220 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 25, 1902. 



Twenty fi\e colonies of liufs at tlie Antigua Botanic 

 Station liave been 'Italianized' liy ijueen.s raised from one- 

 iniported |mre-V)red Italian (jue-jn. 



GLEANINGS. 



A'anillii is said to occur wll<l throughout British rjuiana. 

 It i.-< to lie regretted that such a valuahle economic plant i> 

 jiot systematically cultivated by the peasantry of that colony. 



Several new plantations are being established in the 

 Northern districts of Tol)ago. Want of transport has 

 hitherto been a drawback to agricultural develoimient, but 

 now that a steamer plies along the coast, better facilities 

 exist, enaljling cultivati>rs to dispose of their produce. 



Far more rice is con.-unicd in British (iuiaiia than is 

 produced in the colony. Last year the quantity imiiorted 

 amounted to 20,000,0()0tt> It is encouraging to note as we 

 have already pointed out ([). 152) that the inqxirts are 

 steadily decreasiui; owini; to the increased quantity grown 

 locally". 



It would appear from s[iecimens recently determined by 

 l)r. I'lbaii that the 'swizzle stick' tree of (Irenada is .l///ro- 

 dia titrbinata, a tree of the silk cotton order. It grows to a 

 lieisjht of ;?0 to 50 feet. 



The 'Coolie Tamai-ind' or ' Carambola' tree (Avcrrhoi 

 C'lnihi/ui/dJ, is .somewhat attractive when fruiting. The 

 tree is of small dimensions, the tlowers arc pinkish in colour, 

 an<l the yellow fruits large and angular. When slightly 

 over ripe the fruits are by no means unpleasant to the taste, 

 Jiartaking of the Havour of gooseberries. They are, however, 

 too acid in the raw state, lint form an excellent preserve. 



Several new expeiinunt plots have bei'n started at the 

 Tobago Botanic Station. The [ilots previously planted have 

 made good progress, especially those of the Central American 

 and Lagos silk ruljbers. 



.Antigua exported la^t year. '5,011 barrels and 5S crates 

 fif pinea|iples. Hach b:iirel held, on an average, four dozen 

 fruit. 



DhoU and puis- (dried split pigeon peas) might be- 

 grown in British (iuiana to an extent .sutficieut to supply 

 ])artially, at least, the re(iuirements of the Colony in thi.-s 

 direction. The inqiorts in these articles amounted la.st 

 year to .5,1^0,000 tt)., worth .^'.tT.'VJ^. 



St. A'incent Itotanic Station contains a healthy s[>eci- 

 nicn of the Souari or Butter uut tree, raised from seed 

 imported from British (Iniana. The tree which is six years 

 old, is now 12 feet in bright and its spread of luanches 

 7 feet. The Curator would be glad of infurmatinn as to the 

 a^c at which this tre>^ begins to bsar fruit. 



\ahilla is one of the economic plaids under expciimental 

 cultixation at the Tobago Jiotanie Station. Steiis have been 

 taken to i)ropagate it and this year enough plants will 

 pi-obably be a\ailable |o fill a small exiicrimeut jilot. 



The canes in Barliados are, on the whole, backward for 

 the season of the year, and there is at present every in-ospect 

 of a sluirt crop. 



I'easant proprietors in Tobago have been experiencing 

 some troidile from the rats from the neigld>ouring forests- 

 which destroy the young cacao pods and are a great draw- 

 back ti> cultivators. Measures have however been taken for 

 ainiiliilating the rats by poison. 



A trial was made at Antigua of the Porto Yi'ico 

 variety of pine-apple. They grew well and produced 

 excellent fruits averaging 10 lb. aiiiece. 



Exiierinients in pickling and otherwise preserving pork 

 are being carried out in liarbados, under tlie direction of 

 a committee a]ipointed by the local Agricultural Society. 

 The results, so far, arc distinctly encouraging. 



Largo deposits of phosphates and guano occur in 

 Porto Itico and the neighbouring Islands, particularly at 

 Caja de .Muertos, about S nules from Ponce Harbour. 



Seeds of Chri/iianthniiuiii curcinfiim and C/iri/f(tiil/iriinim 

 cinefuri/o/ium -were received at the Tobago Botanic Station. 

 They germinated freely, but the |)lants gradually died. 

 These plants, it may be mentioned, furnish the chief ingre- 

 dients of insect powder. 



One of the heaviest rainfalls at the Botanic Station, 

 St. Vincent, during the last twoh e months is reported to have 

 occurred on October S, when 2-(>I inches were registeretl, of 

 which 2'(H) inches fell in one hour. 



Prizes of 850 and $10 res|iectively, liave been offered by 

 ihj (jovernor of British Guiana for the best .samples of 

 vanilla and Brazil nuts cultivated in the colony, the quantity 

 in each case to be not less than lOIb. 



Several varieties of ca.ssava grow n at the Botanic Station, 

 Tobago, have given fair results. The yellow variety intro- 

 duced from Triniilad is reported as one of the best for table 

 use, but if phinled in dinqi soil or left too long in the 

 ground, it soon decays. 



Im:irovements i-ccenfly effected in the drainage of the 

 Demerara liotanic Gardens will enable land which has been 

 abandoned as swamp for many year.s to be taken up, and it is 

 proposed to requisition the Board of Agricultiu-e for a sum of 

 82011 to enable experiments to be made in growing various 

 kinils of rice from India ami Ceylon. 



The coal deiiosits of Trinidad have recently attracted a 

 considerable .share of attention. The existence of several 

 seams had been known for many j-ears and last year other 

 discoveries were made, liorings are being made and the 

 coal has been analy.sed. 



Mr. F. .T. Sc.ird. I'', i.e., has been appointed a member 

 of the P>o-u-d of .\i,'riculture for Ibitidi fiuiana. 



