lU 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



AucusT 2, 1902. 



retrenchiufiit lias been rigidly eiiCiprccd — rathrr ngidly 

 than wisely in some direetinns jieihai)s — and though 

 the financial iinispect is not ovei-hright, yet the 

 extreme tension of three years ago has lieen relie\-ed.' 

 Of the economic crisis Tlir Times continues 'it is 

 possible to speak in nnich mori' positive and hojietul 

 terms. First and foremost in importance, though 

 latest in point of time, has been the happy com-hisioii 

 of the Brussels Conference which seems to point to 

 the final disappearance of the Euro])ean Hountii's on 

 beet sugar in ,Sej)tembt'r 1903.' Jamaica will pi'i.bably 

 now enter upon a new era of sugar jproduction and it is 

 confidently hoped that 'many cane fields now desolate 

 will once more smile with the veidiire of the sugar- 

 cane, many a modern factory, e(pii)iped with all 

 the best ap])liances for making s\igar on the most 

 favourable tiuins, will in time take the place of the 

 <leserted and now anticpiateij factoiies to be touud in 

 all parts of the island.' 



Since 1899 the fruit industiy has been extended 

 and improved by the establishment of the Direct service 

 with England. The exjiorts of fruit ai'e now of the 

 annual value of three-ipiarters of a million sterling. 

 B>it, according to Thr TiincK correspondent, one of 

 the greatest changes wi-ought at Jamaica is 'the very 

 large and sudden develojimeut of the tourist traffic. 

 Jamaica has never known such a tourist season as that 

 <jf last winter. It is jirob.ibly the ]irecui-sor of many 

 such seasons to come. It is a moderate estimate that 

 this abundant and un})recedented infiiix (if tourists 

 has involved tht' expenditure of ,£:l.5,0()0 in the 

 island .... and it is obvious that ;i gieat poition of 

 this sum must filter down through all el.isses .if tlie 

 conuiiunity.' 



We mav ciau-lude thai although much I'em.uiis to 

 be done to restore the financial eipiilibrium and to 

 l)\iild u]i large and suct'i'ssfid industries in the isl.nnd 

 the outlook is distinctly brightt'i' than it was, and we 

 mav hope that as one of the most accessible .iiid 

 attractive of tro]>ic.-d lauds J.'maie.i may soon regain 

 its former prosperit}'. 



Rubber Forests in the Soudan. 



The following I'xtrat't from Tin' Baanl of TrmJc 

 JiiiiriKil of April 24, 1902, is of interest to rul)i)er 

 planters in the West Indies: — 



Lord C'roiner, in his recent report to the Foreign OHiic, 

 states that considerable iiuiuitities of rubber trees arc reported 

 in many of the districts of the province of the Hahr el(!liii/.al. 

 The Director of Woods and Forests has been despatclied to 

 rcjiort on the possiliilitics of re-opening the india ridiber 

 trade of tile Bahr el-( diazal, which, in former days, was one 

 of the princiiiul sources of revenue of that di.'^triet. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Experiments with Varieties of Sugar-Cane at 

 Jamaica. 



Mr. H. }\. Cousins, Island and Agricultural 

 ( 'henust of Jamaica, contributes the following report: — 



Tlie experimi'nts on cane varieties at the Ho))0 

 (lardens have just been completed. One hundred and 

 two varieties were tested. 



B. 2.54 came out first with 11,8^1 lb of sucrose 

 per acre. B. .'579 was second with Otaheite and Poaole 

 rliiid .md fourth, respectively. 



1). 9.5 gave the richest juice, 1-089G, and the 

 highest sucrose, 2"i lb per gallon. 



1). 142 till- ]i lorest juice, r0557, and the lowest 

 sucrose content, 0998 Hi per gallon. Some varieties 

 gave :\ high ipiotient of ])urity approximating 9.5 jier 



c-elit. 



1'). 147 was eighth. It gave a high ipiotient of 

 puritv and a low glucose ratio. This cane should do 

 well on siniie soils in Jamaica. 



I ). 95 is deficient in yiidd at Hojie. It ratnoin'd 

 at Albion this year at 2^ tons crystals jier acre as 

 .-igainst 4 tons as ]dants. 



It mav be mentioned that the Hojie (iardens are 

 situated in the lather <lrv ))lains of Liguanea about 

 six miles from Kingston, at an elevation of (ioO feet 

 ,il>o\e the sea. The average rainfall is 4()'4 inches, 

 the menu annual tem]ierature 77' F. 



Stunted and Rotten Canes. 



A correspondent writes: I have read a rejiorfc 

 which ap|)eare(l in the Jli rhmlos Aili-ociitc (of July 

 21 ) from the Parish of St. John's, that in the crop just 

 over ' the canes seemed stunted and hard and the juice 

 so Weak that it would scarcidy granulate in the coolers; 

 then there w.isthe large amount of rotton canes to be 

 seen everywhere.' In these days of low ])rices and 

 short crops it is n'ally remarkable that the planters in 

 St. .lohn's, at all events, should allow^ thein.selves to 

 lo.se so large a share of their canes owing to 

 circumstances entirely w it bin their own control. The 

 stnnti'd, hard canes were, no (hnibt. badly affected by 

 the root-disease, and this is usually due to want of caro 

 in selecting tops, or to error in jilanting, leaving the 

 i.ips to be attacked by fimgus as suggested by ^[r. 

 How.ird at the late Conference. As to rotten canes-, 

 they are, I expect, largely, if not entirely, due to the 

 jireseiice of the moth-borer, which could be prevented 

 with a little care as efi'ectually as any ofhtr trouble of 

 the sugar-cane. As a jilanter of many years' ex])en- 

 ence I can truly say that on pl.intations where 'stunted 



