ToL. VII. No. 149. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



Quality of Paris Green. 



At the Government Laboratory for the Leeward 

 Islands (Antigua), arrangements have been made where- 

 by users of Paris green may have samples of the 

 material examined, and an opinion given as to general 

 suitability for use as an insecticide. B}" having 

 a preliminary examination made in this way (for which 

 a fee of five shillings is charged), the use of unsuitable 

 qualities of Paris green should be prevented. 



Timbers of Jamaica. 



In the IIW In.l-Mn BviUdin, (Vol VIII, No. :\), 

 a brief abstract of a paper on the timbers of Jamaica pre- 

 pared for the last West Indian Agricultural Conference 

 by Mr. W. Harris, F.L.S., Superintendent of Hope 

 Gardens, Jamaica, gives a considerable amount of 

 information in respect to the value, for various purposes, 

 of the different woods to be found in the forests and 

 woodlands of that colony. 



The name Ormosia nionosperma, Urb. the Nickel 

 or Bead tree occurs frequently in the list of woods 

 given in the above-mentioned paper. It has since 

 been ascertained that this tree is really a new species 

 and it has been named Orynosio jainaicensis, Lrb. The 

 tree OrraoHM monosjJerrna, has been found in the woods 

 of St. Vincent and Dominica. The wood of Ormosia 

 jamaieeni<is, the Nickel, or Bead tree of Jamaica, is 

 staled to be suitable for general purposes in exposed 

 situations, and for housework and furniture. 



Dominica Rubber. 



A note has already appeared in the Ayricultaral 

 Keivs (Vol V, p 104) on the valuation of samples of 

 Castilloa rubber prepared by the Curator of the 

 Dominic:! Botanic Station from trees growing in that 

 island. 



Samples of Para and Funtumia, as well as Castilloa 

 rubber were recently forwarded to the Imperial 

 Commissioner by ilr. Jones, for valuation and report. 

 The Para rubber was the first produced in Dominica, 

 but it was stated that the Hevea trees from which it 

 was obtained gave a satisfactor)- yield. 



In reporting upon the samples, Messrs. Hecht, 

 Lewis and Kahn, rubber brokeis of London, to whom 

 they were sent, put the value of the Para rubber (which 

 appears to be by far the best) at about 3s. 8'L per lb. 

 The rubber wassent in the biscuit form, but the brokers 

 point out that slightly excessive thickness of the 

 biscuits prevented the latex drying properly, and conse- 

 quently lowered the value. 



The Castilloa rubber was valued at from 3.s. to 

 Ss. M. per tb., and the Funtumia at 2s. 9d to 3s. Slight 

 improvements in preparation would result in somewhat 

 better prices being obtained. A similar report was 

 received iron. lilessrs. S. Figgis & Co , of London, to 

 whom samples were also sent. 



While the restdts so far obtained, indicate that 

 good rubber can certainly be produced in Dominica, the 

 need of fui-ther experience in preparation, so as to place 

 the product on the maiket under the most favourable 

 conditions, is also evident. 



Souari or Butter-nut. 



Mr. Joseph Jones, the Curator of the Dominica 

 Botanic Station, reports that a fine specimen of the 

 Souari or Butter-nut tree {Co/ryocur nv.clferrim) 

 fruited recently at the Layou Park estate, Dominica. 

 It is believed that this is the first occasion on which 

 a tree of the species has fruited in the island, although 

 a butter-nut may be seen at the Botanic Gardens, 

 which floweis every year, without having produced any 

 fruit, so far. Other young butter-nut trees, supplied 

 by the Botanic Gardens, are grov.ing in different parts 

 of the island and appear to be doing well. 



The native home of Ca/ryocar nuciferum is in 

 British Guiana, where it is a well-known tree. It has 

 been introduced into several of the West Indian Islands, 

 and three other species of Cari/oriir are reported from 

 Martinique. 



The Souari nut is described as having very 

 valuable qualities, and as likely to be most remunera- 

 tive in culture. The taste is similar to the almond 

 but sweeter. Small quantities of butter-nuts sent to 

 Europe have, it is reported, found ready sale at good 

 prices. 



The butter-nut tree attains a height of 100 feet 

 or more, and the timber is of very excellent quality. 



In 1891. bucter-nuts were distributed from Kew 

 to the East Indies, Singapore, South and West Africa, 

 etc., with the view of extending the cultivation of this 

 valuable tree. 



Vanilla Curing. 



A brief article on Vanilla growing in the West 

 Indies, and an approved method of curing the pods, 

 appeared in the Agricidtaral Xeus a few months ago 

 (Vol. VI, p. 209). Fuller details as to satisfactory' 

 methods of curing are given in the BoMetin of the 

 Jamaica Department of Agriculture (September 1907). 



The pods should be gathered only when they are 

 perfectly ripe, and care should be taken in picking to 

 guard against splitting, since this lowers the value. 



The pods having been sorted into (1) long, 

 (2) medium, and (3) short lots, each lot is dipped 

 separately in hot water. The water should be at 190 , 

 and the basket of pods should be dipped three times, 

 the first time for ten seconds, then — after an interval 

 of half a minute — for twelve seconds, and, after a second 

 interval, for fifteen seconds. 



Sweating is the next process, this being effected 

 by packing the pods in good-sized boxes or barrels. 

 The more pods there are the better the heat is retained. 

 The different lots should be kept separate by a fold of 

 the blanket being placed between them. 



The beans are next dried in the sun at a tempera- 

 ture not higher than 110 F. This process takes a few 

 days, and the slower it is the better, and more uniform 

 is the result. The beans should be turned frequently. 

 Drying may be finished in a shed at ordinary 

 temperature. 



' Smoothing' follows, and then sorting according 

 to length and quality, and finally tying up and pack- 

 ing, ail of which operations must be carried out with 

 care and skill if the best prices are to be realized. 



