A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



Vol. XVIII, No. 442. 



BARBADOS, APRIL 5, 1919. 



Prior Id. 



Page. 



Paob. 



Agi'ioulture in Barbados... 

 Alcohol, Industrial, De- 

 mand for in the United 



Kingdom 



Beet .Sugar Industry, 

 European, present Posi- 

 tion of 



Ciissava Experiments in 



Trinidad 



Cotton: — 

 Cotton Exports from the 



West Indies 



Egyptian Cotton 



Sea Island Cotton Marketl02 

 Cotton in Barbados, 



Close Season for ... 105 

 Cotton Production, Advan- 

 ces in 97 



Departmental Reports... 110 

 Dominica, Rainfall in 1918 104 

 Gleaning-; 108 



HI 



101 



99 



109 



103 



102 



Guinea Corn as a Fodder 



Crop 108 



Hawaiian Sugar Industry, 



Development of ... IW 



Hedge Plants, Desirable 105 

 Insect Notes: — 

 The Connexion of Skin 

 Diseases in Cattle 



with Ticks lOii 



Items of Local Interest... Ill 

 Jamaica Imperial Associa- 

 tion 105 



Lime Cultivation in Dom- 

 inica 100 



Market Reports 112 



Notes and Comments... 104 

 Plant Legislation in 



Antigua, Recent 105 



Sisal and Henequeii ... 106 

 Trinidad Agricultural 

 Exhibition 104 



Advances in Cotton Production. 



HE 





-piii^ type of cotton which has been found 

 .s> profitable, agriculturally and commercially, 

 ■»4jir£% in thf West Indies is, as is well known, the 

 long staple Sea Island variety. There is but a limited 

 production of thi.s in the world, and it commands a 

 higher price than any other type of cotton, owing to 

 certain characteristics of length and fineness, which 

 cause it to be in demand by spinners for the manufiic- 

 bure of special fabrics. Hence, having practically but 

 little competition to fiace in the market, although 

 many difficulties are experienced in producing, this 

 type of cotton, the growers of Sea Is! md have found 

 themselves, especially under the influence of war 

 conditions, in the position of being recently well 

 content with the prices receivh-d for their crop. 



It may however be discovered that- Sea Island 

 cotton, or some othei' variety able to compete with it as 

 to its distinctive feature)?, can be grown in other places 

 outside the rather restricted area to which it is at pre.s- 

 ent confined, and that therefore, an increased output of 

 long staple lint might result, such as would inevitably 

 lead to a serious drop in piice, owing to the competition 

 which would be set up among producers, and which 

 would naturally be taken advantage of by buyers for 

 manufacturing purposes. 



As was pointed out in the editorials of the three 

 previous numbers of this Journal, industrial competition 

 in ail products will hnvc to be faced, and only by strenu- 

 ous endeavour and inteUigent co-operation can agricul- 

 turists hope to win thnaigh. So far, the West Lidies 

 have succeeded in producing the very best type of 

 cotton, because the growers have realized, for the most 

 part, that it is vital to their interests to endeavour 

 energetically to put into practice the very best methods 

 of plant selection and cultivation, and to cu-operate 

 with each other and with government departments 

 in carrying out any measures deemed necessary for the 

 welfare of the industry as .a whole. 



The probability that siriou> competition in the 

 production of superior grades of cotton will occur in the 

 near future is shown by the results of efforts made by 

 growers in the United States to produce quantities! of h 

 long staple cotton equal to Egj'ptian. 



Egyptian cotton has hithi'rio held a place of its 

 own in the cotton markets of the world, as is pointed 

 out in another arriele of this issue. Because ofita 



