132 



THE AGHIUDLTUKAL NKWb 



May 3, 1919. 



report only 10,403 lb. Sea Island and 2,3S5 %. native, of the 

 value of £1,677, is accounted for among the exports. 



The weather during the year reporced on was very dry. 

 The rainfall recorded at the experiment station in Tortola 

 for the twelve months was only 39"22 inches, as compared 

 with an average for the preceding seventeen years of 53 46 

 inches. 



TORTOLA : REPORT ON THE AGRI- 

 CULTURAL DEPARTMENT, igij-iS. 



From the report on the Agricultural Department of the 

 Virgin Islands, 191 7- IS, which has been just issued, it appears 

 that the damages experienced with regard to the trees — orna- 

 mental and economic —in the garden of the experiment 

 station are being gradually repaired. It may be noticed 

 that the work in the small experiment station in Tortola is 

 mori of the character of demonstration in the prictical culti- 

 vation of economic plants, than of what might be termed 

 purely experiment work. This demonstration work must be 

 of educational value to the people of the Presidency. The' 

 following crops were under such demonstration cultivation 

 during the year in the station: sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, 

 coco-nuts, onions, Indian corn, cassava, beans of several 

 varieties, and bay trees. With regard to the sugar-cane 

 grown, it is stated that B. 208 is regarded with favour by the 

 small cane grovrers of Tortola. It must be remembered that 

 the sugar-cane industry in the Presidency is a very small one, 

 cultivation being of a primitive type usually, and the manu- 

 facture of sugar being perhaps still more primitive. There 

 is no export of the product, in fact enough is not produced to 

 meet the local consumption. 



For the past eight years experiments in the cultivation 

 of sweet potatoes of a considerable number of varieties have 

 been conducted under conditions of such simple culture as to 

 be within the capacity of any peasant grower. 



With regard to the onion cnltivation, it appears that 

 most of the onion seed imported from Teneriffe is planted in 

 the station, the seedlings being afterwards sold at ,3c. per 

 100 to growers. Mr- Fishlock, the Curator, considers that 

 the proper time for planting onion seed in Tortola is in 

 November or early 1 )ecember, although on the hills in Tortola 

 it is possible to plant until late in January. A useful hint 

 is given with regard to the treatment of onion seeds to pro- 

 tect them from the depredations of ants. Before sowing, the 

 needs are shaken up in red lead powder, and this has proved 

 an effectual method for preventing the ants carrying off the 

 seed. Mr. Fishlock has also found that covering the seed- 

 beds with (irass after sowing the seed keeps the surface of the 

 boil inoi.st, and ensures quick germination. 



Although the young bay tree.s in the ixperiment 

 station suffered little from the hurricane, the attacks of 

 'the sugarcane root borer i^Diaprrpes ibbrcviatus ■ipengleri) 

 have caused considerable damage both to the roots of 

 the trees, which are eaten by the larvae, and to the 

 'leaves and young twigs, on which the adult insect feeds. 

 Mr. FLshlock points out also that an admixture of even 

 a small quantity of leaves ol the 'false' variety of Pimento 

 with those of the variety producing the real bay oil spoils 

 the product from a commercial point of view. 



The large; reduction in the amount of cotton grown in 



and exported from the Virgin Islands is regrettable. Whereas 



in I9)41-'j there were shipped 31,r)49Ib- of Sea Island cotton 



-«Bd 3,6.'i2 lb. of native cotton, of the total value of i;2,iyi, 



tbw amonat has steadily dropped, until in the year under 



GROUND N"JT FLOUR AS HUMAN FOOD. 



The nutritive property of the residual cake left, after the 

 oil has been extracted from ground nuts has caused it to be 

 regarded for a long-itimo as a valuable cattle food. An 

 article in Troi'ieal Li/e for March 1919, draws attention 

 however to the introduction of certain improvements in 

 the method of oil expression, whereby a cake can now be 

 obtained, it is said, of a definite standard of purity, thus 

 enabling the flour to be used as a nmrishing and palatable 

 food for human beings. 



This staudaid ground nut cake has been designated 

 'nutamine', and the methods employed in preparing this article 

 are described as follows: In order to 'pick over the nuts 

 more satisfactorily and effectively, it is suggested that they be 

 cleansed on a mechanical washer, and then thoroughly dried 

 in a mechanical drier. After this, the inner red skin is 

 removed by means of a blast of hot air playing on the seeds 

 while they are being whirled round in a large drum. In 

 this way the .seeds are dried, cracked, and the red skin 

 blown away By this method the preliminary drying of 

 the seeds is avoided, and the cleaned seeds are left practically 

 free of their red skin, . and ready for oil expressing. To 

 obtain good, clear oil and good cake, hydraulic presses are 

 used, and the expression should always be carried out cold, 

 as the resulting cold drawn oil is nearly colourless, has af 

 pleasant t^ste and odour, and can be used as a substitute 

 for olive oil. Such oil also keeps remarkably well. 



The resulting cake, however, still contains between 10 to . 

 15 per cent, of oil, and this is too much for the production of 

 'nutamine'. The cake must be subjected to a second expres- 

 sion, being warmed this time. The re.sulting oil, of an inferior 

 grade, is widely used in soap making, and the cake left aft«r 

 this second pressure should contain about 5 per jent. of oil, 

 the standard aimed at. This cake, when finely ground in an 

 ordinary roller mill, and subsequently passed through a -ieve, 

 is the preparation known as 'nutamine'. 



From this fine flour thus obtained, biscuits and many 

 other articles for human consumption can be made, tor if the 

 oil has been properly removed, the flour has quite a pleasant 

 taste, and possesses a high protein content. Being deficient in 

 cirbohydrates, the flour should be Drdinarily mixed with a 

 proportion of wheat flour, and this gives a hij^hly nutritious 

 mixture, and supplies a concentrated and economical food. 

 Bread and bi.scuits made from the following recipe are said to 

 keep well, and to po.ssess a pleasant taste, the dried milk 

 adding to the food value: Ground nut flour, 84 parts; dried 

 milk, 14 parts; sodium bicarbonate, 2 pirts. Biscuits made 

 from such a mixture are reported to be light, and to keep 

 well in a tin. It would appear, however, that should 

 any one in these islands desire to make experiments with 

 biscuits from ground nut flour, the juantity of fresh milk 

 needed to moisten the Hour could well take the place of 

 the dried milk in the recipe given above. 



It is stated that whilst wheat, oats, and several other 

 cereals are markedly deficient in the so called basic amino- 

 acids, ground nut cake and flour contain a large anaouni of 

 these. Hence the reason lor -the designation 'nutamine'. 



