THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



Janlakv 2r), 191'.'. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 



mM^\y^ NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



Letters and matter lor publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, fehould be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies oi the 'Agricultural 

 News' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents will be found on 

 page 4 of the cover. 



Imperial Commiasioner of Sir Francis Watts, K.C.M.G., 



Agricitlture for the West Indies D. Sc. . F. I. C. , F. C. S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



■Seientific Assistant and 



Assistant Editor 

 Entomologist 

 Mycologist 

 Assisla"t for Cotton Research 



fW. R. Duulop.* 

 \Rev. C. H. Branch, .B..\. 

 H. A. Ballju, M.Sc. 

 W. Nowell, D.I.C. 

 S. C. Haiknd, B.Sc.+ 



Anti«ua and St. Kitts Csttou. 



In the previoHs number oi i\\G A i/rirvii uru I iWt'.w 

 attention was drawn to the high givido of Sea Island 

 i-otton produced bist season in St. Viiicoiir. as rellected 

 by the good prices obtained in Kngland for the lint. 



Information of the like kind has been since rec- 

 eived ft-om Antigua and St. Kitts, showing that, as in 

 the case of St. Vincent, most satisfactory results have 

 been obtained owing doubtless to the careful cotton 

 seed selection practised in those islands also. 



In Antigua, .Mr. T. .Tackson, the .Vgncultural 

 Superintendent, reports that of the 171 bales of cotton 

 shipped to England by s.s. C'doifiril, all e.\-cept twelve, 

 were classed as < !ood < Ordinary , and were sold at M)d. 

 per lb. The remaining twelve were classed as '<.)rdinary,' 

 and fetched 'A^'xi. per lb. This was also the grade and 

 the price obtained tor lil bales of colt jh from Barbuda. 



From St, Kitts, Mr. F. K Shepherd, Agricultural 

 Superintendent, "rites that the account sales for the 

 shipment of cottim from St, Kitts-Nevis by the same 

 steamer were to the effect that some of the St, Kitts 

 cotton was classed as 'Extra Fine and SupcTfinc,' and 

 sold at Aod. per lb,, while thecotttn from .\evis fetcheil 

 from 'M<1. to 40i/. pcr)lb. On the whole, Mr. Shepherd 

 considers the results very satisfactory. 



<jhitf Clerk 

 OJencrtJ Assi}tu}di 



Typist 



.Attistant Typist 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



.\, G. Howell. 

 /"L. A. Corl)in. 

 ■ P. Taylor.* 

 Ik. R, C. Foster. 

 Miss B. Robinson. 

 Miss W. Ellis. 



A-ttistaiil for Publications 



A. B. Price, Fell. Jnum. Inst. 



*3econdfd for Militnry Service. 



tProri/Jed by the Imp'riid De.partment of Scientific, and 

 Injuslnal Hmearrli. 



Agricultural lliviuij 



TolWIII. SATUltDAY, .jam lAltY ■-•.->, 1919. No. 437 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The uditcjrial discusses voine points uf agricultural 

 recons' ruction after the war. 



'I'h'- article on Kntomologv in Jamacia, which was 

 begun in the last issue, is concluded on page 26. 



Under Plant Di8ea.ses, page 30. will be fo\ind an 

 article dealing with plant disiases in Jamaica. 



(.)n page 1!J there is an article referring to recent 

 flevf-lopmtnts in the conduct of a West, Iii'lian sugar 

 fact or V. 



Buried Weed Seeds, 



Problems arising from the bix-aking up of grass- 

 land have been under investigation at Kothamsted 

 Experiment Station in recent years. When in 191o 

 it became evident that this policy had to be adopted in 

 England, a grassiield was broken up and sown with 

 various experiiin.iilj.il plants. The results are recorded 

 in the report of the .Station for 1()1.')-I7. 



One set of problems arises out of the weed flora. 

 jVlthough the Meld chosen for the ploughing up 

 experiment had beet/ down to gras,s for ten years, there 

 was a consider.ible development ot arable weeds as 

 soon as it was ploughed. This result had been antici- 

 pated, and before the land was broken up samples ot' 

 earth were taken, inch liy inch in succession down to 

 12 inches at various points in the field. Those 

 were transferred at once to sturili/.cd pans, and kept 

 moist in the glasshouse, carefid watch being kepfby 

 Dr. Winifred E. lirenchley to see what would happen. 

 A number of arable weeds came up from every sample. 

 Now the conditions of the experiment were such that 

 these young ])lants cDuld only have arisen from seeds in 

 the .soil, dorniaut as long as the land was in grass, but 

 springing into activity as soon as tillage cot)ditions were 

 restored. 'J'he test w;is rejieated in similar manner on 

 other grass fieUls of known age and history. Soil frorji 

 grass fields forty wars old affonied a copious flora of 

 arable weeiis, especidlyat the de|)tli of li to 12 inches; 

 that from fields si\i,y yeais oUI gave fewer arable 

 weeds, and from lields 200 years old none at ■ all. 

 These observations prove beyond doubt that the seeds 

 of certain arable wrods can survive in the soil over a 

 considerable perioil when deeply buricul by the plough; 



