136 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



August K, 1902. 



WEST INDIAN FISHERIES. 



Tarpon in Grenada. 



We learn from the Rev. D. Silver that tarpon, known 

 locally as ' Grand Etaille,' exist in abundance in the lakes, 

 rivers and seaboard of Grenada. In the dry season fish -5 feet 

 in length are said to be i)icked up at Lake Levera (in the 

 lagoons) in cart loads. People carry the fish away and 

 preserve them in salt. The existence of trtr[)on in these 

 lagoons is said to be unknown to persons other than those 

 residing by the lake because firstly, the roots of the wild 

 mangrove trees which grow in the lake render angling 

 almost impossible, the fish making for these when hooked; 

 and s3condly, with the e.xception of one or two travelling 

 English sjiortsnien, no one in the island is expert in baiting 

 a hook or fishing with a rod. Tarpon also occur in Lake 

 Antoine and along the coast near St. George's but are never 

 caught because they are not fished for. 



GUNGA IN THE WEST INDIES. 



Under the heading of 'The Gunga ciir.se in the 

 West Indies,' a writer in the July number of ('//(( mhcrs's 

 Juonntl give.s a somewhat sen.sational account of the 

 occurrence of the Gunga habit at Jamaica. WJiat are 

 known as Bhang and (Junga are the produce of tJie 

 common hemp plant which, in temperate countries, 

 yields the well-known 'hemp fibre' and the ' hemp seed' 

 used for feeding caged birds. In the tropics the plant 

 yields llhaiig from the large leaves and Gunga from 

 the drie(l floweiing top.s. Both are used for smoking 

 by natives of India and possess a strong narcotic odour 

 and taste. A third product, also usc^d for smoking, is 

 Charras, a gum resin collected tix)m the growing plants 

 in the field. The Ivist Indian ('oolies at British 

 Guiana, Trinidad and Jamaica have brought with them 

 the habit of smoking (Junga. In extreme cases it is 

 admitted the habit leads to injury to health, to fits of 

 intoxication, and sometimes temporary insanity. One 

 hears very little however of these ill effects in either of 

 the Colonies named. It is true that, with the view of 

 (li.soouraging the u.se of Gunga amongst Coolii\s, the 

 Government of Trinidad, some time ago, prohibite(l 

 hem}) being grown in the Colony and an import duty 

 of I.5.S. per lb. was imposed on the dried drug. 

 Whether the Gunga habit in Jamaica has of late 

 assumed serious j)ropi)rtions is open to doubt. In any 

 case the sen.sational article above; refej-red to docs not 

 apply generally to the West Indies, and its iffect is 

 likely to give rise to misajijjrehension and mislead 

 those interested in these Colonies. 



TRINIDAD TRADE. 



We arc indebted to Professor Carmody for a 

 Pam))hlet with Statistics of Trinidad Trade compiled 

 by him in behalf of the Agricultural Society for 

 distribution at the Toronto Exhibition. This should 

 prove useful in making known the resources of the 

 Colony and also in attracting the attention of merchants 

 and shippers in Canada to openings for Dominion 

 products. The principal exports of Trinidad are 

 sugar and its b3'-pro(lucts, cacao, asphalt, cocoa-nuts 

 and cocoa-nut oil. The average annual value exported 

 during the five years ending 1900 was as follows: — 

 Sugar £(120,000 ; cacao, .€()G4,000 ; asphalt, £1.37,000. 

 It is stated that the sugar exports have in 2.5 j'ears 

 decreased in value by 2.5 per cent., while the cacao 

 exports have increased 100 per cent., and asphalt 

 .500 per cent. The Colony is peculiarly suited for the 

 })ro(hiction, in very large quantities, of starches, fibres, 

 fruits, spices, tobacco, kola nuts, castor seeds, d^'es, 

 rubber, and ornamental jtalms, etc. It is added that as 

 the agricultural advantages of Trinidad are confined to 

 a very limited number of tropical products, it is 

 dependent upcjn other countries for many substances 

 that could, readily, be produced locally. Amongst 

 these are cereals, cattle foods, dairy products, preserved 

 meat and fish, cattle and sheep, fuel, etc. Amongst 

 manufactured goods there is a demand for building 

 material, furnituie, textiles hardware and inachiner}', 

 boots and shoes, soap, malt li(pi(jr, whisky, brandy and 

 wines. 



THE GROUND-NUT INDUSTRY 

 OF BARBADOS. 



The CJround-nut, known als(j by a variety of other 

 names, such as earth-nut, jiea-nut, monkey-nut, pindar, 

 and pistaclte (Fr.) is cultivated on a small scale in 

 Barbados and in other localities in the We.st Indies. 

 The so-called nut is the fruit of the plant, Arackis 

 liypofjueu, a member of the Pea or Leguminous 

 order. The general characters of its foliage, fiower-s, 

 and fruit are sufficiently well indicated in the accom- 

 panying figure. 



CULTIVATION. 



A light soil is the most suitable, and the pre.'-ence 

 of lime woukl ap[)ear to be essential. No special treat- 

 ment is necessary. The soil is tilled to a depth of 6 

 inches, manuretl if neces.=ary, and the seeds .sown at 

 the on.set of the rainy season, usually .ibout June in 

 Barbados. The nuts are shelled before jtlanting and 

 the seeds sown about 18 inches apart, and 3 inches 

 dec]). The variety at present grown takes some six 

 mo:;ths to ripen. In normal years therefore the crop 

 is harvested about November to Janu.-iry. The vines 

 are dug up and the nuts picked off by hand, a 

 laborious proceeding owing to tht; fact that the nuts 

 occur all along the trailing branches. The average 

 yi<dd per acre s(!ems to be about 2,0001b. rising 

 sometimes to 4,0001b. 



The Department of Agriculture hius recently im- 

 ported seeds of an Ameriwin variety whi(di only t;xkes 

 about three months to ripen and whiidi beai-s its 

 fruits iiiore on the main stem. These have been 



