241 



Dr. H. A. A. NiCHOLLS (Dominica) : With regard to one question 

 brought up in the course of this discussion, I should like to sound 

 a note of warning more particularly to the cacao planters of 

 Trinidad. It is urged that Castilloa should be used as a shade for 

 cacao. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that shade is neces- 

 sary for cacao, the planters here possess in Erythrina a shade tree 

 which is not cropped and which, therefore, takes nothing from 

 the soil, on the contrary it improves the soil by adding nitrogenous 

 matter, and so will assist the cacao trees in producing crops. If, 

 on the other hand, the planters follow the advice given them 

 to-day and plant Castilloa elastica amongst their cacao trees, they 

 will, later on, be getting two crops from the same soil. The yield 

 here of dried cacao is said to be about ih lbs. per tree; in the 

 Northern Islands this would be considered a very small return. 

 If rubber trees be planted amongst cacao in Trinidad it may be 

 expected that the cacao return will be less, for the rubber will 

 take away soil constituents of the cacao therefrom. It will be a 

 case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. 



Mr. W. R. BUTTENSHAW (Scientific Assistant on the staff of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture) : With a view to showing 

 that considerable attention is being paid to the planting of rubber- 

 yielding trees in the West Indies, if on a small scale, I have 

 obtained from the various annual reports the following figures as 

 to the distribution of rubber plants from some of the Botanic 

 Stations and Botanical Gardens. I must mention that rubber trees 

 have, no doubt, also been distributed from some of the other 

 stations, but in those cases these trees are not specified : — 



Dominica 



St. Lucia 



Monserrat 



Tobago 

 Jamaica 



British Guiana. 



The President 

 Reginald Ross was 

 suggested whether 



1,215 Funtumia plants, quantities 

 of Funtumia seed, and 32 ft» 

 of Castilloa seed. 

 4,316 Funtumia plants, 2,480 Cas- 

 tilloa plants, 38 it), of Cas- 

 tilloa seed, and quantities 

 of Funtumia seed. 



171 Castilloa plants. • 



388 Funtumia plants and 181 of 

 Castilloa. 



316 Funtumia plants and II of 

 Castilloa. 



644 rubber plants ( kind not 

 specified). 

 2,640 miscellaneous rubber plants 

 were distributed from Hope 

 Gardens. 

 1,500 Funtumia plants, 60 Cas- 

 tilloa, and a quantity of 

 Castilloa seed. 



When I visited British Honduras in 1882 Mr. 

 then establishing a cacao plantation, and I 

 he could not try Castilloa as a shade tree. 



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