^50 



TViK AGRiCULTLKAL NEWS, 



M.. 



K\'J!|'.K. i. 



191&. 





i\jssps|^p^^^7 



DOMINICA: REPORT ON THE AGKICUL- 

 TURAL DEPARTMENT, igiS-iQ. 



This annual report, which haa bten lately pub]ishf;d, 

 -ctmtains, as usual, much njat*':r of interest uot only to 

 Dominica planters, but to tropical agiieulturists in general. 

 Some of the snbjecta referrci to in the report have been 

 already noticed in recent numbers of the Agriaillnral Avkv. 



Although the Agricultural S'.iperintenden). Mr, J J.mes, 

 complains that, or,iag to the absence of au assistani, for 

 most of the year, very little has been efl'.cted in the way 

 of special investigations or the undertakiog of new liat.s of 

 work, yet the report is a record of excellent work carried 

 ont on former lines, especially v. ith reference to the t\yo 

 naia crops of Dominica, limes and cacao. 



The lime crop for 1918, calculated in barrels of a 

 capacity of I'y.'i cubic fcst, amounttd to 318,07-1 barrelj; of 

 fruit. This is the smallest crop recorded for a period of 

 pine yfars, and when compared with the output during 

 1917, shows a falling off of no less than 7^.000 barrels of 

 fruit. 



Though weather conditions were favo'irable, the year 

 was a bad one for the iime indu^stry. A .ihort crop, an 

 embargo, placed by the Governmont r.f the United btates. 

 •on citrus products, and other dilfioulties cauapd by the war. 

 creat,ed an unpleasant sitnati'n for the lime planter. 

 While other West Indian islands in which sugar and cotton 

 are the main products have benefifed by high prices during 

 recent years. Dominica has suffered in many way.s. 



The bulk of the crop of the i.sland is .shipped as 

 concentrated juioe, in which condition it can be kept for a 

 considerable time. Etforts are being made in the direction 

 of substituting steara evaporators in the place of the open 

 fire process of concentrating lime juice, in order to bring 

 into more general use an improved system, which will reduce 

 by about 10 per cent, the considprable destruction of citric 

 acid which now goe."? on under the old prociss. 



The preventable losses in thft process of concentration, 

 though in course of being reduced, are still considerable, 

 and when to these are added the losses caused by inefhc'cnt 

 jn-lling, the extraction by some mills being as low as 7 

 gallons per barrel of fruit, when it should be at least S 

 gallons, and, m paii.lculjily {^..^.d work, 8A to 9 gallons, it 

 ■will be s;en that much still rem rns to be ''one before the 

 industry is on a rf illy snund ban!.-;, and capible of meeting 

 oa e'l'ial ttfm.s the acfiv, bii.siiiea.slike and intclligcMt 

 competition with v/hich it iy now t'lreatened by liine growers 

 in other We.i'c I.'vHan ifilands ard foreign countries 



Tho increase in fh.-? ei:povt»of v.iw lime Juice since 191 t, 

 which is nearly douMe those of normal years, has been due 

 io .^p'cial circuimtanccs which end with the war In th( 

 near fut.ire sliinments to tha Uiiiied KiuKdoni are likely 

 to be on a much lower scale. It is generally thought chat 

 Canada and the L'nited iSiates offer the best iiOfsihiUtie« 

 /or an incrra.si!! of this business. 



The decline in the productiim of citrate of lime 

 continues Laving f tllen frotii "),191 cwt in 1914 to only 

 800 cwt. in 191.S. There has also been a decrease in the- 

 export ' f lime oils. 



The effect of the United States embargo on fre.sh limes 

 is shown by the fact that the export of this fruit in 1914 

 was a.-! much h.s t-">,'283 baLre'>-, and ool}' amounted to 

 7,'i70 barrels in 1918. It is to be hoped that a revival iu 

 this trade may .soon be experienced, as it is of great impor- 

 tance 10 the. community. 



With regard io the production of cacao, Mr. Jones thinks- 

 that there is no increa-e in the interest taken in this cultiva- 

 tion, which mu.st inevitably decline still lower if no new 

 aieas are pl,\nted out. 



The fall in the export of coco-nuts is moat marked. In 

 1918 there were only 89,67ti nuts exported, as acainst 

 r)rji,r)19 in 1914 This is attributed partly to the Govern- 

 ment prohibiton of e.vportation for a part of the year in the 

 intere.sts of the 1och,1 food yupply, but still more to the 

 disa.strous effects im the plantations brought about by the 

 hurricvnrs of liilo and 19 Hi 



In the Experiment Station the series of manurial exprri- 

 ments relating to orchard crops, especially iimes and cacao, 

 are being continued, and the lecoid is of permanent value. 



E.^rracted ol from two varieties of the Bay tree 

 {Pimenta (uris) occurring in Dominica has been submitted 

 to experts in England, with the result that the oil derived 

 from the locally named ' R oia d'lnde is reported on as an 

 oil of the type usually imported from the West Indies, 

 althouiih the specific gravity is a little below the avcage. 



This oil extracted from the other variety, ' H is d'lnde 

 citronelle,' is described as follows : — 



'The oil differs from the ordinary type of bay oil in 

 having a strona odour of ciXral, which is the chief constituent 

 of leuion grass oil. As a mixture of bay oil and lemon 

 grass oil is frequently used in toilet preparations, it would 

 probably have a commercial value of its own.' 



This emphasizes the necessity of care in the production 

 of bay oil .^t) as not to permit of any mixture of the leaves ot 

 the two varieties. 



It is interestine to note that the training of a limited 

 number of agricultural pupils on .soimd lines is being again 

 undertaken by the otfioers of the department. 



BRITf^Il \[RGIN ISLANDS . REPORT ON 

 THE AG R [CULTURAL DEPARTMENT, rgrS'-ig^ 



From the report uud?r r^'view it would seem that 

 agricultural prosp''Cts in these islands are improving in some 

 respects. The c ittou industry in p-irtioular is evidently 

 awakening increased atteutim, the value of ih« expor s of 

 cott<m and seed hiving risen from j£l 2i29 in 1917 to 

 ,£2,569 inl9!8. The coft m produced is dealt with chiefly 

 at the Government Ginnery on i profit sharing basis, and the 

 results seem to give sitisfajtioii to all concerned. 



A point of interest is mentioned as regards t ho cotton 

 cultivation in the British Vngin l.sUnds. Mr I'ishlock in 

 his report states a ^ follows ; •- 



' I'ractically all the. cotton grown in the Presidency 

 during the crop season 'vas trown fruni local seed, only 

 a smill ')Uiintiiy of seed having been obtiined fiom St. 

 Kitt9, the usual s>urce of seed for planting purp)ses. 

 The use of locally grown seed for planting purposes- 

 is not to be recommended. It was fouo i that the cotton 

 resulting from such .^'eed was of a poor graile and liable to 

 mixture So many plants of hybrid cottons are to be found 

 growing wild in all parts ot tb'.> Virgin l.slands that it is. 



