THE AGEICULTUKAL NEWS. 



Jasuaky 11, 1908. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Barbados. 



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^ijrirultiirat llinr.s 



Vol. VII. SATURDAY. .TAXrARV 11, 1908. No. 149. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial deals with the coming Agricultural 

 and C.m^idian Reciprocity Conferences that will be held 

 at Barbadcis from January 14 to 21. .\ list of 

 representatives attending the Conferences, and full 

 programme of the proceedings are given on the following 

 pigts. 



Interesting exhibits from the West Indies were 

 displayed at the Colonial Fruit Show held in London 

 on November 28 and 29 last (p.4). Pimento growing 

 in Jamaica, and the methoij of curing the crop, etc. are 

 described on page .5. 



Cotton Notes include reports as to market prices 

 of Sea Island cotton. Seasonable Notes, and an article 

 containing useful information as to the chief defects in 

 cotton. 



The sugar crop results ot 1907 obtained on 

 Diamond l^lantation, Demeriira, show that seedling 

 canes have yielded 2(J j)er cent, more sugar than the 

 Bourbon cane (p.lO). On the same page an article 

 appears giving particulars of a method of selective 

 cane reaping which is described as having given 

 good residts in Jamaica. Particulars relating to the 

 sugar industry of the Leeward Islands are given on 

 the following Itagc. 



Fruit Fly in Bermuda. 



The Agricultural Society of Bermuda is at present 

 conducting an interesting campaign against the fruit fly 

 {C(;ratttl!< cap'itata, Wied.), which has increased so 

 greatly and is proving such a pest in the islands, that 

 the most nidical means for its destruction appear to 

 be warranted. During the past year, therefore, all fruit of 

 the island, known to be in the slightest way affected, 

 has been rigorously destroyed, in the hope of not 

 le.aving a single opportunity for the insect to breed 

 this year. The result of this extreme step will be 

 watched with interest. 



Two new remedies for Heas are described on page 

 13, where also brief articles appear dealing with the 

 occurrence of scale insects on mahogan}- trees in 

 Antigua, and the connexion between moscpiitos and 

 malarial fever. 



The Red Sorrel or Roselle. 



Viirmcrs HvllrtLn ■!(>/' of the United States 

 Department of Agiiculture is devoted to an accourt of 

 the cultivation and uses of the roselle {Hibi'icus 

 salidarijfa) or ' red sorrel,' as it is known in the West 

 Indies. I'his plant belongs to the same order as the cotton 

 plant, and is grown in India for its fibre, which is used 

 in the man\ifacture of cordage and coarser textile 

 products. In other parts of the tropical world, how- 

 ever, notably in Queensland and in the West Inilies,. 

 the plant is cultivated for the sake of the fleshy, red 

 calyces, which are made into jam. and from which the 

 well-known 'son-el drink' is manufactured. Q'lite 

 a considerable industry, in fact, has been developed in 

 Queensland in the manufacture and export of roselle 

 jam. The pcculiai- acid flavour of the fruits is due 

 to the presence of malic acid. Results of analysis 

 show that the roselle is very similar to the cianberry 

 in c(unposition. The writer of the bulletin urges the 

 cultiv.ition of the roselle plant in California, Florida, 

 and the tropical islands of the L^nited States, on 

 account of the value of the fruits in making drinks 

 and jelly. 



Fisheries of the West Indies. 



Dr. Thomas ]Mortensen,K.D., contributes an interes- 

 ting and illustrated article to Allanten for Jidy and 

 August 1907, in which he discusses many points 

 connected with the fisheries of the West India Islands 



Some time ago Dr. Mortensen carried out some 

 investigations at St. Croix, in the hope that evidence 

 would be forthcoming to indicate the j)ossibility of 

 establishing a sponge fishery or oyster-raising industry 

 in the island. Those hopes were not confirmed on 

 further inquiry, but, on the other hand, Dr. Mortensen 

 was satisfied as to the great fishery resources that are 

 available around St. Croix and St. Thomas. He men- 

 tions that nearly 300 species offish are known ari)und 

 those islands, a very large proportion of which are of 

 economic importance as being fit for htur.an food. 

 Details are given in reference to several of the chief 

 varieties, and many other points are also discussed, 

 such as the question of fish poison, turtle, lobster, and 

 sea-egg fisheries, and also the various modes of fishing. 

 It is hoped to publish a n'-sunu' of Dr. Jhirtensen's 

 article in a coming number of the Wrst Indian 

 litillctin. 



