"Vol. I. Xo. 14. 



THE AGFvICULTUUAL NEWS. 



221 







AXTIGUA: REPORT OX THE UOTAJIC 

 ■STATIOX. l'.)i)l-02. By .Mr. AV. X. Sands, Curator. 



The report briefly reconl.s tlie progi'es.s iiuule during 

 tlie season in the ordinary work of the Station. Amongst 

 the items of more iiarticular interest wc notice the enntinua- 

 tion of the e-xjierimeuts witli a ' Peasant's Garden.' In 

 1900-01 one-tenth of an acre was cultivated in exactly the 

 manner a peasant could adoj)! and the produce was sold in 

 the open market. After tlie iiayment of all expenses a 

 l)rotitofi;i remained. During 11)01-02 the experiment was 

 ■continued ; the area was increased to one-s3venth of an acre, 

 and £1 was spent in manure and still a proKt of over £,\ 

 obtained. Some dozen trees have been tested in a re-foresta- 

 tion experiment, and the results indicate tliat mahogany 

 and 'White cedar' (Terama h'wo.njh.n, the 'White wood of 

 (A Barljados) are well adapted to this purpose. The year was 

 ■exceptionally wet, the rainfall being G9"3 inches, about 

 27 inches in excess of the previous year. The results of the 

 economic experiments carried on in connexion with the 

 garden liave been publis'ied in a separate report. (Reviewed 

 in A<jrkultarid A'eics i'. 20-j). 



DOMIXICA: REPORT OX THE liOTAXlC 

 mWTIOX : AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL PLOTS ,- A'XD 

 CACAO EXPERIMEXT PLOTS, 1901-02. By ilossrs. 

 J. .Jon2s, D. Tannojk, anl G. WiiitS_'ld Smith. 



llotunic Station. A model hot air cacao-dryi'.ig house 

 lias been erected and has proved very successful. Over 

 <30,000 plants were distributed liesides large (juantities of 

 seed. Information is given as to different varieties of pine- 

 ai)ples which have been cultivated and the results of trial 

 .shiimients to England. 



Attention is drawn to the siiineless lime and the result 

 of an analysis of the juice of this and of the ordinary lime is 

 given. Trial shipments of onions to New York have been 

 ■successful, one shipment realized •92.50 per crate of .50 lb. 

 Trial shiinuents of bananas to London again proved the 

 value of pro[)er packing in crates. 



The report indicates clearly the very useful work which 

 lias been in the jiast, and still is being carried on at this 

 Station. Wcrt'k which cannot fail to have a marked eB'cct on 

 the agricultural prosperity of the inland. 



Agricultarnl ,Sch'iol P/ot.t. Experiments in onion 

 growing have been made, one with seed from Teneriffe, tlie 

 ■other with sets. Several varieties of yams, sweet potatos, 

 tannias, plantains and jiigeon peas have been cultivated. 

 E.xperiinents with English vegetables have been made and 

 there is a good demand for them locally and by passing 

 -steamers. 



Cacao Experiment Plots. The results obtained from 

 "these plots are given and suggestions for rendering them of 

 .greater value. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Dr. R. Hnnilyii-Hariis, D.Sc, F. li. S., F. Z. S., 

 F.R.^I.S., arrivod from I'^ngland on the 10th. instant, 

 and lias iK'tui teanporarily attached to the Imperial 

 Dopirtnient of Agriculture as Honorary Assistant 

 Entoiniihigist. Dr. Ifamlyn-Harris is a son of the late 

 Captain Hanilyii-Harris, of the Eighteenth Hussars, 

 and a nephew of Captain C. R. Harris R.X. of ' Jlount 

 Wilton' and ' Fariiiors' estates, Barbados. 



The Annual Reports (.m the Botanic Station, Agri- 

 cultural School plots, and Cacao ex[)eriinciit plots at 

 Dominica and on the Bi:)tanic Station, Antigua have 

 been jiubiisheil. 



THE SOILS OF BARBADOS. 



In reply to a letter addressed to the Commissioner 

 of Agriculture for the West Indies resiiecting the 



o 1 o 



sources whence the jjresent soils of Barbados have been 

 derived, the following information has been furnished 

 biiefly discussing the subject : — 



With reference to the inipiiry whether Barbados is not 

 indebted to successive eruptions of the St. Vincent Soufriere 

 for her soil, I may mention that the derivation of the soils 

 and surface deposits of that island are very clearly and fully 

 described at pi>. yO-5G of the Ceo/off// of Jiarbailos by 

 ilessrs. Harrison and Jukes-Brown ' published by authority 

 of the Barbados Legislature' in 1890. 



There can be little doul)t that the soils of four-fifths of 

 the total area of Barbados, viz : — the red clays and loams, a.s 

 also, the black earths have, for the most part, been derived 

 (hiring the process of ages from the underlying coral rock. 

 The competent authors of the work, abo\'e referred to, state : 

 ' The basis of every soil is tlie subsoil or rock formation 

 which underlies it, that is to say, the slow disintegration (or 

 breaking up) of the underlying rock material by the variou.s 

 surface agencies to which it is exposed gives rise to the 

 loose earth which we call soil'. 



The traces of old volcanic ash and sand appear to be 

 confined to a very small [jortion of the i.sland and are 

 interstratified with oceanic dei)Osits showing the existence of 

 active volcanoes somewhere in the Caribbean region during 

 the period of the accumulation of these dejiosits. The 

 amount of volcanic ash that in recent times has fallen on the 

 island and been added to form the present soil is scarcely 

 w'ortliy of consideration either from its bulk or its power of 

 enriching the land. The amount of asli that fell in 1812 

 averaged only about three-eighths of an inch in depth and 

 the ash that fell this year was of about the same depth. 

 The aggregate weight of ash tliat has fallen all over the 

 island during recent times would appear considerable if 

 stated in tons, but it would not form, jirobably, more than 

 one per cent, of the total weight of the present soil of 

 Barbados. 



It is rather singular that in view of the very reliable 

 account given by ilessrs. Harrison and .Jukes-Brown of the 

 origin of the soils of Pjarbados, the idea should have lieeu 

 adopted that the island, as it now exists, 'is indebted to 

 successive eruptions of the Soufriere in St. Vincent for her 

 soil.' As it has been endeavoured to show above, there is 

 aiii)arently little or no grounds for such an idea. To those 

 who are particularly interested in the sul>ject, I recommend 

 that the work already referred toabovemay be carefully studied. 



