ToL. I. No. 11. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



167 



The Recent Volcanic Disturbances. 



Tlic August imiiiber of tliu Century magazine is 

 of more than usual interest to West Indies readers, 

 containing as it does five articles on volainic 

 phenomena. Professor Kemp of Columbia University 

 gives a general account of 'Earthquakes and Volcanoes.' 

 His article is fully illustrated and contains a view of 

 the old crater of Saba, now occupied by a town, and of 

 the St. Vincent eruption of LS12. 'The last days of 

 St. Pierre' contains a grajjhic story of the Martinique 

 disaster, in the form (jf the daily journal of the Very 

 Rev. G. Parol, Vicar-CJeneral, to the Bishop of 

 Martinique who was in Paris. 'As a contribution 

 to the melancholy record it has a unique and lasting 

 interest and value.' ' Life in the Doomed City' consists 

 of a series of abstracts from the leading paper of 

 St. Pierre, Left Colonics, from IMay 1 to 7. These are of 

 particular interest as almost all the copies of the jiaper 

 ■were destroyed and a complete set I'or the week jiivvious 

 to the eru])tion was only obtained with great difficulty. 



' The Catastrophe in St. Vincent,' contains the 

 interesting narrative of Capt. Calder, chief t)f the Police, 

 and Mr. T. McGregor McDonald, one of the leading 

 planters in the island. The series ends with a transla- 

 tion of the Younger Pliny's account of the eruption of 

 of Vesuvius, A.l). 79. 



By means of two maps the relative areas of 

 destruction at St. Vincent and Martinique arc graphi- 

 cally shown. 



The Guinea Grass Moth. 



During the past months a caterj)illar has been 

 a serious pest of guinea grass and other grasses in 

 Barbados, and is doubtless generally familiar in the 

 island. An account of the life-history of the insect 

 will appear in the forthcoming number of the West 

 Jndlun BuUcttn, from the jjen of the Rev. N. B. 

 Watson. The insect has been identified as Remigm 

 rejmnda Fabr., the insect which proved destructive to 

 grasses at San Fernando in Trinidad and Grenada 

 during last year. It is recoi-ded from Canada, Central 

 Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, St. Vincent in addition to the 

 above localities, and is evidently widespread, probably 

 occurring in many foreign localities as well as through- 

 out the West Indies. 



Jamaica Horses. 



Jamaica horses arc well known throughout the 

 West Indies for their hardiness and speed. To these 

 good qualities must bo added their comparative 

 cheapness. It would be of great advantage to both 

 Jamaica and the (jther West Indian Colonies if the 

 trade in Jamaica horses could be increased. 



The Royal JIail Company have recently shown 

 their willingness to help in this direction, and will now 

 carry horses from Jamaica to Barbados for the sum of 

 £5. If the Royal Mail Company could see their wa}^ 

 to run a cargo .ship between Trinidad, Barbados and 

 Jamaica, a good trade might also be carried on in 

 Jamaica cattle. At present Barbados imjiorts most 



of its cattle from Porto Rico, and Ti'inidad from 

 Venezuela. The disturbances in Venezuela luive 

 seriously affected the exports of cattle thence, and 

 Trinidad is looking at the present moment to the 

 possibilities of the Tobago stock farms. 



With reference to efforts being made to encourage 

 a trade in Jamaica horses and mules, the Rev. T. P. 

 (jeorge, Honorary Secretary of a Jamaica Hoi-se Show 

 which it is |)rop.ise;i to hold near Kingstm in 

 February next, writrs : — 



I enclose two circular.s as to the above, which will 

 e.xiilaiii the objects of the Show as far as this islaml is 

 concerned, hut in addition we hope the Show will i)i-oniote 

 and increase trade in horses and mules between .Jamaica and 

 the other liritish West Lidian Islands, especially Barljados 

 and Triniilad. We believe that this Colony can sujiply all 

 the horses and mules the other islands require and better 

 animals than are now being imported from America, at the 

 same jn-ice or less. The idea in Barbados at present seems 

 to lie that our best horses are those that would sell for aliout 

 £16. Carriage horses of best quality, four years old, broken, 

 and in fine conditicn can be got here for sums varying 

 from £2.5 to £35 : and they are horses that can compete with 

 any in the world for endurance and hardine.ss, as you 

 having lived here know. 



Our Show will l)ring together specimens of our best 

 horses aiid nudes from all parts of the Colony ; and we are 

 hoping that two or three representatives from Barbados and 

 Trinidad will come and see what we have and tell us what 

 thej- want. 



English Hares at Barbados. 



It is not generally known that English hares were 

 introduced into Barbados about si.xty years ago and 

 that they have become thoroughly established in the 

 island. 



Mr. J. P. Mason informs us that hares from 

 England were obtained by Mr. Thomas Trotman owner 

 of 'Bulkeley' estate, St. George, in 1840-41. These 

 were placed in an enclosure about three acres in 

 extent, .surrounded by a wall 4 to 5 ft. in height sur- 

 mounted by a railing. This enclosure is still in exist- 

 ence near ' Bulkeley ' House. The hares increased in 

 numbers until 18.50 when, after very heavy rains, a 

 pond situated in the neighbourhood of the enclosure 

 overflowed and caused a portion of the wall to fall. 

 The animals then escaped and gradually they have 

 spi-ead all over the island. 



Dr. T. Sinclair Browne, and two of his brothers 

 imported a pack of Beagle hounds and regularly hunt- 

 ed the hares in the parishes of St. Philij), St. John and 

 St. George._ There were only certain periods of the 

 year in which they could be hunted, namely, durino- 

 the latter part of the time of reaping the sugar-canes, 

 and for a few weeks afterwards. 



Since the introduction of the mungoose, about 

 1878, a steady decrease has been noticed in the 

 number of hares. Many also have been shot every 

 year by sportsmen. They sometimes weigh as much 

 as 7 to 10 lb. and are readily bought at about 

 3s. to 5s. each. 



