Vol. I. No. Ifi. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



was 14-.SG por cent, as against IG'Tl per cent, in 1900-OL 

 The sugar turned out amounted to :i:5,957 tons or 13-ijl i)er 

 cent, of the weight of the beet. The financial result has 

 l>een, after writings otf of LjC.IG;"! marks, a net profit of 

 2:27,500 n:arlis, of whicli tlie sliareliolders received a dividend 

 of 17.V per cent, as against 20 jier cent, a j'ear ago. 



ST. LUCIA. 



Agricultural N otes. 



Mr. Goo. S. Hmlson, the Agricultural Instructor 

 has contributed the following notes : — 



Weather. — The rainfall for November in the cacao 

 districts averaged about IS inche.s. Such weatlier makes 

 planters retiect on the advantages of an artilicial cacao 

 drying ai)iiaratus. It would be of great value to learn 

 what fuel, or how much, is used in the hot-chamlier of the 

 cacao drier at the Dominica Botanic Station. 



Cacao. — The cacao crop in St. Lucia, though backward, 

 is satisfactory on the whole, most estates hoping to do 

 better than last year. 



There has been the usual recurrence of ' thrips' asso- 

 ciated with ' Diplodia' attacking branches and leaves, this 

 wet season, on cacao estates on light soils ami in less humid 

 climates : but in cases where high cultivation is practised, 

 the attack seems to become feebler every year : it usually 

 commences in September, the foliage becoming small, s|iarse 

 and yellow, and tlie higher branches dying away. From 

 May to August such trees as survive recover their vitality. 

 The actual mortality in a badly attacked plantation is about 

 2 per cent, per annum, but the renrainder of the trees yield 

 little or no cro[>. Nitrate of .soda at the rate of 1 cwt. per 

 acre is an excellent stimulant in such cases, and forking, 

 draining and, in some cases, lime, are also necessary, cond lined 

 with freipient and clean weeding. Thrip.s, una.ssociated with 

 ' Diplodia,' when attacking young cacao i)lants with limited 

 foliage, frequently kill them. This may be cheaply an<l 

 easily dealt with by sjiraying, when only small plants are in 

 question, at a cost of 2.s. to 3s. per acre. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and. Spices in the London Market. 



The following fiirnis the second contribution on 

 this subject from the pen of Jlr. .lolm 1!. .Jackson, 

 A.L.S. His former article will be found on page '22i'). 



Though business generally in Mincing Lane during the 

 luonth of October was reported to be of a fluctuating nature, 

 there were points in the drug market that raised some 

 interest. At the beginning of the mouth though (piietne.ss 

 reigned in the drug trade, the fact was noted, that over a 

 thousand iKicivages of crude drugs were delivered from the 

 warehouses during Seiitember, which included 100 i>ackages 

 of Ipecacuanha. At the end of October a decided all-round 

 improvement in business Vvas reported, several products 

 claiming s[>ecial attention, amongst them being peppermint 

 oils, which in the course of a week ad\anced about 6.s ]>cr Iti. 

 bringing the price of the best brand up to 1S,<. (kA tolO.". 

 per B)., while .lapanese dementholated oil rose 4.<. jicr 

 B)., the quotations being from 10.«. to lOs. .3(/. per lb. 



For some time past there has lieen considerable anxiety 

 with regard to the supply of I'.uchu leaves and Senega loot. 



The first are furnished by three rutaceous shrubs — Jiarosina 

 hdutiiM, B. crcntt/uta and Jl. aerrati/i.Uu, all natives of the 

 t'ape of Good Hope. The dried leaves are used as a stinui- 

 lant and tonic, and in chronic diseases of the bladder. The 

 sujijily has become so short that as much as Is. 6(/. per tti. 

 has been paid for fair green leaf which has been referred to 

 as 'famine price.' Senega is the root of Fnlygala Senega, a 

 North American plant belonging to the Polygalaceae. It is 

 commonly known as a snake root in consequence of its 

 former reiiutation for the cure of snake bites. At the present 

 time it is extensively used in medicine as a stimulant and 

 expectorant, esjiecially in chronic bronchitis. The following 

 extract from a circular recently issued by the London branch 

 of an American house, with reference to the future prospects 

 of Senega root, will be of some interest ; — 



' The market is practically bare, and the demand active. 

 In .spite of the extreme prices offered diggers, there is no 

 evidence that there is any amount of root coming forward, and 

 the season is now drawing to a close. Our shipments have 

 not been over 26 per cent, of the average, ilinncsota and 

 Dakotas are no longer a factor, as the land is now taken up 

 for agricultural purposes, and the .same movement is progress- 

 ing rapidly in the Canadian North West. The piospects 

 are therefore for greatly reduced shiianents of this article in 

 the future.' In the early part of October the [irices ranged 

 from 2,s. lO.V/. to .3.«. per lb., business being much quickened 

 by a tender aiipearing on behalf of the Indian Government 

 for .3,000 lb. At the end of the month if. was the prevailing 

 price. 



Though none of the drugs here mentioned are of West 

 Indian i)roduce, a reference to them may not be out of place, 

 as indicating that there are many products the cultivation of 

 which might well be extended. With regard to the demand 

 and market value of West Indian drugs, we note that at the 

 beginning of the month a bag of dark natural kola sold with- 

 out reserve at 2|'/. per lb., a case of small natural at 2i'/., 

 anil a half-barrel of fresh at \(l. per lb. A fortnight later 

 this article stood as follows : — For good bright washed 

 soiuid AVest Indian XhL per lb. was asked, a bid of 'ihl. 

 being refused ; and for a sinular parcel in another catalogue 

 3|(/. was submitted. At the connnencement of the month 

 grey Jamaica sarsaparilla was in small su[iply, l.<. 'id. per Iti. 

 being paid for sound, and !.<. 2(/. for slightly damaged. For 

 five bales of native red at the same sale 8i'/. to 91c/. was 

 paid, .and lUl. for country damaged. At the end of the 

 mouth the prices slightly advanced. Is. id. being asked 

 for grey Jamaica, while Lima Jamaica was unobtainable. 

 The business done in arrowroot has been (piiet. At the 

 commencement of October St. Vincent was bought in at ild. 

 per lb. ; a fortnight later the prices had increased, and fine 

 St. Vincent in tins was bought in at .5 if/. ; for good quality 

 in barrels, bids of 3 /. to i'^d. per lb. were made, and ordinary 

 quality was partly .sold at 'lid. At the end of the month a 

 small lot of St. Vincent was sold at 3(/. per lb. Good 

 Jamaica ginger has been in fair demand at steady to dearer 

 rates for conunon. At the sale in the middle of the month 

 200 packages were otlercd and 150 barrels sohl at the follow- 

 ing rates : — Low middling to middling 39.s. 6(/. to 42s. ; 

 ordinary to good ordinary 38.s. to 3.Ss. Gr/., and conunon to 

 good common 3G.s-. to 37s. G(/. per cwt. Forty-two cases and 

 fifty bags of Cochin were also offered at the same sale and 

 seven cases sold, bold roughly cut and scraped and mouldy 

 at 80s. ; medium at 58.'.-. G(/., anil small heavily limed at 47s. 



A'- the last .sale of the month nine jiackages of musk 

 seed o'' fair quality from St. Vincent were oft'ered, one of 

 which s>'d at the high price of 1.-. t'/. I'cr 11>. 



