310 



THE AQRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 4, 1919. 



COMMUNITY PRODUCTION OF COTTON. 



Much of what is siiid in the following summary 

 of Bulletin No. 7|-', Bureau of Plant Industry, ITnited 

 States Department of Agriculture, applies to what 

 has been achieved in the principal cotton-growing 

 islands of the West Indies, like St. Vincent and 

 Montserrat : — 



The history of the establishment of Egyptian cott n 

 production in the .Salt River Valley is believed to have more 

 than a special or local interest, since it oilers a good 

 illustration of the numerous biological, agronomic, social, 

 and economic dithculties encountered in developing a new 

 agricultural industry, and furnishes suggestions as to ho>v 

 these complex and diversified problems may be successfully 

 Rolved. That co-operation is the keynote of success has 

 become very clear in the progress of the present erterprife. 

 In this instance co-operation has been maintained along the 

 following lines : — 



(1) Co-operation among the investigators has brought 

 to the solution of the special problem diirnrent i<] ipiueuts 

 of technical training and knovpledge and nifferent points of 

 view, while their collec- 

 tive judgment has been 

 focussed upon matters 

 of general policy. The 

 cardial and effective 

 CO operation of the 

 administrative officers 

 of the Department of 

 Agriculture has alFO 

 been an important fac 

 tor in this connexion. 



I "J) Co-operation 

 am ng the growers has 

 made it possible to 

 produce and market 

 the crop ecnnornically, 

 and to maintain the 

 uniformity and high 

 quality of the variety 

 grown. 



(3) Co-nperation between the growers and the investi- 

 tors has made it possible to put into effect without delay ihe 

 moi-t improved nieihods of production and n.arketing This 

 cooperation lias been maintained by personal contact, tince, 

 in addition t'l t^e field agents of the department who have 

 worked coi stantly in the community, members of a 

 Committee on South-western Cotton Ctilture lave made 

 frequent visits to the ?alt Kivt r Valley. The attitude of the 

 officers and members of the fJrowtrs' Association in their 

 co-operation with the Department of Agriculture has been a 

 most cordial and helpful character and h'S been a very 

 important factor in the estaMishinent of the industry. 



(4) Cooperation with the cotton nanufaciurcrs cm 

 th") part of both investigators ani grower.s has also 

 contributed largfly to the devrlopment of the industry. 

 Manufacturers have assisted most willingly and effectively 

 in making spinning li-sts of the produc from time to time, 

 and in furnishing both the Department of Avriciillurc 

 and 10 the Urowers' Associations useful information 

 concerning the cotton. This inform ilion has guided 

 the growers ti better methods of hmdling the product, 

 and has given the investigators helpful suggestions 



ia connexion with the breeding work. Some of the 

 manufacturers interested in this type of cotton have 

 visited the Salt River Valley in order to learn at first hand 

 the condition and prospects of the industry, while represen- 

 tatives of the Growers' Association and of the department 

 have been welcome visitors at mills where ttie cotton is 

 being utilized. 



The policy of the Department of Agriculture in 

 encouraging the production of long-staple cotton on the 

 community basis is beginning to be appreciated by manufac- 

 turers and buyers, many of whom now realize that in order 

 to obtain year after year ampl-^ quantities of cotton of 

 unchanging character, they must look to localities where 

 the farmers are organized to grow only one kind of cotton 

 to prevent deterioration of the type by seed se'ection, and to 

 class and market their crop as a unit. 



DEMERARA LIME JUICE AND 

 RICE FACTORY. 



The Report on the Government lime juice, rice 

 and corn factory at ( )iiderneeming for 1918-19 has 



recently come to 

 hand. The factory 

 is divided into three 

 divisions dealing 

 with limes, rice and 

 corn meal respec- 

 tively, and in the 

 case of a II three 

 divisions the year 

 under review has 

 been a very satisfac- 

 tory one. In regard 

 to rice, the informa- 

 tion given is particu- 

 larly interesting. 



Shipping Cotton at Montserr.\t. 



On the Annual Esti- 

 mates for 1!)18 a sum 

 of 9'2S0 was provided 

 for Ihe purchase of a 

 No. 7 Engelberg Itice lluller in connexion with the Onder- 

 neeming Lime Factory. This hnller was purchased and 

 iL!>i<4lltd tiy ilie end ol MaicL, and started work early in 

 April 191 S Ir was urged at the time that such a mill 

 would prove a boon to the small rice growers in the surround- 

 ing districts. 



This has proved to be the ease, small grower.", principally 

 Kast Indians, iiave taken full advan'ageif the mi I, hnving 

 their paddy turned into rice week by vvtck, and disposing of 

 it either to shopkeepers or selling at the different villages and 

 estates' markets, thus obtaining full return for their labour. 



Transactitms during the year comprise the milling for 

 growers of .'!,.';17 bags of paddy, yielini; l,8()9 bags of rice in 

 small c|uanl'tie8 of a few bags for ea"li man each week. 

 For this work tl.e growers piiid .'?l,C().'?f;!. In addition to 

 the above the factory purchased 1,009 ba^s of paddy, which 

 yielded •')96 bags of rice. This rice has been auppli d to 

 Govfrnrnent Ins'.itutions (including the .Mmshou'e, Industrial 

 .School I'risons and Suddic Hospitul) at cheap ratee, and 

 tbebalince sod to local shopkceper.s. The totid output of 

 the iidll (luring the year Ims lliort-fore been 2,160 bags of 

 rice. 



A stulement of expenditure and revenue is attached, 

 from which it will be seen that the gross revenue of the mil 



