120 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Aj'kil is, 1908. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and inattcr for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All ajiplications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

 News ' should bo addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Departuient. 



Local Afjents: IMessrs. ISowon & Sons, Ijridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents: Messrs. Didnu & 

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

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

 Agents will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Arjricidtural Nexus: Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscrij)tion payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4s. 4(Z. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The future pnispccts of the ruliher in<lustry, and 

 the progress so far made in rubber planting in the 

 West Indies are discussed in the editorial. 



Some interesting particulars of the sugar industry 

 of Java appear on page 115, followed by an article 

 describing brioHy the lapid development of the beet 

 sugar industry of the lluited States. 



A brief arti(;le on the subject of I'ocoa-nut cultiva- 

 tion will be found under ' West Indian Fruit '. E.xperi- 

 ments with ground nuts, carried out in Dominica, are 

 described on the following page (117). 



The 'Cotton Notes ' include market reports, and 

 notes on Sea Island cotton cultivation in the Bahamas 

 and the Society Islands (p. IIS). 



Information relating to the cultivation of the 

 castor oil plant, preparation of the oil, etc., is contained 

 in a brief article on page 119. 



Attention may be drawn to the article on the 

 zapupe fibre plant, that will be found <n page 125. 



Propagation of Sweet Potatos. 



In order to deuionstrato the advisability of 

 occasionally having recourse to the tuber in the propa- 

 gation of sweet potatos, and the bad ei-onoaiy of 

 continuing, year afcer year, to plant vine cuttings from 

 rrops which have been themselves grown from vine 

 ruttings, some trials were in 1905, and again in 190(), 

 c;i.rried out at one of the Cuban Experiment Stations. 



In these tests, sweet potatos of the same variety 

 were gi'own on adjacL'til plots w hich received identical 

 treatment iii all nspijcts. In one <-ase, however, the 

 crop w.is grown from viiic cuttings which hail been 

 raiseil in this way continuously for many generations, 

 while in the second case planting w;is made with slips 

 growi; diiTcily IVum potatos themselves. The plots 

 plaiite<l with slips returned a crop three and a half 

 times as great as the plots planted with cuttings. It is 

 evident that the gain of 350 per cent, fully repaid the 

 extra expense and trouble involved. 



The methods of rice culture adopted in the L^nitcd 

 States arc described on page 127. 



Sweet Potato Investigations. 



Extensive in\'estigatiiins dealing with the sweet 

 potato crop are being undertaken by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. Experiments are in 

 progress at several centres, and include a study of the 

 kinds most suitable for the several potato-growing 

 districts. Hesearch is being made in regard to 

 methods of growing and theii- comparative cost, and 

 methods of harvesting, storing, packing and shipping 

 the crop. The question of storage, it is stated, is 

 receiving special attention, in order to determine the 

 best means of curing, the most suitable temperatures 

 to be maintained in the storage house, and the amount 

 of shrinkage that takes place under those conditions. 

 Attention is also being given to the uses and possibili- 

 ties of sweet potatos as tbod for stock, as well as to the 

 desiccation and canning of the product for human 

 consuuq)tion. 



Climate of the West Indies. 



The lirst report ot the Canadian Trades Commis- 

 sioner lately appointed at Barbados (Mr. E. H. S. Flood) 

 has recently been published by the Department of 

 Trade and Commerce, of the Dominion. In reference to 

 the climate of the rWest Indies, Mr. Flood writes : 

 'One of the causes which have apparently deterred 

 Canadi.m firms sending their travellers to the West 

 Indies, is the i|uite erroneous opinion as regards climate. 

 With the exception of the months of August, September, 

 and October, which are rain}' and a little warmer than 

 the other months of the year, the heat is not greater 

 nor so oppressive as in New York, and not greater than 

 in parts of Ontario in summer. Sonic of the islands of 

 the West Indies, particularly Barbados, claim the finest 

 climate in the world, and with much ground for such 

 a claim. The terror of the tropics may be a real terror 

 when thinking about travt^lling in India, but it ought 

 not to exist as regards the West Indies, where the heat 

 is always tempered, and kept (piite bearable by refresh- 

 ing breezes fnim the ocean, and health conditions are 

 generally favourable.' 



