Vol. I. No. 4. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



57 



bonzoatos, fonnalin <tr foiiiialdfliydo. The ' boron 

 ])i'osorvHtives' aro jiivpaiatioii.s of borax and boiMoic 

 ncitl (with oi' withoiit thv adinixt-tire otdthcr in'cscrva- 

 tive ingredients s\ieh as salt, sjiltjietre, sugar, earbonate 

 of .soda, etc.,) and are generally sold in the tonn of a 

 white powder un<ler a great variety of fanciful names. 

 The\' are used lai-gely f(jr dairy produce in margarine, 

 )iam, bai'on, sausages and preserved meat foods generally. 



The most commonly used colouring mattei- for 

 <lairv ])ioduce is annatto, the red l)ul]) surrounding the 

 .seeds of i^wvf OrcllniKi. This and other yellow colour- 

 ing matters of vegetable origin such as turmeric have 

 been considered hannless in the quantities employed, 

 but they are being superseded by coal tar yellow dyes. 

 The action of these on the hum in .system is not fully 

 known. 



The Connnittee make the following reconnnen- 

 (lation.s : — 



(L) That the n.se of formaldehyde or fonnalin or 

 ))rei)anitions thereof, in foods or drinks, he absolutely 

 jiioliiliiti'd and that saUcylic acid be not used in a greater 

 j)ro}portion than one grain jier ](int in liquid food, and one 

 grain per [lound in solid food. Its presence in all ca.ses to be 

 declared. 



(2.) That the Use of any j preservative or colouring matter 

 whatever in milk offered for sale in the Uniteil Kingdom lie 

 constituted an oSence under the Sale of Food and Drugs 

 Act. 



{.').) Tint tlij only preservative wliicli it shall be lawful 

 to use in cream be boric acid or mi.xtures of boric acid and 

 borax, and in amount not exceeding 0"25 per cent. ex})ressed 

 as boric acid. The amount <if such preservative to be 

 notified by a label. 



(4.) That the only preservative permitted to be used in 

 butter and margarine be lioric acid or mixtures of boiic acid 

 and borax, to be used in jaxiportions not exceeding 0"5 per 

 cent. expresse<l as boric acid. 



(.0.) That in the case of all dietetic preparations intended 

 for the use of invalids or infants, chemical [ireservatives of all 

 kinds be prohibited. 



(6.) That the use of cojuier salts in the so-called greening 

 of jireserved foods be |>rohibited. 



(7.) That means be provided, either by the establish- 

 ment of a separate Court of Reference, or by the imi>osition 

 of more direct obligation on the Local (Government Board to 

 exercise sui>ervisi(>n over the use of preservatives and 

 colouring matters in foods, and to prepare schedules of such 

 as n)ay be consideied inimical to the )iublic lica.ltli. 



ST, LUCIA. 



Agricultural Notes. 



The following agricultural notes have been re- 

 ceived from Mr. George S. Hudson, the Agricultural 

 Instructor at St. Lucia : — 



W^eather - -The weather continues extremely dry, save 

 for a thunderstorm on the 19tli inst., which yielded a very 

 welcome 20 to 30 parts of rain. From the 1.5th to the 20th 

 May the whole i.sland was envelojied in a light hazy nust, the 

 result of Volcanic Ash suspended in the air. Traces of this 

 ash can be seen on all foliage, it being apparently deposited 

 more freely at night, lieing no doubt preci^iitated by the action 

 of the dew. 



All jilanting oi>crations are delayed by the continuance 

 of the drought. PiLsturcs yield little or no food to animals, 

 ami the Howering of cacao trees is being retarded. 



Cattle. — Stock owners would do well to buy a bag 

 or two of oilmcil and liran (or i>ollard) during this trying 

 season, and give each ailult horned animal i drink night and 

 morning compoun led nf lib. of each mixed with 4 gallons of 

 water, half in the morning and half in the evening Molasses 

 must be added when the aninrils are unaccustomed to this 

 mode of feeding, but may little by little be omitted as they 

 get accustomed to it. Tliis is a valuable means of main- 

 taining a milk sujiply during the dry season, and in fact, 

 during any part of the year. Cattle are very expensive 

 just now, good milch cows fetching £8 to £10 readily. 



The screw-worm do^^s little damage at this time of the 

 yeaj-. A certain degree of humidity sceuH to be neces- 

 sary for its evolution from the chrysalis stage. 



Agricultural Labour is scarce. Some of the sugar 

 factories and many cac.i i estates are practically working half 

 time in con.seipience. 



Honey. — It is desirable to draw the attention of bee- 

 keejiers to the fact that cond>honey is so successfully 

 produced that the local market is likely to be overstocked. 

 Lupiiries have been made in Jamaica, New York and 

 ]>ondon as to whether the practice of shiijping cr nb-Innoy 

 would prove safe and lucrative, and the replies wh' ii we give 

 below tend to convince us that the procbxctio of comb- 

 honey must be abandoned for that of extracted or liipiiil 

 honey, and then, our be.-^t market would be London. Should 

 this prove to be the case bee-keepers in the smaller islands 

 should jirofit by the ex|)ericnce gained in Jamaica, which 

 shows how easily a bad rei)Utatioii for an island's goods may 

 be gained by shipping inferior honey (the apparent result of 

 excessive syrup feeding), and enclosing same in imperfectly 

 cleaned and unattractive |iackages. We strongly recom- 

 mend the use of cases supplied liy American makers of 

 bee-keeping .supplies, containing 2 empty .^-gallon tins 

 cajiable of containing 120 1b. honey, costing 75 cents each 

 in New York, and about $1.00 each in the West Indies. By 

 referring to the Market Report published fortnightly in this 

 (laper, it will be seen tliat .Jamaica honey in tins sells at 

 fiom l.s 6(/ to .l.s per rwt. more than the". same honey in 

 fiarrels, and there are also savings in co.st of [lutting u)), 

 trans]iort and freight, when tins are used. 



AVic Tor/,:- Ml ;\biy, 1902. Messrs. Gillespie Bros. 

 A Co., report: ' Honey in comb. — While there is generally a 

 good demand for this, the ditliculty in your ca.se would bu 

 the risk of breakage in transport, as unless shii>ment.s receive 

 most careful handling on the voyage from St. Lucia, we think 

 a fair proportion of the whole would arrive broken. It is )iot; 

 unlikely that sjieeial arrangements might be made in case 

 of a trial shipment from which a useful idea could be 

 obtained for working eventual business. The duty is at the 

 rate of 20 cents a gallon, and the Customs reckon that 1:2 

 jiounds of the honey are e(jual to one gallon. We may mention 

 that they refer to the honey in comb as being one pound, 

 exclusive of the containers. So far .rs we can learn, a fair 

 i|Uotation for cond)-honcy to-day is 9 cents to 1.3 cents per 

 [lound.' 



Lom/on. — loth Ai>ril, 1902. Messrs. Ross &■ Norton 

 re^iort : ' Honey — We are advised that condj-honey does 

 not prove satisfactory, and that you had better shii> in the 

 li(juid form. On present prices this would realize 15.s to 22s 

 cwt. according to conditi(jn and (piality.' 



Jamaica.^&t]i May, 1902. No one here ships comb, 

 only honey in cask or tin, but the quality varie.s very much.' 



