YoL. I. No. 16. 



THE AGllICULTUEAL NEWS. 



253 



EDUCATIONAL 



School Garden at St. Lucia. 



In tlio course of his Annual Report im tlie 

 Primary Scliools in St. Lticia, lor 1901. Mv. F. E. 

 Bundy the Inspector of Schools makes the I'oliowing 

 interesting observations with regard to the cour.se of 

 instruction in actual operation at a School Garden in 

 the island : — 



A j-chool garden was coiinnciioed at Forest iere Ea.st 

 Indian iIis.sion Scliool, wliioh jiromises to be a very good 

 one. From a report drawn uji liy tlie teadier, ^Ir. Neelial, 

 a few extracts are given to .show, liow witli a little good will, 

 it is easily possible to start the practical itidy of agriculture 

 in .•schools. 'Through the manager's (IJ. P. C'rojiiier, Esij.) 

 kind aid in paying for all such work as the children coulil 

 not do, the site selected for the garden was soon cleared. 

 Men were jjut to brush and cut down trees, and a j/rojier 

 shed was ei'ected in a corner for the ]iuriiose of raising 

 nurseries and preparing soil etc. While the garden was still 

 in jireparation, I began giving indoor les.sons on seeds and 

 seedlings, which were raised in small boxes. Lessons were 

 also given on germination, preparation of seed boxes, etc. 

 The necessity of moisture, warmth and air in germination 

 was demonstrated. 



'Finding it difficult to get the children to understand 

 theoretical lessons, I resorted to practical work as soon as 

 the garden plot was ready. I had 100 feet square of land 

 enclosed by a proper fence and a row of ])eas and i)lantain 

 plants planted round near the fence. The latter were 

 chiefly got by begging for them from the gardeners round 

 about. 



'The whole of the garden is divided into beds, with a 

 main path (4 feet widj) in tlis middle, on which we are 

 now putting stones gathered b}' the girls and broken by the 

 boys. 



' We have already growing a bed of roses for the 

 purpose of teaching grafting and budding later on: a bed of 

 cocos with red beans in between ; a bed of cabbages ; another 

 of sugar-canes; a few banks of ]iotatos, and a bed of pine- 

 apjiles not yet three months planted and a few already 

 bearing. 



' We had a box of cacao nurseiy put in some time ago, and 

 lately I had the children to transplant them. At the s:unc 

 time I gave a lesson on it. A bed is reserved for ex[ieriuients 

 in manure, which is divided into two parts. I have already 

 had cabbage and large tomato seedlings given away to tlie 

 bigger Ijoys who were very glad to get them. 



' With one or two exceptions the boys take great 

 interest in the lessons, though the current language greatly 

 militates against a proper understanding of the lessons given 

 in English.' 



From what I have seen on my visits to this school, 

 one of which was paid together with Mr. G. W. Smith, 

 Travelling Superintendent of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, and Mr. G. S. Hudson, Agricultural Instructor, 

 I can fully endorse the above report, and I hope by the end 

 of the present year (1902) there will be at least a c'ozen 

 school gardens in the island which will resemble the one so 

 ■well started in Forestiere. 



WEST INDIAN EXPORTS. 



In the teaching of geography in these Colonies 

 it is an advantage for the teacher to know at a glance 

 the relative values of the article.s exported from the 

 various islands. The elementary books on the subject 

 are often out of date and give merely a list of the 

 articles oxpoited, conveying no idea of ])roportion 

 between the various products. To remedy this defect 

 we reproduce the following table on the subject, 

 compiled from the latest .statistics from a pamphlet 

 recently issued by the Department in connexion with 

 the West Indian Section of the Toronto Exhibition : — 



Exports from the West Indies, 1900-01. 



Colony. 



British Gui.ina 



Trinid.^d and 



TOBAOO 



Grenada 



St. Vincent 



St. Lucia 



Barbados 



Leeward Islands 

 Dominica 



Antigua 



St. Kitt's-Nevis 

 Moutsurrat 



Virsiiu Islands... 



Jamaica 



Sugar, 



Rum, 



Molasses. 



£. 

 1,440,000 



582,000 



Nil 



7,000 



5G,000 



661,!»0 



1,7C0 



<)7,300 



80,700 

 2,000 



Nil 

 318,000 



3,240,000 



< )tl)fV 



IniiKjrtant 

 Exports. 



£. 

 fGold 390.W0 



I Balata 20,000 



1 Tindjer, etc. 20,(XK) 

 [Diamonds 3,000 



rCacao 980,000 



- Asphalt 177,000 

 iBitters 37,000 



r Cacao 270,000 



• Nutmegs & 



[ Species 30,000 



Arrowroot 75,000 



Cacao 38,000 



Vogetjibles 8,400 



'Lime juice 31,000 



Cacao 24,000 

 E.ssential 



, ( »i]s 4.4<X) 



Fruit and 

 Vegetables 1,800 



Lime juice 2,500 



/"Cattle it 



\ Stock 2,100 



[charcoal 500 



(Fruit 786,000 



Coffee 157,000 



Pimento 111,000 

 Dye-woods 108,000 

 Ginger 00,000 



Tobacco 23,000 



Total 

 Exports. 



£. 



2,000,000 



1,800,000 



308,000 



93,800 



98,5(X) 



094,000 



()(>,800 



102,000 



87,iXM) 

 0,800 



2,800 

 1,800,000 



3,305,700 7,059,70J 



