Vol, XVIII. No. 456. 



THE AQRICULTURAL NEWS. 



333 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, TRINI- 

 DAD AND TOBAGO— ADMINISTRATION RE- 

 PORT. 



As the Acting Director, Mr. W. J. Freeman, notes, the 

 year under report has been marked by a growth of the 

 work of the Department in several directio'S, although there 

 have been several vacancies on the staff owing to war 

 conditions 



The total value of the agricjltural exports of the colony 

 in 1918 was £2,835,937, as compared with £3,460,084 in 

 1917. This lower value seems to be attributable to the low 

 sugar crop, this being nearly 12,000,000 tt). less than in 

 1917. On the other hand, the production of the other two 

 ataple crops, cacao and coconuts, was approximately the 

 same in both years. 



In Tobago, however, the value of exported produce 

 exceeded that of 1917, though it did not reach the high 

 level of that of 1916. The high prices of imported foods 

 caused more consumption of locally grown foot^stufts in 

 the islaiid itself, and a similar reason is alleged for an 

 increased local use of ooco-nuts as providing substitutes 

 for imported fats, as is also the case in Trinidad. 



As an indication of the growing importance of the 

 cacao industry, it may be mentioned that whereas in 1878, 

 the colony exported somewhat over 10,000 000 Dti- of cacao 

 beans, in the year under revieiv 58,638,562 fc were exported, 

 valued at £1,547,085, though this was 1 1,400 000 R). below 

 the record year, 1917. An interesting set of experiments 

 in converting poor-bearing cacao trees into heavy bearers 

 by budding on to 'chupons' or suckers after the original 

 tree has been cut back is being conducted both at River, the 

 Government estate, and also on private properties. The 

 results of these experiments are awaited with interest. 



The short sugar crop has been noticed above. This 

 has been attributed to the ravages of the froghopper. 

 But reference to a report by Mr. W. Nowell, Mycologist 

 of the Impsrial Department of Agriculture, the first 

 portion of wh'ch was published in the Agricultural 

 Ntws, May 31, 1919, and continued in the next three 

 numbers, will show that he quite endorses an opinion of 

 Mr. C. B. Williams, Entomologist-in-charge of Froghopper 

 Investigations, Trinidad, quoted in the report under review, 

 that 'there is a connexion between susceptibility to frog- 

 hopper and liability to root disease.' 



With regard to the coco-nut industry, it is stated 

 that it continues to make satisfactory progress. Investiga- 

 llons of the troublesome disease of •occ»«ut trees, to 

 be known now as 'red ting', have been conducted also by 

 Mr. Nowell, the results of which will appear in the next 

 issue of the West Indian Bulletin. 



Rubber and limes are being produced in the colony on 

 an increasing scale, though the latter industry has been 

 handicapped by an outbreak of a fungus disease known as 

 ' wither tip ' or ' blossom blight '. 



The campaign by me»ns of lectures and publications 

 oodertaken by the Department with a view to the increase 

 in production of locally grown foodstuffs met wilh well- 



deserved success. The small cultivators as well as the 

 proprietors of large estates responded to the call, so that no 

 real hardship was experienced in the matter of food supply. 

 There is a point of considerable interest in this report 

 to which attention may be directed. This is the increasing 

 number of cane farmers in Trinidad. Ten years ago they 

 numbered just over 10,500. In 1918 the number had 

 increased to more than 20,300. It would seem a'so, from 

 the growing number of Agricultural Credit Societies and 

 their good financial status, that the cane farmers iu Trinidad 

 are not only increa.sing in numbers but also in prosperity 



THE TORTOLA COTTON FACTORY- 



The Report on the Agricultural Department, 

 British Virgin Islands, for 1918-19, which is just being 

 issued, contains some interesting statements concern- 

 ing the year's work of the Government Cotton Factory 

 at Tortola. 



The Cotton Factory was opened for the purchase of 

 cotton en October 4, 1918, and, purchasing was continued 

 week by week till April 26, 1919, a period of thirty one 

 weeks. 



The total weight of seed-cotton purchased during that 

 time was 107,689 tt). On ginning this amount yielded 

 28,446 8). of clean lint, or 26-5 per cent. — a rather higher 

 yield than in some previous years. 



The cotton was purchased on the profit-sharlnt; basis. 

 The first payment was according to quality, the highest rate 

 being 14c. per ft». 



A bonus, or deferred payment system, was put into 

 operation with the crop of 1916-17 (see Annual Report 

 191617). ' 



first payment, varying according 

 is made at the time the seed- 



dealt with in the usual maaner, 



in, the credit balance is divided. 



returned to the growers in the 



payment, and 25 per cent, is 



Under this system, a 

 to the state of the cotton, 

 cotton is sold. 



Cotton so bought is 

 and, when all accounts are 

 Seventy-five per cent, is 

 form of a bonus, or deferred 

 retained by the Governmeit- 



There can be no doubt as to the fairness of this method 

 of working the industry : the only question is as to its 

 suitability to a peasantry such as we have in this Presidency. 



The bonus distributed for the crop of 1916-17 was at 

 the rate of 180 per cent, that is to say, growers received by 

 way of bonus 8 1 '80 for every dollar's worth of cotton they 

 sold to the Factory. This extraordinarily high bonus was 

 due to the fact that the seed-cotton was bought at a low 

 first payment, and that cotton sold at very high prices liter. 



A bonus of 50 per cent, has been declared and paid oo 

 the crop of 1917-18. For that crop, a much higher first 

 payment was made. 



The accounts for the 1918-19 crop are not yet closed, 

 and the amount of bonus cannot be stated 



Table showing weight and value of cotton shipped from 

 the Government Ginnery during the 1 att five years : — 



alue, 



