8ia 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 12, 1919. 



DOWN THE ISUNDS. 



ITEMS OF LOOAL INTEREST. 



OKENAnx. Mr. .1. C. Moore, S ip-rintendent of Agri- 

 Cnltnrp, writes to gay tliat experinienul work on the red ring 

 dieease of co<tii-DUis has been continued at Westerhall. 

 Work in the B )taiiic Gardens has consifled in the planting 

 of jam?, tanias, cassiva, sweet potatoes and beans Trial 

 plots of cnions have been planted Observations relating to 

 thecondiiioD of ti e staple crops indicate that cacao, limes, 

 natmegs and canes are all in normal state. During M-iy 

 the young fruit on l-rrie trees was developing well, and cacao 

 was flowering. IJiiring the month tlje Superintendent of 

 Agriculture ^ave an illustrated lecture on the red ring 

 disease of coconuts. The Superintendent has been appoint- 

 ed by ihe Board of Primary Education as examiner for 1919 

 in agriculture (Nature Teaching) of certain candidates for 

 school ttachfrs' ceitifirates. The plant distribution during 

 May was as follows : yams, 1,124 Bl; cassava, .375 cuttings; 

 onions, 1,100; oranges (budded), 21 ; grape fruit, 3 ; mangoes 

 (grafted), "S ; cane p ants, 14,-500 (imported); eddoes, .53.5Dt). ; 

 grapes, "2; ornanienials, 16. Seed distribution consisted of 

 coco-nuts, 4,494 (imported) ; red kidney bean, 17Ib. ; onion, 

 10 oz. liainfall lor the month at Richmond Hill was 5 92 

 inches. 



NKVis. Mr. W. I. Howell informs us that in the 

 Experiment Station crops have male very little progress 

 during .May, on account of dry weather. On the e.statei< the 

 cane crop is suffering from a similar cause. Supplying is 

 still in progress, and many of the fields are not yet estab- 

 lished. Reaping of the old crop in .some places, is still in 

 progress. Regarding cotton, the young crop is having a 

 hard time on account of the dry weather. Many places have 

 not yet been plan'ed. The planters are stated to be very 

 concerned over the situation. Special work has con- 

 sisted in the visiting of plantations in the different parts of 

 the island, and in the purchasing of cotton for the War 

 Oflice. The total cjuanlily of cotton purchased to date is 

 728 biles weighing 241,723 Bb. net, which is practically the 

 •eason's crop. A raeeiing of the Agricultural and Commer- 

 cial Society was held during the month at which the 

 questions of old cotton and the native food-plants of the 

 cotton stainer were discussed. Rainfall for the month of 

 May, 197 inches ; rainfall for the year to date, 9't7 inches. 



BAiiuuD.*. Mr. Jarvis, Government Manager of the 

 island, writing on .June 11, states that little attention was 

 given during May to cotton cultivation, owing to the wreck 

 of a ship which tie labouring population were salving. 

 Regarding live slock, the animals were in excellent condition. 

 This is attributed to the recently adopted iracticc of keeping 

 all the stock in enclosures. Concerning agricultural 

 instruction, peasants have started to make new grounds. 

 They have been ordered during the month to h»ve all the 

 old cotton plants destroyed by the end of it, and to plant 

 afresh when weather permitted. Concerning work con- 

 templated, reference is made to the preparation of land for 

 •otton. It is hoped to have as much land prepared as to 

 pUnt at leaat 1 00 acres. 



observed during the middle of a very fvvourable reaping 

 season. These observations are taken from the Barbados 

 Agricultural Reporter for .lune 28, 1919. At the lime of 

 Willing the present article (.July I, 1919) the weather has 

 shown s me indication of a change in character. Thunder- 

 storms have occurred in the neighb lurhood of the colony, and 

 it is hoped that there will be prospects at an earl) date of 

 fairly regular rain. 



On the estates the old cane crop has been entirely 

 reaped. Regarding the average lonuigc, ic appears that the 

 average yield of 32 lor plait omes fell to 221 as soon as the 

 first ratoons were reaped. It is believed that the average 

 for the whole cra|i will be abuut 20 tons. The Reporter 

 s'ates that on one of the estates in the colony only first 

 ratoons will he grown in future. This is regarded as a step 

 in the right direction, but it is asked whether it would not be 

 better to fifth the average acreage, grow second ratoons. and 

 go in for a system of resting the soil. It would be interest- 

 ing to know which system would produce the best result. 



The shortage in the output of the factories is likely to 

 cause ii scarcity of sugar for local purposes, and the Govern- 

 ment have wisely issued a notice calling for a return of sugar 

 in stock, whether in the hands of merchants, shopkeepers or 

 planters. The retail prices of the various grades of sugar 

 have also been limited by Proclamation. 



The prospects of sugar for the next few years are 

 believed to be good. The consumption will increase with 

 the removal of all food restrictions, and there is now the 

 preferential tieitment which will be accorded to British 

 grown sugar by Grent Britain on September 18, 1919. 

 Writnr^ on the ."Ugar question -say that it is Cubi which 

 the British producer will have to reckon with. As already 

 noted in the Agricultural NewSy Cuba has increased its 

 output by leaps and bounds, until now its crop yield is close 

 on 4,000,000 tons. This huge total lias been reached 

 by an annual extension of cultivation, and by improvetnents 

 in maiiufaclure. .Vl though preferential treatment will place 

 British producers on a favoured footing, it is absolutely 

 essential that they, too, should introduce every improvement 

 in manufacture, and pay the utmost attention to the scientific 

 ■^reatniei't of the soil. The Reporter says thit in Barbados 

 there should be no halting until the colony is able to pro- 

 duce a ton of dark crystals from an average of not more than 

 7 A tons of canes. 



AGRICULTURE IN BARBADOS. 



The present month (June) ia the seventh of extremely dry 

 kther in the island. The winds have continued very 

 kigb, and the ap(/earance of the sky has been such an is 



VITAMINES. 



Dr. Leonard Hill, F.H.S,, gives acme interestinj^ 

 information on these remarkable siib.stances in a paper 

 read recently before the Koyal .Society of Arts, and 

 published iii the Journal ot that Society (May 9, 1919). 

 Lime and lemon juices contain important vitamines : 

 hence their value against scurvy during an unvaried 

 diet at sea. Kccent work tends to show that lemon 

 juice is a specific for pellagra ;is well as for scurvy. (See 

 Physiological Ali!ilract8, Apn\ 1919, p. .SO.) Dr, Hill's 

 article runs as follows : — 



Recent research has drawn an ever- increasing atteutiim 

 to the acces.sory dietetic factcr — the so-called vitamines. 

 We are adjusted to live on freth, natural foods, plant and 

 animal tissues (not millers' .separated products), and these 

 contain countless substances other than proteins, carbohy- 

 drates, and fats (Gowland Hopkins). Rickets, scurvy, beri- 

 beri, pellagra, and many unrecognized pathological conditioas 

 are produced by lack of one or other of these snbsUnccs, 



