Vol. VJI. No 151. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



41 



Agricultural Prospects in Fiji. 



The Annual Ri'porf (190<J-7) on Fiji, recently 

 issued by the Colonial Office, states that there is 

 undoubted!}' a eood openinfj' for the citltivatiati in that 

 colony of such minor products as sisal hemp, gini,'er, 

 limes, spices, tobacco, etc. 'I'he cultivation ui' rubber 

 has hitherto hardi}' been attempted; successful efforts 

 are, however, beinj,' ni.ade on at least, two plantations to 

 introduce this pi-oduct. The growth of the existing; 

 trees shows tliat conditions are favourable to both the 

 Para and the Ceara sjiecies. Larrje areas of lanfl 

 suitable for rubber cultivation can be obtained tit 

 moderate rates. 



Prevention of Plant Diseases. 



The Question of le;^islation, forbidding the importa- 

 tion of certain plants, with the object of preventing the 

 spread of fungus diseases affecting those plants 

 occasionally demands attention from Governments, and 

 measures of this kind frequently save great loss to the 

 agricultural community whose crops may be threatened 

 by insect or f ingiis pe.^ts. 



With the object of stamping out the American 

 gooseberry mildew (Sp/nrnitlirni Mors-uvuc), which 

 has been the cause of much trouble in Great Britain 

 during the past season, the Board of Agriculture 

 and Fisheries of that countty has -i-ecently issued 

 an order under which the landing in Great Britain 

 of any gooseberry bush or currant bush, brought 

 from any place outside the country is strictly prohibited. 

 The order also provides that directly any bush is 

 found to be affected with the mildew, the fact is to 

 be reported to the Board of Agriculture, and the 

 ■owner of the premises is forbidden to allow any goose- 

 berry or currant bush to be removed, until, after 

 inspection, the place is declared to be again free from 

 the disease. 



Sweet Potato Crop. 



Bulletin No. 10 of the Tuskegee Agricultural 

 Experiment Station (Alabama, U.S.A.), aeals with 

 some points that should be obseived by growers of 

 sweet potatos, especially those who may wish to store 

 a portion of the crop tor a time. 



It IS stated that potatos dug after or dririnir 

 a long period of dry weather keep well as a rule, while 

 those dug after or during a rainy seascm tend early to 

 ■decay. Bruising or cutting the potatos in the process 

 of raising also naturally lessens the Iceeping properties. 

 In Alabama, the sweet potato crop is frequently 

 attacked by a fungoid disease, the Black vut (Ceratoc yf i ■■< 

 Jimbrlata). 



Attention is drawn to the value of the vines as 

 a nutritious food lor stock. Results of analysis appear 

 to show that these vines possess about the same feed- 

 ing value as the young succulent pea vines. All kinds 

 of stock eat them greedily when green, and drying by 

 hanging them across fences or racks in the sun does 

 not lessen their palatability. 



Cane Farming in Naparima. 



The Warden of the Naparima Ward Union, Trini- 

 dad, comments strongly on the methods of cultivation 

 adopted by the cane firm'ers of his district. The 

 greater part of the land occupied by these cane f irmers 

 IS stated to consist of old sugar estates, abandoned by 

 lirevious holders on account of the fict that it did not 

 pa}' to grow canes on them. Yet the present occupiers 

 plant canes year after year without the slightest assist- 

 ance in the form of manure. , It will readily bo under- 

 stood therefore that only small crops are obtained. 



During the crop season of 190G cane farmers 

 obtained iJ.v. per ton for their canes at the commence- 

 ment of the season. Owing to the shortage of the crop, 

 however, the jjrice subsequently rose to 14s. In 1907, 

 planters were fully occupied reaping their own abundant 

 crops, with the result that prices remained at 7s. per 

 ton. In 1904-5 the quantity of farmer-grown canes 

 raised in the Naparima Ward reached 85,2(16 tons, 

 having a value of §l.S4,(iG9. In 1905-6, $256,053 were 

 realized for the 7;),428 tons grown, while in 1906-7 the 

 iarmers produced lo5,133 tons of the value of !ji279,919. 

 It will be seen, therefore, that the crop of 1907, although 

 almost double that of the previous year, did not bring 

 much increased profit to the farmers. 



It is mentioned that in the Debe and Penal 

 Settlements of the Naparima Ward nearly all of the 

 new settlers are planting cacao in preference to sugar. 



Salt Industry in the Turks Islands. 



The salt-raking industry which forms the mainstay 

 of the Turk's Islands has during the past three years 

 gone through a period of exceptional depression. 

 Abnormally wet seasons occured in 1904 and 1905, and 

 this seriously interfered with raking operations and 

 reduced the yields of salt. With the advent of a drier 

 season in 1906, larger amounts of salt were prepared, 

 but, on account of the inability of the salt pond owners 

 to meet the demands of the two previous years, 

 principal purchasers had, in the meantime, found other 

 sources of supply, notably in the Trapani district of 

 Sicily. It is further stated in the Anntutl Repurt 

 (1906) on the Turks and Caicos Islands, that although 

 a good market was formerly found for the salt in the 

 United States, yet the opening up of native supplies, 

 and the high protective duty of 6c. per bushel now 

 levied on foreign salt imported into the country, make 

 it a matter of impossibility for the salt ])fo(lucers of 

 the Turks Islands to retrieve their losses. 



While the total export of salt from the islands in 

 1903 reached 1,806,694 bushels, having a value of 

 £23,678, it had lallen, by 1906, to 1,043,474 bushels, 

 having a value of £14,276. Grand Turk has suffered 

 more especially, the shijuuents from this island having 

 fallen from 694,609 bushels in 1903 to 104 64S bushels 

 m 1906. 



In view of this decline of the salt-raking industrv, 

 it is all the more satisfactory to note the extension ot 

 the area devoted to sisal cultivation, and the increasing 

 exports of fibre. 



