196 



THE AGEICULTUllAL NEWS. 



October 11, 1902. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



GRAPE CULTIVATION AT JAMAICA. 



LECmiE TO TEACHERS. 



Ill a previnus number of the A(ji'i<-iiUii nil Xews: 

 (p. 150) was ])ublishe(l an outline of the course of 

 practical iiisti'uction iu agriculture to teachers at the 

 Mico Training College, Kingston, Jamaica. To-day 

 we rejiroduce from the Gten*^'/' of August !), last, the 

 summary of a lecture delivered by the Rev. W. 

 Griffiths on Grape Culture : — 



Mr. ilacFai'lane introduced the lecturer as tlie man 

 who was admittedly the best authority in Jamaica on the 

 subject witli which he was to deal. He had been described 

 liy i)r. Morris, the head of the Imiicrial Ayricnltural 

 liepartmeiit as ' the grand old |>ast master <if the science and 

 art of grajic culture.' 



!Mr. th'irtiths said that the grape, though not a trojiical 

 plant, adapted itself to the tropics when not grown too 

 far from above the sea level, and repaid in ample Inrvest 

 the skill and care bestowed ujwn its cultivation. Oi late 

 j-ears a great deal of attention had been given to graiio cul- 

 ture in Jamaica, but not more than enough grai)es were 

 grown to meet local needs in linnted areas. It might bo 

 possible to grow grajies of such a (piality as would com- 

 mand a market in America at something like the prices 

 realized there for English hot-lumse grapes, hut such grapes 

 as were offered for sale in Kingston would certainly not 

 find that market. He had never yet seen a properly ripened 

 cluster of black grapes offered for sale here. White grapes 

 had made a better showing, and in recent years there 

 had been a marked advani'e in the ipiality of both kinds. 

 The fall of the yeai and the early sjiring were prohal)ly 

 the only periods when it would pay to .ship grapes to the 

 .States, and those were just the times when we had practi- 

 cally none ; but careful cultivation might result in the 

 discovery of an early grape which coulil be accelerated, 

 or a late grape which could be retarded to meet the market 

 conditions on the other side. There was always more or less 

 of a local denrind for gO) 1 gr.qies, but n)t a large one, and 

 the market for graiies at ruling [prices was .soon overstocked. 



Mr. (Jrittiths spoke in high [iraise of the 'White Muscat 

 of Alexandria ' which is far and away the most po|iular grajic 

 iu Jamaica, and said that it was deservedly a universal 

 favourite. Our black grajies were not p(ip\dar because they 

 were never allowed to ripen properly. They should he left 

 on the vines si.\ or eight weeks after the herries were fully 

 coloured, but as a ridi? they were cut and offered for .sale as 

 soon as the colour showed. The faidt of the uniiopularity 



rested on the grower, not on the grape. As to localities 

 suitable for grape culture, it was generally agreed, though, 

 not perhaps an absalutely established fa^i, that grapes 

 cannot be jirojierly grown far from the sea level and that for 

 some reason they prefer to be near the sea. He had seen 

 good crops of black grapes at Ewarton however, and he 

 would he willing to risk planting healthy varieties anywhere 

 where there was a good south or south-easterly aspect, wheie 

 the soil was a fair garden loan; with goiul natural drainage, 

 and the roots could lie kei't near the surface so as to get all 



ble l.ienefit from light, air, and .sun. 



The lecturer gave detailed advice as to the planting anil 

 ctdture of the vine and strongly advised amat.'ur vine- 

 growers not to be afraid to thin out their fruit. ' White 

 Muscat Alexandria' sometimes needed very little thinning, 

 but some varieties, such as Royal Ascot, could well spare 75 

 jier cent, of their berries. ' Very few cxce[it experienced 

 liands', .sai<l ilr. Grifhths, ' have the moral courage to thin to 

 this extent.' 



After the lecture a number of questions were ahly and 

 intciestingly answered, and the [iroceedings concluded with a 

 well-deserved vote of thanks to the lecturer. 



CACAO IN ST. LUCIA. 



Mr. Geo. S. Hudson, the Agi'icultural Instructor, 

 contribute.s the following interesting note.s on cacao 

 cultivation in St. Lucia : — 



The cacao crop promises fairly well. The first niaiii 

 crop pickings have already conunenced, hut the croii is a 

 pecidiar one. Wc have a small (|Uantity of large ripeninj; 

 pods, and then an almost complete break in the crop, of a 

 month or six weeks (corresponding with the very wet sea.son 

 cxperienceil from May L't to .hily (<), and then a large 

 (]\uintity f)f small jiod.s, from July and August Hower.s, which 

 will ripen mainly in Decendjer and January next. On the 

 whole the croi) promises somewhat better than it did this 

 time last year. 



.M,\NIIHIN<; CACAO. 



At the Sei>tembcr monthly meeting of the Soufriere 

 Agricultural Society a useful paper was read by Mr. Wm. M. 

 Smith, manager of I'liion ^'alc estate, on this subject, which 

 it was decided to publish together with some notes by the 

 writer on 'Artificial Abmures for t'acao.' The concrete jioints 

 argued iu these [lapers are : — 



(1) That stable or pen manure is best jireserved (for 

 about three months) in a covered i>it 4 feet deeji, with a 

 good layer of straw at the bottom to absorb moisture, and 



