270 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 6, 1902. 



OREXADA : JiEPOUT OX THE llOTAXIC 

 STATIOX, I'JOl. Ry Mr. W. E. Bioadway, Curator. 



Amongst the more important new works undertaken 

 during the year, a retaining wall was erected along the 

 J>:ink of a ravine near the OfHce, and a new road laid out by 

 the ujiper houndary of the Station. 



Useful work has been done in the distribution of 

 economic plants, nearly 9,000 being sent out during the year. 



Small i)lots of limes and alfalfa were established during 

 tlie year, and the other experiment plots continue to make 

 satisfactory progress. 



The rainfall for the year was normal and tot.dled 

 92-15 inches. 



TRIXIDAD: ANNUAL REPORT OX ELE.UEX- 

 TARY EDUCATION, 1901-O.i. By :Mr. 1!. Cierva.se 

 Bushe, M.A., Inspector of Schools. 



Among.st tiie items of agricultural interest dealt with in 

 this rejiDrt, Mr. Rushs states that since the inauguration, in 

 1H99, of lectures to teacher.s, 188 teachers in Trindad and 

 Tobago have availed themselves of the o})i)ortunities offered 

 to attend the conrses of instruction by Professor Carmody 

 and Jlr. J. H. Hart. Practical instruction in agriculture is 

 making gratifying progress in the colony, and up to March 

 last no less than 149 .schools had commenced school gardens. 

 Of these seventy-eight were sufficiently good at the time of 

 the annual examination to secure a bonus. Forty schools 

 (contributed to the .show of vegetables grown in school 

 fjardens, jield at Port-of-Spain in January, and ottered a 

 .sufticicnt demoTistration of 'the evident interest that had 

 l>eeri aroused by the introduction of agriculture as a subject 

 of instruction in our elementary scliodls.' 



A more detailed account of some of the scluxil garden 

 ■work is given on page 2G9 of this nund>er. 



CUBA: TRADE OF FOR 1901. DlplomaHc and 

 Consular Report, No. 20<)'.), Forrhjn Offi('<\ Octoljcr 1902. 



It will be of interest to agriculturists in the I'ritish 

 West Indies to note that his Majesty's .Minister at Havana 

 repoi'ts that ' the jiroduction of sugar is on the increase : 

 improvements are being introduced in the culti\ation of 

 tobacco : ('onsiderable activity is observable in the minor 

 jigricultural industries, .such as the rai.sing of fruit and 

 vegetables, and in the cx|iloitation of the valuable cabinet 

 woods with which the forests abound.' 



The total amount of rice inipurted was 1,7 1 1,.">.")2 <-wt., 

 valued at .£7.")8,421 ; of this 1,717,17") cwt. came from 

 Rritish India, only 9. 'it cwt. from the Ignited States, and 

 2.'5,."$8.") from Valencia in Spain. 



Sugar to the value of £(i, I (!7,0 1'-', inolas.ses £24:i,:?()G 

 iind rum ttl,.'{0S were exported, the total value thus being 

 ,£(),! 1,7 If., as against .£:!,.')20,7(!S in 1900. The (piantity 

 of sugar exported was .'J89,281 ton.s, as against 28G,99f), 

 tons in 1900. 



Tobacco, cigars and cigarettes were exported to the 

 value nf £r),0(J.-),t;i.-), as 'against ,£."), 2 17,. 59 1 in 1900. 



Fruits amounte<l to £199,949 (£145,9-56 in 1900), cacao to. 

 £78,7;?5, (£79,82r) in 1900i, honev and wax to £91,947 

 (£83,715 in 1900), woods (chieHy nr.ihogany) to £237,903 

 (£209,941 in 1900). The fruits comprise bananas, pine- 

 apples and- cocoa-nuts and were all exported to the United 

 States. ■ 



The development of the island's resources is exi>ected to 

 be greatly furthered by the construction of the new railway 

 to Santiago de (Juba, which is now nearly completed. 



VOLCANIC DUST. 



Analysis of the Dust of October 16 at 

 Barbados. 



The chemical analysis, liy Mr. R. Radclyffe 

 Hall, B.A., Acting Professor of Chemistry, Barbados, 

 of a sample of the volcanic dust which fell at Barbados 

 on October Ki, has given the following results. For 

 analyses of the dust of May 7-8, see page 88 of the 

 Ar/ricidturdl iVeiCs; — 



The complete mineral contained in 100 parts : — • 



Moisture ... ... 0'520 



Loss on ignition ... ... 01.30 



Potassium oxide ([lotash) ... 0"753 



Sodium oxide ... ... 3'979 



Calcium oxide (lime) ... 9^409 



Magnesia ... ... .■i-594 



Manganese oxide ... ... O'loO 



Aluniiiia and Titanium oxide ... 20'1.')4 



Iron oxide ... ... 9o9B 



Phosphoric anhj.b-ide ([ihosphoric acid) 0'449 



Sul|ihuric anhydride ... 0'148 



Silica (by difference) ... 51-138 



100-000 



Of the aljove the following percentages were soluble in 

 Hydrochloric aci<l :- - 



I'otassium oxide (potash) ... "087 



Sodium oxide ... ... "627 



Calcium oxide (lime) ... 3-200 



Magnesia ... ... 1-284 



Ferrous oxide .. ... II 10 



Ferric oxide, .Vluniina and Titanium 



oxide ... ..- 8-6GG 



Phos|)horic anhydriile 'iihosphoric acid) -061 



Sulphuric anhydride ... ... 148 



Silica ... ... ... 11 38 



Soluble in Citric acid solutinn, 1 per cent. -027 



-028 



Cleaning Tomato Seed. The Garih-ncri:' Ckronicle 



describes a milli'id cif i-lraiung tomato seed whicli seems 

 simple and prai-tical. The pulp, being .scooped out, is 

 placeil in a sieve, tiie mesh of which does not allow 

 the seeds to pa.ss through, 'i'he sieve is then i>laced in 

 water and the pul|> is rubbed through the mesh of the 

 sieve by means of the hand. In a slioit time, the puli> 

 being all rubbed away, the .seed remains perfectly freed from 

 it. .Mvlcm and similar seeds may be cleaned in the same 

 wav. 



