152 



THE AGllICULTUr.AL NEWS. 



AucL'sT 30, 1902. 



BEE-KEEPING 



Grenada. 



The bee-keeping iiulustry is reported to lie [impressing 

 favouriilily in Grenada. Several Italian (lueen bees are said 

 to have been imiiorted from .lainaica and America by bee- 

 keejiers in tlie island. The question as to wliether eight- 

 frame hives are preferable to ten-frame hives in the [iroduction 

 of section lioney is attracting attention. This wouhl seem in a 

 great measure to depend upon local conditions, and the 

 amount and the duration of the honey flow, matters which 

 can only be determined by local experiments. 



Cure for foul-brood. 



The following nn'thdil for the cure of fdul-bniod 

 in hives, reproduced by the ('avddlaii Jiii' Jdv rn(d 

 for July 1902, should be of interest to bee-keepers in 

 the West Indies : — 



Sections of comb were taken out and placed in a box 

 the same size as an ordinary hive. The e.xit at the bottom 

 ■was plugged witli the exception of a small hole, and a .small 

 opening about half an inch in diameter was left at the top. 

 To the lower hole w.is affixed a formalin apparatus consist- 

 ing of a small alcohol lamp at the bottom, with a reservoir at 

 the top which contains formalin. Formalin, 1 may .say, is 

 the trade name given to a 40 per cent, solution of formic 

 aldehyde in water. A small portion of this is put in the 

 reservoir over the alcohol heater and then the top is screwed 

 down. The top connects with a small hose pipe, and it is 

 placed in the lower hole of the hive. Directly after the 

 apparatus is attached tln' alcohol lamp is lit and the 

 formalin is vaiiouri/.ed and spreads throughout the hive. 

 This means of disinfecting the hives was used ; and the wax 

 of tiie comb that was placed in it was sjveral years old, 

 judging from the looks of it, and contained dead larvae, foul- 

 brood, and also a certain nundter of capped (•(■lis, so that 

 jiroliably all the conditions were present which wciuld bo mot 

 with in a bad case of foul-brood. After tlia gas had spread 

 tlirough the hive, and the smell of the gas could be noticed 

 issuing at the hole at the top, this top hole was closed and 

 almost immediately afterwards the formalin ajiparatus was 

 disconnected and the lower opening plugged U]), and it was 

 kept thus from one to four hours. At the end of that time 

 the hive or box was openccl and the combs taken out and a 

 careful examination made not only of the cajiped cells but 

 also of the foul-brood colls and of certain marked cells 

 which contained honey and also spores of the foul brood 

 bacillus, in not a single instance did foul-brood germs grow 

 from these condis after they were treated. Since then I 

 have performed the experiment three separate times with 

 three other di.stinct c<ind)s and with otpial success. In 

 each case the germs were killed, whether they wore in dead 

 larvae, wliether tliey were in honey, or wlnthcr they were in 

 cajiped cells. 



RICE CULTIVATION: BRITISH GUIANA. 



IXTEKESTiXc; .ST.^TI.STICS. 



A summary of information respecting the culti- 

 vation of Rice in British tJuiana was published in the 

 Wi-.st Iiulian Balktiii, Vol. II., pp. 275-.S4. It would 

 appear from an interesting article contributed to the 

 l)enierara Ari/oNi/ of August 0, that tlie in<lustry. in 

 spite of many difficulties, is steadily extending and that 

 in enns(Mpience, the importations of rice into the Colony 

 during the last seventeen years liave decreased to less 

 than one-third. The following table shows the imp(jrts 

 (in ])ounds weight) for certain years from 188.5 to 

 1!)02 inclu.sive: 



1.S8.5 50,.572,74O 



ISS!) 4(i,!t:^(i,:^it2 



l.Sit.5 :W.21!l..S24 



l.S!i<) 2.5,0(iO,4i« 



1902 1.5,2 18.:«):l 



The article states that these figures clearly indi- 

 cate the highly significant fict that were the local rice 

 inilustry suttieiently capitalized and efficiently managed, 

 the iidialiitants would not only be able to lie sujiplied 

 with lice 'on the premises' but be in the position of 

 shipping rice out of the country. 



The succe.ssive stages in the early historj^ of rice 

 growing are described. The pioneering efl'orts of the 

 late Mr. William Russell, 5Ir. Colvin and Mr. B;iscoin 

 drew special attention to the subject and, at the present; 

 time, rice growing gives employment to a large number 

 of the peasantry — East Indians, Chinese anil Creoles. 

 From a return recently published by the Board of 

 Agriculture it would ajipear that there are about; 

 19,119 acres under rice cidtivation in the Colony 

 yielding, apju'oximately, -^9.5. 948 bags of rice. 



The chief difficulty hitherto experienced has been 

 milling the paddy and cotiverting it into clean rice. 

 The princi])al cause of this is .said to be the uusuita- 

 bility of the machinery that was imported f )r the Rice 

 Factory in Georgetown. The article in the An/o-sy 

 concludes as follows : — ' So far, there has been more 

 success in the cultivation of the rice than in its 

 manuf uture — the very reverse, by the way, of the cane 

 sugar industry. But there is no good rea.son why rice 

 should not develoj) into a large and remunerative 

 industry, for our coast lands are eminently suited for 

 th(! (udtivation ; while the profits are large, so large 

 indeed that the profit of a fat year is tpiite sufficient 

 to counterbalance the loss of a lear. year.' 



Scale Insects and Moulds. Some time ago 



specimens of the 'Brown Shield Scale' covered by a yellowish 

 white fnngus were forwarded to the Department by 

 Mr. Sands, the Curator of the Botanic Station, .\ntigua, who 

 reported that the fungus apparently attacked both young ami 

 old scales. Unfortunately at the time, the fungus wasoidy in 

 the vegetative condition and therefore eovd<l not be determined. 

 Jnoculation experiments were made on healthy s[u;cimcns of 

 the .scale in.sect at Barl)ado.s, but the results were negative. 

 The weather at the time however wa.s extremely dry, and 

 negative results under these conditions are not conclusive. 

 Further careful study is necessary to determine whether or 

 nut the fungus is a parasite or only one of the .sequels of .some 

 other natural enemy. 



