Vol. I. No. 15. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



231 



Sweet Potatos in England. 



With leg.uvl ti> thu sluiiuifiits iif West Indian 

 Swei't ])i)tato.s to England, tlie Gitnlcnerx' Cliroviclr 

 say.-i. ' It i.s hn oxtivmely ctitticiilt matter to persuade 

 people to divest themselves of prejudice in cases of this 

 kind, and of course, the dealers do not care to be 

 burdened with what will not take the fancy of the 

 public. We are therefore the more gratified to find 

 that the first shij)ments from Barbado.s have ])riived 

 satisfactory. Cheap wholesome food is a great desider- 

 atum in our European cities, and it seems as if the 

 West Indian islands can do much to furnish a supply 

 at rates jirofitable to the growers and advantageous to 

 the consumer. Everyone will wish it may be so'. 



Stock for Jamaica. 



According to The I'imeK 'Messrs. Elder Dempster 

 & Co. announce that they are prepared to take out to 

 Jamaica, free of freight, by their Imperial Direct West 

 Indian Line from Bristol, English stallions, bidls and 

 rams for breeding purjioses, the importation of which it 

 is believed may ])rove a great factor in the progress of 

 the island.' 



Improving Poultry, 



The advice given by Mr. Barclay on page 284 

 suggests a way to any one to improve their brei'il of 

 poultry, without any great expense, and without 

 running the risk of introducing varieties of fowls 

 unsuited to their localit\'. The article is worth the 

 careful attention of all poultry keepers. 



The Eruptions in St. Vincent. 



In our last issue an account was given ot the 

 phenomena e.xi)erienced at Barbados in connexion with 

 the eruption of the >S)ufriere of October 15. Beyond 

 the bare telegraphic rejiort no news was then to hand 

 from St. Vincent. 



On page 237 of this number we ([Uote some 

 extracts from a Report made to the Administrattir of 

 St. Vincent by the local officers of the Department, 

 ■which indicate clearly the great damage done to the 

 cro]js and the consequent distress of the unfortunate 

 inhabitants of the devastated area. 



'I'he pr(il)able temp<:irary abandonment of the 

 arrowroot industry on some of the estates is a serious 

 blow to the wclfiire of the island. 



Improving Indian Com. 



Efforts have been made from time to time to 

 introduce into the West Indies some of the American 

 varieties of corn, bearing lieavier crops than those 

 ^lsuallv cultivated here. These attempts have, in the 

 main, not been successful as the introduced varieties 

 proved to be less hardy than the native corn and more 

 subject to insect attacks. During the past two seasons 



experiments have been made at Antigua to produce, 

 by cross fertilization, a variety combii;ing the hardy 

 character of the native corn with the heavier yielding 

 qualities of the American varieties. A summary of 

 the experiments will be found on page 229. 



Spraying in American Towns. 



In New York and other large cities of America, 

 the shade trees planted in the avenues suffer from the 

 attacks of leaf-eating caterpillars and beetles. The 

 leaves are eaten off and the trees, stiipped of their 

 foliage, are neither ornamental nor useful. As a remedy 

 spraying with arsenical ]»oi.sons is re-sorted to on a 

 large scale. The work is clone with a spraying outfit 

 mounted on a cart drawn by a horse. The pump is 

 worked by a gasoline motor, and pumps the liquid into 

 a number of lines of hose which are carried up ladders 

 to reach to the tops of the trees. At the present time, 

 arsenate of lead is usi'd in preference to Paris green, as 

 it resists the rain and remains longer on the leaves. 

 \'ery good work is done by these machines in the 

 streets of New York and other large cities, and with 

 their help the trees remain green and shady all the 

 summer through. 



Insect Specimens. 



A small box of insects has been received from 

 Mr. J. W.Campbell of 8ion Hill, St. Vincent, through 

 the Curator of the Botanic Station. These included 

 four species new to the collection of this Department, 

 anfl one species not as yet recorded irom St. ^'incent. 

 Such specimens are always of interest and value. The 

 different insects of any locality, though not always 

 directly affecting agriculture, have all a bearing on 

 each other, and the mere occurrence of any one species 

 in one locality may throw light on the enti.imological 

 problems of that locality and may helj) to ex])lain how 

 and whv any particular pest becomes destructive or 

 the reverse. 



It is hoped that otliers will follow Mr. Campbell's 

 examiile. Specimens are always welcome, and if sent 

 to this Department, the}- will be incorporated in the 

 collection and will be of great assistance in entomologi- 

 cal work in the Wist Indie?. 



Anthrax at St. Vincent. 



The Government Circular with regard to the 

 regretable outburst of anthrax at St. Vincent is given 

 on page 232. It is essential that all should pay the 

 greatest attention to its flirections, and ijarticularly 

 avoid cutting open the skin, or allowing the blood of 

 the diseased animals to escape. Anthrax is due to 

 bacteria which form spores or 'seeds' only when allowed 

 free access to the air. Hence the necessity also for 

 burying the carcases deeply. 



