Vol. VII. Xo. 15.5. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



109 



2?^pmT^^l^^^^^^^^^' 





MONTSERRAr-. REPORT OX JSOTAXKJ STA- 

 TIOX AXD EXPERIMEXT PLOTS, lunn-7. 



The ilontsenat repui-t for the past season ka.s just been 

 is.sued, and forms a brief history of the agricultural activities 

 and progress of the island during the past ten years, and also 

 gives an account of the present state of tlie planting and live 

 stock industries. Reproductions of several ]iliotographs of the 

 Botanic and E.\periinent Stations are included in" the report. 

 The three agricultural e.xperiment stations of Montseri-at, 

 at Grove estate, at Harris's Village, and at Olveston respect- 

 ively, Avereall started in 1901. The tii-st-narned is a Botanic 

 Station as well as an experiment ground. The present 

 Curator, Mr. AV. Hobson, was appointed in 11)0.5. 



The most important result of the efforts of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture to improve the agricultural 

 conditions of the pre.sideney has been the successfut establish- 

 ment of the Sea Island cotton industry. Preliminary experi- 

 ments were undertaken in 1901 and 1902, and in the follow- 

 ing year many estate ownei's in the island made trial plant- 

 ings. The present extent of the industry is indicated by the 

 fact that while 9S,26i lb. of lint were shipped in 1905-G, in 

 1906-7 the export increased to 1G0,000 lb. Alanurial 

 experiments with cotton have been carried out during the 

 past three years, in order to ascertain the most economical 

 method of apjilying fertilizers to this crop. Advice ami 

 assistance have also been given to peasant growers of cotton 

 by the Curator of the Botanic Station and the Agricultural 

 Instructor. 



The existence of the Botanic Station, with its readily 

 available supply of economic plants, has no doubt largely 

 influenced estate owners and otliers to ' make experimental 

 plantings of crops which otherwise would not have received 

 attention. The station has distributed about .50,000 lime 

 plants since it was established. The great majority of these 

 vyere planted by small holders, but in one case a lin'ie planta- 

 tion of .50 acres was supplied from the station. 



The attention of |ilanters has also been drawn to the 

 po.ssible establishment of cacao estates in suitable districts of 

 the Island. Some small jilantations have been started, and 

 over_ 1,000 cacao plant- ■\\ere sent out from the Botanic 

 Station last year. 



The Castilloa rubber tree has bee^'' tried in the island, 

 and will probably do well in certain jjarts. About 1,000 

 plants wore distributed during the season. 



Other crops under experiment are .onions, Sisal hemp, 

 broom corn, ground nut.=, bay leaves, etc!, 



^ The efforts of the Imperial Departuient of Agriculture 

 to improve the live stock of the island, by the introduction 

 of male animals of sujierior type, has already been attended 

 with considerable success. 



In special reference t.. the work for the .sea.son 190G-7, 

 it may lie mentioned that the total expenditure on the 

 Botanic Station amounted to £624 16.s. '2rf., while a sum of 

 £54 14.?. Id. was recci\ed from the sale of plants and 

 produce. The receipts show a gain of nearly £15 as comiiared 

 ■with the previous year. 



-Vltogether, 11,975 plants were distributed from the 

 l.otanic Station. These consisted chiefly of lime, cacao, 

 ( astdloa rubber, cabbage and bay plants. In addition' 

 a large quantity of seeds and- cuttings were also .sent out. 

 The largely increased number of cacao and bay plants 

 distributed, as compared with the previous year, is especially 

 noticeable. 



PER. ][!■£> A : REPORT OF THE BOARD OF 

 AdlUOILTI'RE, ]'.iuij-r. 



The cultivation of fruit appears to be the industry hohi- 

 ing most promise for Bermuda in the future, and two of the 

 most interesting points discussed in the above report are the 

 efforts made to promote a banana export trade with New 

 A'ork, and the steps taken to stainij out the ravages of the 

 fruit fly. 



The climate and soil of Bermuda are especially suited to 

 lianana <'ultivation, and by taking advantage of these natural 

 conditions, it has been estimated that a large trade might be 

 e.stablislied with the United States. The first trial shipments 

 of bananas made during the year under review gave promising 

 results, but unfavourable weather interfered with the experi- 

 ments, which had to be temporarily dropped, with the intention, 

 hoM ever, of continuing the work in the near future. 



_ An account of the thorough-going measures that were 

 carried out in Bermuda during the past year for the destruc- 

 tion of the fruit fly is also given, in the course of 

 a paper dealing with the fruit industries of the colony, 

 prepared by the Superintendent of the PubHc Gardens, and 

 reprinted in the report. x\ sum of £500 was put on the 

 -Xgricultural Estimates of the year to provide the cost of the 

 destructive measures adopted. These involved the entire 

 destructicni for the season of all fruit known to be liable to 

 attack by the fruit fly, while the trees were severely pruned 

 back, with the object of preventing them from bearing, so 

 far as possible. 



Sea Island cotton lias been grown on an experimental 

 scale in Bermuda, and a favourable rejjort on the quality of 

 the lint was received from the Inqierial Institute, but owing 

 to the uneven nature of the land, which entails the necessity 

 for hand labour, and the high cost of labour as compared 

 with the West Indian Islands, it is not thought that this 

 crop will prove sutficiently profitable to warrant its general 

 cultivation. 



_ E.xperiments were carried out during the year in the 

 culti\-ation of Sumatra wrapper tobacco, which it is believed 

 would prove a lucrative industry in the colony. A sum of 

 £700 to defray the cost of these experiments was granted 

 by the Legislature. Fairly well attended lectures on the 

 cultivation and curing of tobacco were also given at the 

 Public Gardens by the Superintendent. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Mr. F. A. Scockdale, B.A., F.L.S., Mycologist on 

 the Staff of the Imperial Department of Agriculttire, 

 left Barbado.s on March 31, by the li.M.S. ' Efien ' for 

 St. Lucia and Antigua, for the purpose of carrying out 

 investigations into the fungus diseases of crops' in those 

 islands. Mr. Stockdale is expected to be away about 

 three weeks, and will inspect the Agricultural School 

 at St. Lucia, and the Botanic Stations at both tlie 

 above-mentioned islands, in addition to paying visits to 

 estates in the country districts. 



