Vol. I. No. 9. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



1.3.5 



journey well ;is they .seem to be firm and gi-o\vii under 

 drier conditions than the Canary fniit.' 



^ This report is distinctly encouraging and when 

 further data are to hand, figures will be i>ublished 

 .showing exactly the profits in each case. 



Preserved Bananas. 



At Jamaica where bananas are so extensively 

 grown for exportation there are large numbi'is of 

 bunches that are rejected and left on the hands of the 

 growers because they are either too small, unripe or 

 over-ripe, or otherwise unsuitable for shij)ment. It 

 would lead to a valuable enterprise if means were 

 devised for utilizing these bananas and saving them 

 from being thrown away or fed to pigs. Many 

 attempts have been made to manufacture banana meal, 

 but there are so many attractive and popular competi- 

 tors amongst cereals and starches that it is doubtful 

 whether banana meal on account of its colour, its 

 somewhat low nutritive value, and cost of production 

 will, at any time, enter largely into consumption. 

 Dried bananas have also been tried. They have been 

 most carefully prepared at Jamaica, Montserrat and 

 elsewhere. They have been packed in attractive boxes 

 like figs and ofTered at a comparative!}' low price. .So 

 far efforts in this direction have invariably failed. In 

 .spite of discouragement in the past we are not without 

 hope that means will, eventually, be devised to preserve 

 waste bananas and present them in an attractive form 

 for consumjjtion in temperate countries. There can be 

 no dcjubt, however, as to the jiopidarity of bananas 

 in the fresh state. The possibilities in this direction 

 are unlimited if only the fruit is presented in really 

 good condition. 



Vanilla-Growing at Dominica. 



Recently two interesting samples of well-cured 

 vanilla pods were received from Dominica and 

 forwarded to London for valuation and report by 

 experts in Mincing Lane. By last mail Messrs. 

 Brookes and Green write as follows : — 



' As regards curing, the beans are in a satisfactory 

 condition. The larger pods are in good condition and 

 beginning to crystallize. They woidd realize here to-day 

 7.5!. per lb. (seven shillings per English pound) for the 

 perfectly sound beans ; sonie few are split at the ends 

 and these are worth 4s. per lb. The second lot, viz., 

 the shorter pods are not so good as the above, but are 

 also, of fair quality and the sound beans would sell 

 here to-day at4.s'. to 4.s'. 6(/. per lb. and the si)lit ends at 

 3.S-. per lb.' 



As a first attempt to cure and prepare vanilla 

 pods to compete with those produced by experienced 

 planters at Seychelles, Bourbon and other countries 

 the report is most encouraging. Messrs. Bi-ookes 

 and Green add useful hints in regard to sortino- 

 and tying up the beans. They also advise that, in 

 j)lace of tin-foil, jiarchment ]iaper should be used to 

 line the inside of the tins in which the jiods are 

 packed. 

 ■ A scries of articles have appeared in these pages 



(the last in this number) giving simple and practi- 

 cal hints for the cultivation of vanilla, fertilizing 

 the flowers, and gathering an 1 cuiing the pods. We 

 commend these hints to the careful attention of all 

 who are interested in vanilla production in these 

 Colonies. 



Volcanic Eruptions and Agriculture. 



Mr. Hesketh H. Bell, the able Administrator of 

 Dominica, deserves credit for his letter to The Tunes 

 of July 22, drawing attention to the serious effects 

 that the graphic accounts of the recent volcanic 

 eruptions are likely to produce upon agricultural 

 development in the West Indies. Those not well 

 accjuainted with these Colonies are apt to conclude 

 that they are all within a short distance of each other, 

 and that the recent eruptions threatened to destroy the 

 whole of them. As a matter of fact, Jamaica is as far 

 fi-om Barbados as Gibraltar is from Plymouth, and 

 Jamaica, British Guiana and Trinidad, ail equally 

 removed from the effects of volcanic agency, contain 

 about nine-tenths of the total area of the West Indian 

 Colonies. St. Vincent is the only British island that 

 has suffered from an agricultui-al point of view, and it 

 is hoped that Mr. Hesketh Bell's letter and the very 

 conclusive leading article that appeared in The Times 

 of July 23 will re-assure those who have interests in 

 the West Indies that, with the single exception of St. 

 Vincent, these Colonies have not been rendered less 

 deserving than before of the notice of intending settlers 

 or are less advantageous for the investmeiit of capital. 

 The cacao, lime and iiniit industries are as fiourishing 

 as in any part of the world, and it is ho])ed when the 

 full effects of the abolishment of bounties are realized, 

 the sugar industry, also, will be nxire prosperous than 

 unfortunately it is at present. 



Plant Breeding Conference. 



An International Plant-breeding and Hybridiza- 

 tion Conference is proposed to be held at New York on 

 September 30 and October 1 and 2 next. This Confer- 

 ence is receiving the active sujiport of the Ignited States 

 Department of Agriculture, of the Department of 

 Agriculture of the Dominion of Canada and practi- 

 cally of all the leading Botanical and Horticidtural 

 Societies in the New World. It is also being supported 

 by the Royal Horticultural Societ}' of London. It is 

 proposed, as a matter of special interest, to include in 

 the progrannne the residfs of work on hybridizing 

 tropical crop-plants such as sugar-cane, bananas, maize 

 or Indian corn. Cinchona and others. As it is evident 

 that the Conference will prove of interest and value to 

 the West Indies and bring forward subjects likely to 

 bear directly on the important work in which the 

 Imperial I)ei)artment of Agricultiire is engaged, such 

 as raising new varieties of sugar-cane, Indian corn, 

 sweet potatos, bananas, etc., the Secretary of State 

 hris approved of the support of the Department being 

 given to it, and, if circumstances permit, a representa- 

 tive from the West Indies will attend the Conference. 



