50 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 7, 1902. 



The subject is not new. It may, nevertheless, 



require niention iii;iny times repeateil. The (jnaint, but 



fervid, appeal uf Gerharde, in l(j:^3, is as apjilieabh' 



to-day as it was 2G9 years ago : 



' Forwaiil in tlie name of God ! <;iafl'e, set, plant and 

 nduiisli 11]) tret s in every enrner nf junr gniunds ; the lal^our 

 is small, the Cdst is nothing, tlie ccmnuoditie is great, ymirselves 



shall have i)lenty, the ] re sliall have simiewhat in time nf 



want t<i relieve tlieir necessitie, and 'iod sliall leward ymir 

 good minds and diligence.' 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Collecting eggs of Moth-borer. 



In the Afjrifnttii i'(d Xi'w--^ (pji. :^-4) attention was 

 drawn to the importance of collecting the eggs of the 

 moth-borer at Barbados an<I elsewhere at the end of 

 the present ci'op when all the old canes have been 

 reajH'd and tlius .save the young canes (the onh' ones 

 now remaining) I'rom serious injuiv by this pt^st. 



In some instances planters have expressed them- 

 selves unable to collect borer eggs owing t<j the e.xtent 

 of canes under cultivation. As on most estates in the 

 sugar islands then' aie only about 100 to 1.50, or at 

 the most 200 acres actuaHy in young canes, such a 

 difficulty should not really exist, and especially as we 

 find that on estates where a thousand or more acres 

 are under cultivation, collecting eggs of the mnth-boier 

 has been undertaken with energy and success. 



'I'he following extract is taken ficjin .in iiitinst- 

 ing letter lately received from J\Ir. John M. I'Iciiiiiig, 

 Manager of Diamond Plantation, Demerar.i, uuc of the 

 largest sugar jjroperties in this ]iart of the world. 



I\Ir. Fleming writes : 



After reading in one of ihe Kiillcliiis of the hM|icrial 

 Deiiartnient of .Aj^ricultiii'c an aecnunt ^if tlie life liisfoiy 

 of the moth-borer, ] cnnnnenced to rcillcrt the eggs, 

 in addition to cutting out the cane shoots atieeted by 

 the grill), wliich had iirevioii.sly been our only means of 

 I'omljating this (icst. The small coolie ejiildren (^m|iloM'd 

 for tlie \v<irl<, witii their sharp eyes, rajiidly beeanu' experts 

 in deteeting the eggs on tlie, cane jeaxe.s, and large immliers 

 have been destroyed. l'-;;g's that, are already liatiOied. or 

 that are atieeted by iiarasites, are left iintoiiclied, and only 

 the fresh onus collected. 



It is impossible to .say to what cxteiil tliis work has 

 l)een efl'eetive in diminishing the iiumbers of thi' liorers ; 

 l)Ut, whether due to this or to natural eaiises, they are not 

 .SO plentiful of late, as I have ohserved them in former 

 seasons. 1 am satisfied that in attacking tin; liorer in the 

 egg stage, we are adopting tlie best means of mitigating the 

 nni.sancc. ^b)re than this we aui lianlly hope to eti'eit 

 in this Colony, with a reajiing .season extending omt nine 

 luoiiths of the year, and canes in all stages of growth. 



An interesting Method of applying Nitrate 

 of Scda to canes. 



In a letter jiublishcd in the Februaiy number of 

 the H(i ii'd ntt II Pill iiti-rs' }f<iiit/il i/. an account is given 

 of an ingenious method oi apjilying nitrate of soda to 

 irrigated cane land. Jirigation in sugar-cane cidti- 

 vation is being tried on a limited scale in Barbados, 

 and in the event of its future extension the method of 

 distributing soluble iiinnuros outlined below might be 

 of jnacticai value. 



The method consists in applying nitrate of soda by 

 dissolving it in the iiiigation water, and has been 

 adojited by Mr. Pogue, manager of the Kihei planta- 

 tion, who gives the following desciiptioii of the jirocess : 



' Dissolve a hag of nitrate of .soda in .50 gallons of 

 water : pour one jiailful of this solution and four pailsfiil 

 of water into a barrel, which di.seharges by a rubber )iipe 

 into a tulie tilled to a given mark from which the mixture 

 Hows in an even stream into the main irrigation ditch. 

 In this way one man can easily ajiply lOOlti )ier acre 

 of nitrate to CO acres in G day.s.' The idea of di.s.solving 

 the nitrate was suggested by the scarcity of labour. There 

 is further the added advantage of applying thi.s solulile 

 manure in very small iiuantities, at short intervals, rather 

 than in one or two large doses. The objection to the 

 method is the loss by soakage in the canals thnnigh 

 which the water passes, but in all jirobability this is 

 small coinparerl with the advantages mentioned above. Per- 

 hajis other soluble fertilizers may b? applied in this manner 

 where irrigation is jiractised. 



CARE OF MILCH COWS. 



'Vhv following jilea in fax'our of kind and (consider- 

 ate treatment for milch cows is taken fi'oiii the Ai/rl- 

 riilfii nil ■Joiiniid, dx\)v of Good Hope. In Barl)ado.s, 

 as a ride, milch cows (which are mostly Aldernev and 

 excellent milkers) are well cared for; but even here, 

 occasionally, too much energy is exerted iti driving 

 them. As sujrm'sted bv Mr. Hudson in tJiese iiaires it 

 wiiuld be of great advantage if in addition Ii> a good 

 siipjily of grass, milch cows, especially during <liy 

 weather, were encouraged by a daily |iail of bran mash 

 or pollard or sonn.' nilmeal to keeji up their milking 

 ijiialities. 



The extract fi'oiii the C;ipe Ai/ririi//)i rcl Jiiiiriinl 

 is as follows : — 



It often astonishes us to see the aniomit of iiiergy and 

 enthusiasm that a small coloured boy exerts in driving cows 

 home to he milked, and the u.se he is alloweil to make of his 

 peculiar vernacular accompanied hy a flexible sjambok. If 

 there .should be a few dogs about, it is con.sidered good 

 practice and training for them to round up the home going 

 cow.s. Oi' perhaps the cows will he entirely neglected hy 

 their drover aiul allowe<l to wend their way uiigiiided thndigli 

 roads traversed hy many vehicles and ipa.sseiigers, in and mit 

 of which the milkers have to dodge like the jiiMVerliial dog in 

 the fair. The best bred animals in the world will ln'como 

 dry and uselc.ss under rough treatment. Therefore he kind 

 and gentle to your milch cows. It is positively profitable to 

 |iet a cow as you would ]>et your wife or child, your cat or 

 Miiir eaiiaiy. The legist violence to a milker decreases the 

 milk, an<l so does every bark of il dog and every Yelp of a. 

 larky hoy, not to mention the sjambok, fleiitle methods 

 inevail on a well-kept and successful tluiry I'anii Tliu cow 



