Vol. XVIII.No. 459. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



£ 8. d. 



7,969 %. at 3 c. 49 li 



„ „ „ 4 c. 66 S 2" 



„ „ „ 6 e. 99 1-2 3 



In our trials the onions sold readily at 12 cen:s jier lb. 



On the basis of the cost of growing otiious at .the 



Botanic Gardens, the calculated cost per acre — exclusive of 



the value of the manure used— would be as follows : — 



Draining and preparing land 



Sowing seeds 



Four pounds seed at is. 



Planting C)Ut seedlings 



Watering 



Weeding (six times) 



Harvesting 



Stringing 



12 



d. 

 



16 

 5 4 8 

 5 19 5 

 7 7 2 



17 5 

 3 12 



£36 18 5 



From this and the former trial with onions at the 

 Botanic Gardens, it seems probable that two or more crops 

 a year could be raised in Grenada. 



It is estimated, on the basis of the above yield, that the 

 produce of about 20 acres would be required to meet the 

 annual local consumption of onions. 



It is not to be recommended that anyone should attempt 

 to cultivate a large area of onions without first gaining prac- 

 tical experience ; but the cultivation on a small scale by 

 peasani gardeners would be a safe and proStable undertaking, 

 to be strongly recommended and encouraged by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 



In the latter direction efforts have recently been made 

 by the Superintendent of Agriculture by lectures, demonstra- 

 tions, and free distribution of seeds in several districts, 

 where it was thought interest in the matter could moat 

 likely be created. 



An experiment is now in progress to ascertain whether 

 it is possible to grow our own seed. 



THE STORAGE OF ONION SEED IN THE 

 TROPICS. 



The following is a brief account of an experiment 

 in the storage of onion seed, conducted by the Gienada 

 Department of Agriculture, the work being doite by 

 the Agricultural Cadets under the direction of the 

 Superintendent of Agriculture, Mr. J. C. Moore. 



It will be seen that by the use of calcium chloride, 

 successful results were obtained. It may be pointed 

 out that successful results have also been obtained in 

 Antio-ua (see Annual Report on the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment? Antigua, for 1917-18, pp. 7 and 8) by using quick- 

 lime ; but the percentage of seed that germinated 

 after' four months' storage in Antigua over quicklime 

 was not as high as that which grew after being stored 

 for a similar period in Grenada over calcium chloride:— 



On February 12, 1919, the Department received a 

 supply of Teneriffe onion seec', but in consequence of its 

 late arrival, there was little demand for it. A quantity ot 

 the seed was thus available for carrying out an experime.it 

 in a method of storing seeds in a viable condition, which bad 

 proved successful when adopted some years ago by the 

 Department of Agriculture in St- Lucia. 



Soon aft.jr the arrival of the serd f'Ur dt>icc.itiir.l 

 were prepared for the purpose of the exptri.-nent. In the 

 basement i>f each desiccator was placed I o/. of nilciam 

 chloride to absorb any free dv isture present in tho contents 

 of the desiccator. Above toe chloride rested 'i perforated 

 disc, upon which was stored 2".5 ll>. of deed, tlii.i quintity 

 being the ca])acity of each desiccator. The ground faces 

 of the rim and cover of the desiccators were then smeared, 

 with viseline in order to form an airtight ,ioiat. 



The following is tka result of germination tests made 

 Irom time to time to ascertain the vitality <.if the stored, 

 seed : - 



Desiccator. 



A 

 B 

 C 

 A 





 A and C 

 (100 each I 



D 



Time lest 

 commenced. 



•I'lly I 

 August 9 

 Sept. 1 5 



November 3 



93 



A test of the seed as received gave a germinating power 

 of 89 per cent., but unfortunately, foi- the sake of comparisoo 

 with the results of this experiment, it is not known whether 

 this test represented the vitality of the seeds actually stored, 

 for there were two parcels, and there is some uncertainty 

 as to whether the seeds stored were from the parcel tested. 



From September 5 to 22, dtsi.-cators A, B, and C were- 

 opened several times for purposes other than seed testing; 

 but desiccator 1 » was not opened until Kovember 3, when its 

 contents tested 93 per cent, vitality, where;is a .sample of the 

 same imported seed kept in seed bags and tested in July last 

 gave negative results. The contents of desiccator B and 

 part of A and C were disiiosed of in Sep' ember. 



Examination of the calcium cholride in the desiccators 

 at the end of the experiment showed that the quantity of 

 moisture absorbed from the contents was but small — a tiln> 

 of moisture being evident on the surface of the chloride 

 nearest the seeds, while the bulk of the chloride retained 

 its granular appearance. 



From the result of the above experiment it is evident 

 that onion seed can be stored in a sound condition in the 

 tropics for at least nine montli.°, and probably for a longer 

 time, as we hope to show by continuing this experiment with 

 desiccator D. 



A test on similar lines made by the St. Lucia Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in 1906-7 (jvV/c Annual Report for that 

 ye r) showed that after storing onion seeds for eight and 

 a half months m the presence of calcium chloride in 

 an air-tiaht bottle, the germination percentage Wi\s 64, while 

 a similar sample of the seeds stored under similar conditions, 

 but without the chloride, failed to germinate at the end of 

 that period. 



Thue seems to be little donbt that — other conditions 

 being favourable — the more effectually onion seeds are 

 protected from the humidity of the atmo.spbi're, the longer- 

 they retain their vitality. 



There appears in the Aiiifrican Natunlist, September- 

 October 1919. I'art L' of the paper on the use of the sucking 

 fiali for catching fish and turtles, ['art I of this piper waa 

 abstracted in the Agricultural News for Septomlier 20, 1919, 



