Vol. I. No. 16. 



THE AGrJCULTURAL NEWS. 



2j1 



BEE-KEEP I XG IX JAMAICA. By F. A. H-ioper 

 The A. I. R'jot Co., JL-laM, Oliin, U.S.A. I'lke \s. U. 

 Tost free. 



This pamphlet on Bee-keeping is attractively got up and 

 has several illustrations of liee-applianees and of the apiary 

 of the Hooper Brothers in Jamaica. The three kinds of ljee.s 

 ■which con.stitiite a hive are described, some three pages 

 bi'ing devoted to the queen. 



The ten frame Hoot hive with Hofi'uian self-spacing 

 frames is recommended, and the snperioi-ity of Italian over 

 black bees is insisted upon. The author gives si;>me very 

 clear and interesting hints on the imjwrtance of having all 

 colonies strong before the 'Honey Season.' He says : — 



' Before the season oiien.s, all needful ai)iiliances should 

 be obtained and put tiigether ready for use. It is bad 

 policy to wait until the l)jes are storing honey, and swarm- 

 ing, before beginning to make preparations for the season. 

 As soon as honey begins to come in, in January, all colonies 

 must be looked over and the necessary attention paid to those 

 needing it. Combs in the brood nest that are overstocked 

 with honey should be extracted and replaced, to give the 

 tpieen room to lay. Cnlonies that are strong in bees need 

 not be extracted, excejit from the supers if any honey has 

 been stored in them during the fall. !Make sure that all 

 colonies possess a laying queen.' 



Queen and (pieen rearing is dealt with and a clear 

 description given of the ' Doolittle (Jell cup iletho.l.' The 

 pamphlet contains a list of the honey-producing H iwers of 

 Jamaica. 



MARTINIQUE AXD ST. Y IXC EXT ■ VRELIM- 

 IXAliY RETOUT Ul'OX THE EliUFTIOXS OF 11)02. 

 By Edmund Otis Hove}'. E-itraeted from Ilidh'tiii of 

 the American Iluredu of Xdtitral History, Vol. XVI : Xew 

 York, 1002. 



The author was sent to the islands as the representative 

 of the American Museum of Natural History. This 

 pamjihlet is a preliminary report founded oii his own 

 observations during the seven weeks (May 21, to July 6, 

 1902) spent on the islands, and on the testhnony of eye- 

 witnesses. 



The first ascent of the Soufriere, St. Vincent, was made 

 by !Mr. Hovey and some friends on May .31. They start- 

 ed from the site of Waliibou village on the leeward side and 

 reached the rim of the old crater at 2,790 feet above the sea. 

 On June 4, an attenqit was made to ascend from the wind- 

 ward side : an altitude of .'5,200 feet was reached, but the 

 party was then obliged to turn back without getting to the 

 •crater, on account of dense storm clouds. On June 9, a third 

 ascent was made and the rim of the crater was reacheil on 

 the south-eastern side. The area of devastation in 

 St. Vincent is reckoned at 46 square mile.s, practically one 

 third of the area of the island. The deaths (estimated at 

 1,350) seem to have been due to the following causes :— 



( 1 ) Asphyxiation by hot dust-laden steam and air, (2) 

 burns due to hot stones and dust, (3) blows by falling stones, 

 (4) nervous .shock, (5) burning by steam alone, and (6) 

 strokes of lightning. 



The area of devastation caused by the eruption of 

 !Mount Pelee is estimated at 32 sijuare miles. Four ascents 

 were made, in the course of which the greater i)ait of the 

 rim of the crater was traversed. Very careful and tlmrough 

 investigations ai)iiear to have been made on the history and 

 the results of the eruptions. Numerous plates reproduced 

 from photographs arc given, showing the volcanoes and some 

 of the results of the eruptions. !Maps of St. Vincent and of 

 the north-western part of Martinique show the area.s 

 devastated. 



The Plain Facts as to the Trusts and the Tariff is a 

 very outspoken criticism, by Jlr. 0. L. Bolen, of two 

 industrial problems as they affect America. Itoughly, 

 !Mr. Bolen holds that the Trusts as they exist are largely bad, 

 owing to the enormous jirofits going to [iromoters, but that 

 they are cai)alile of reform, and if reformed, that the jirinci- 

 ple of corporate conti'ol will be of service to soeiet}'. On the 

 ipiestion of Protection, he is strongly opposed to the 

 jirevailing American view, and argues incisively for a reform 

 of the tariff. Incidentally, tlie book throws much light on the 

 ethics of public life and business in the United States. The 

 book is published by the Maemillan Company. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Dr. D. Morris, C.M.G., Imperial Coniniissioncr of 

 Agriculture for the West Indies, returned from his 

 recent visit to the United States and Canada in 

 a.s. Orinoco and hmded at St. Kitt's on the 12th. 

 in.stant. Before taking up his duties at Barbados, the 

 Connnissioner will proceed on a tour of inspection 

 through the West In<lies to arrange and provide for 

 the work of the Department for the remainder of the 

 current official j'ear. It is probable that Dr. Morris 

 will first of all accompany the new Governor of the 

 Leeward Islands, his Excellency Sir GerakI Strickland, 

 K.C.M.G., on a visit to Virgin Gorda and Tortola, and 

 then ])roceed to Anguilla, Nevis, Antigua, and the 

 Southern Islands, as far as Trinidad and Tobago. 



Owing to the quarantine restrictions consequent 

 on the outbreak of small pox at Barbados, it is 

 feared that it will be impossible to hold the Annual 

 West Indian Agricultural Conference in January next. 

 The Conference of 1903 was proposed to be held at 

 Trinidad, and it promised to be unusually interesting 

 and useful, but owing to the fact that none of the 

 Officers of the Imperial Department of Agriculture or 

 the Representatives of Barbados would be able to attend, 

 the Secretary of State has approved of the Conference 

 being, for the present, postponed. It is sincerely hoped 

 that the strenuous efforts that are being made by the 

 Government of Barbachjs to deal with the outbreak 

 will befjre long relieve the island of the serious 

 disabilities under which it is now placed. In the 

 meantime it is only right that the Governments of the 

 other Colonies should adopt the most rigorous steps to 

 prevent the spread of the disease outside Barbados. 



