewing-machines and 

 cycles and havi' a spring bottom or other de\ ice where- 

 by a few drojis of liipiid can be thrown out. A small 

 oil-can of this nature, to hold half an omice or an ounce 

 of carbolic acid, shoidd prove u.sefnl in treating wounds. 

 In the United States they use an ordinary ciuiical zinc 

 oil-can of about four ounces cjipacity and find it very 

 satisfactory. There should be no diifictiity in obtaining 

 such an oil-can locally and we commend this practical 

 hint to the attention of stock-owners in .St. Lucia. 



COMPOSITION OF THE BREAD FRUIT. 



The following analysis of the Vnead fruit is recorde<l 

 in the E.fjK'i'hin'iit Stilt (OH Ri'coril, \ ol. xii, ]i. 107(): — 



Water 



Protein 



Fat 



Starch 



(^rude Fibre, 



Ash 



Undetermined 



In 



( which 



ciimpari.sun with I he sweet potato and yam 

 agree very closely with oin' another in their 

 chemical comjiositioii ) the bread Ir.iit i:i>ntains 2.5 to JJO 

 |)ei- cent, less water, abotit 25 jier cent, more starch and 

 a distinctly higher proportion of ))rotein or nitrogemui.s 

 mattr'r. ivvpressed in other words, whilst one jioiirnl 

 weight (if sweet )»oIato or yam contains .about twelve 

 ounces of water and two ounces .d' starch, one pounil of 

 lireail fruit contains about six and .i h.alf ounces of 

 starch and oidy se\ ell of wal'f. .\ltliough sujierior as 

 ,1 food stuff so far as a<-tual clieiiiical coiiijiositiiui is 

 coiicel-ned, the ]iresence of o\ er four per cent, of fibrous 

 matter in the bi-.'ad fruit is a point in which it com- 

 p.-.ies unfavourably with the swi^et potato and yam. 



StingleSS Bees. Stingless bees arc II.. t iinc-ommoii 

 ill tlic West Indian islands, living wild and making nests in 

 trees. .\ loloiiy is to be .-e( n in the Dominica liotaiiic .Station 

 and is worth a visit. The bees are small and very active, ami 

 become very excited if the nest is disturbed. Even 

 thon.gh one knows they are stinglcs-s it is hard (o lem.iin 

 near the ne.st when the bees become angry and fly alioiit just 

 as the real hom-y-bee does: one instinctively feai-s a sting, 

 and instinct in this case proves stronger than rea.son. The 

 1 ices belong to an uiulescribed species of ,)/»•/ /'/x)«'/, a genus 

 whi<'li includes numerous tropical stingl«^s.s bees. 



