40 



THE AGRICULTUllAL. NEWS. 



Febeuahy ?, 1908. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Lettci's and mutter lor publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All apjilieations for Copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be a<ldressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Depai-iment. 



Local Afjentf: Messi's. Uowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London A'jevtf^ : Jlessrs. Dulau & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, \V., and The West India Com- 

 mittee, 15, Seething Lane, E.C. A complete list of 

 Agents will be found on )iage 3 f)f the cover. 



The Agricultural Newts: Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2<l. Animal subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post flee, 4.S. id. 



^griruitiirat ^tm 



Vol. Vir. SA'l'URUAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1908. No. 151. 



NOTES AiND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The ad\ .uicement luaile in agricultui'al education 

 in the West Indies during recent years is disscussed in 

 the editorial. Proposals brought forward at the late 

 West Indian Agricultural Conference for the institution 

 of a systematised course of reading and e.xamination for 

 overseers and sub-managers of estates are of special 

 interest. 



A report on the work done during 1I105-7 

 cornexion with the sugai-cane e.xjieriments carried 

 in Barb.idos is given on page 35" 



m 

 on 



West Indian Students in Canada. 



It is interesting to note that the number of West 

 Indian stiidonts now in residence at Mc(Jill Uuiveisit}', 

 Montreal, is thirty-eight. All e.xcept one are white. Last 

 year the immber of students wasfitfy. The students from 

 the sever.d colonies arc as follows: Jamaica, 17 : Barbados, 

 13 ; Antigua, ."{ ; 'I'rinidad, 2 : Demerara, 1 ; .Sc. Lucia, 1 ; 

 St. Croix, 1. The number taking Ap[)lied Science 

 (Engineering, I\liuing, Architecture,' etc.O. is 19 ; Arts 

 and NaliUral Science, 2: Theology, 2: Medicine, 15. 



On the occasion of the visit of Sir Daniel ^lorris 

 to the University, in October 1907, he mot the students 

 at the L'nion and gave theui a short address. A.s 

 a ride tlu> West Indian students are reported to be 

 steady and earnest workers, and pass tiieir examina- 

 tions successltdly. 



The Bed Sp.anish varieiy of jjinc-appio is the one 

 most recommended for export trade b}' growers in Cuba. 

 For home trade the Smooth Ca3'enne ;uid other varieties 

 give better results. Fruit growing in Porto Rico is 

 giving good returns (page .3(i). 



Market icports and other notes of interest in regard 

 to the cotton crop will be found on page 38-9. 



A brief article on ])age 37 deals with the properties 

 and uses of superphosphate. 



The development of tho rice industry of pjritish 

 Guiana is making the ijuestion of European export 

 trade in this product one of immediate interest, (p. 39. ) 



-Vu article dealing with cattle .and fowl ticks and 

 methods for the destruction of these jjcsts appears 

 under ' Insect Notes' (page 42). 



^=>--«- -<BS» 



Matches in Cotton Factories. 



A ipiestion of importance to those in charge of 

 cotton factories, and others, is being raised by the 

 Administrator and the Agricultural Superintendent of 

 St. Vincent, who are making enquiries as to wdiether 

 action has been taken in any of the West Indian 

 colonies, to prevent, the importation of matches which 

 will ignite without the use of a S[ie;-ially prepared bo.x. 



The enquiry is made on account of the fact that 

 sulphur matches are staled to have been sometimes 

 found in seed-cotton sent to the ginneries in St. Vincent. 

 It will readily be seen that this indicates a possible 

 source of considerable damage to owners of cotton 

 i'actoiies, and it may be added that the [joint also closely 

 concerns the welfare of the sugar industry, especially 

 during the crop sea.son when canes .-ire diy and easily 

 set on tire. It would appear thai, at present, there are 

 no restrictions whatever in regard to the use of sulphur 

 matches in the West Inilies. 



Best Method of Packing Limes. 



The ]\ (si f.idia Cinu uiiJfce Clrrular mentions 

 that Mr. Frank l']vans, Assistant Superintendent of the 

 Botanical Dei.iartment at Trinidad, wdio arrived in 

 England at the close of 1907, brought with hiin a few 

 packages of iresh limes from the island. 'I'hese limes 

 were put up in various ways, with a \ie\v to testing 

 the effectiveness of the dirt'erent methods of packing. 

 The results wore as follows: (1) ])acked in box, lio 

 jiaper wra|)ers, fiiiit arrived in bad condition: (2) 

 packeii in box, wrapped in tissue paper, fruit in fair 

 condition : (3) packed in baskets, wrapped in ti.ssiie 

 paper, fruit in good condition : (4) packed in baskets, 

 wrapped in stiff newspaper, fruit in very good condition. 

 This confirms the frequently repeated statement that 

 limes ])acked in stout jiaper keep much better than 

 those wrapped in tissue paper. The stouter pajier 

 appears to absorb the moisture, and experience has 

 shown that linus so wrapped will keep a very long 

 time. 



