Vol. I. No. 1-5. 



THE AGMC LTUKAL NEWS. 



229 



THE IMPROVEMENT OF LOCAL 

 VARIETIES OF INDIAN CORN. 



A paper on thi.s suliject was read bt-fore the Antigua 

 Agricnltnral and Commercial iSoc-iety on Seiitendier 5, by 

 Mr. \V. X. iSand-s, the Curator of the Botanic >Station at 

 Antigua, of whicli the following i.s a summary : — 



During the last few years considerable attention has 

 been given to the growth of Indian corn. This has been 

 brought about by the low price of sugar and the high price 

 of imiiorted corn. 



It seems to be the genei'al opinion that the local 

 varieties of corn have become less jiroductive. This .seems 

 to be the case also in other West Indian islands. 



Experiments have Ijeen made at the Scott's Hill 

 Exiieriment Station on the following lines : — 



( 1 ) The selection of seed of the native varieties. 



(2) Trials of good American and other varieties. 



(3) The crossing of native corn with imiwrted varieties. 



(1) Cobs of the finest corn wore selecteil and the .seed 

 from them sown in plots. No definite results have yet been 

 obtained, owing to the short time during which the experi- 

 ments have been carried on. Several jilanter.s of the island 

 Lavo carried on selection for a number of years, but the limit 

 of 2>roductiveness aii])ears to liave been reached. 



(2) Numerous varieties of corn were imported from the 

 United States and were grown .separately in j^jy acre i)lots. 

 The growth in all cases was feeble, and it was evident that 

 these varieties were not suitable for this climate. On 

 re-sowing, the .same result was obtained. 



(3) In September 1900, a plot of native yellow corn 

 was planted at the same time as plots of the imjiorted 

 varieties. The ' arrows' or spikes of male iioTvers of the 

 native coi-n were cut out ; when the arrows of one of the 

 imported varieties (Golden Beauty) were mature, a few 

 ■were taken and dusted on the tassels of the young cobs of 

 the native corn : this was continued for four or five days. 



The best cobs with the crossed seeds were selected and 

 the grain sown by themselves the following May. The corn 

 grew well and was harvested in Seiitember. It then showed 

 distinct signs of the crossing, the grains being of a differ- 

 ent sliajie and lighter in colour than those of the ordinary 

 native corn. The best coljs were again selected for sowin'-'. 



Three plots of this corn were sown on alternate rows, 

 the other rows being sown with a fresh supply of seetl 

 of three American varieties, one variety to each plot. The 

 arrows of the crossed corn were taken out as they ai)peared ; 

 artificial j)ollination was not necessary as the plants were 

 mixed. 



The corn was rea})ed in January of this year and the 

 best coljs of the twice-crossed corn were selected for seed. 



The selected seed was sown in May on three different 

 plots. The growth was vigorous and there was little insect 

 attack. When reaped on August 8, the following results 

 were obtained : — 



COEX IX (;OB. 



(1) 314 lb. or 3,140 lb. per acre 



(2) 308 " " 3,0S0 " " " 



(3) 301 " " .3,010 " " " 

 Of these 



(1) 40 lb. of corn in cob gave 32|lb. of .shelled 

 corn, equal to 2,.531 lb., or over 45 bushels per 

 acre. 



(2) 40 lb. gave 321 lb. of shelled corn, ecpial to 

 2,-502 lb., or over 44 bushels per acre. 



(3) 40 lb. gave 3Ulb. of .shelled corn, equal to 

 2,370 lb., or over 42 bu.shels per acre. 



The average yield of native corn is from 2-5 to 30 

 bushels per acre, while these varieties give over 40 bushels 

 per acre. 



One or two jilanters have already grown some of these 

 crossc<l corns with good results. The seed is available at 

 the Botanic Station and will be distriliuted at the rate of 

 1'/. per lb. 



SALE OF HONEY IN THE AMERICAN 

 MARKET. 



Jlr. tJoo. 8. Hudson, Agricultural In.structor at 

 St. Lucia, forwiinls the following information which 

 .should be useful to We.st Indian Honey .Shippers : — 



JFessre. (Jiilespie Bros. & Co., New York, of whom 

 Mr. Hudson had made inquiries \\ith reference to 

 honey, wrote on September yO : — • 



At the moment there is a very good demand for 

 extracted honey : we think it will be worth while sending 

 forward some for sale in this market. We do not know 

 exactly what St. Lucia honey would fetch, but for .Jamaica 

 honey we can get, and have sold at, 41c. to 43c. per gallon 

 duty paid. These prices you will find to work out "more 

 advantageously than the current London and European 

 quotations. Jamaica ships to this market principally in 

 barrels or casks containing about 30 American gallons, that 

 is, about 26 Imperial gallons. For honey in cases, two tins 

 each, perhajis a triHe more money would be paid. Oil tins 

 must be rigidly excluded, and only new containers used. 

 We send you a pro forma account sale for your guidance. 

 Beeently .some honey in comb was received from Cuba. It 

 carried very well in jiackages of 24 and 48 sections of lib. each. 

 Our broker rejiorts its sale at .55 cents per It), delivered, 

 and thinks with such good values ruling you might try our 

 market with a shipment in this form giving .special care to 

 the packing to ensure .safe transit. 



Mr. Hudson connnenting on the above, says, — I fail to 

 see that it is advantageous to ship to New York in jilace 

 of London. Forty-two cents per gallon is only equivalent 

 to about IG.-. per cwt., which price is obtainal)lo in London 

 for medium quality honey. The net proceeds of Messrs. 

 Gillespie's [iro forma account sale work out at 35 cents per 

 gallon, or about 13.s-. ^^(l. per cwt., including freight, duty, 

 commission, etc. I cannot help thinking that there 

 must have been something quite exceptional about the 

 Cuban consignment of comb honey that sold at 55c. jier lb., 

 as on the same date, according to the market reports 

 jiublished in Gleanings, the maximum price realized for 

 Fancy White Comb in all the principal markets of the 

 L^nited States was 16 cents per lb. Still, I am of opinion 

 that it is decidedly worth while making some experimental 

 shipments of condj honey to New York. 



Carib Implements. Xnture for Aug. 28 ,says : 



' There is in I'/ir HcH'iikii-ij itnd IllmtrateJ ArclineaJoght 

 (Vol. viii.. No. 3) a well illustrated article, by ilr. R. Quick, 

 on the Carib stone implements in the Horniman Museum. 

 These implements show the technical skill of the aborigines 

 of the West Indies in working hard rock. Some of the 

 implements are really remarkable examples of stone-work. One 

 example which is figured has a most irregular contour ; from 

 its high fini.sh it was evidently greatly prized, and was 

 probably a. symbolic religious oliject, of which the significance 

 is at present uidcnown.' 



