Vol. VII. No. 158. 



THF AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



149 



GROUND NUT CULTIVATION. 



The possibilities of ground nut cultivation are 

 evidently attracting attention in West Afric.i, since an 

 article on the subject appears in the Qucnierlf/ Jam-iud 

 of the Liverpool Institute of Coiiiuiercial Research in 

 the Tropics (January IflOiS). 



This crop is one which is grown on an enormous 

 scale in the United States, where its value is fully 

 recognized. Ground nuts are fairly well known in 

 different islands of the West Indies, but, as frequently 

 pointed out in the Agrirultiiral iVe^'N, the crop is not 

 <'ultivated to anything like the extent it might lie, 

 with benefit to the planting community. 



The methods of cultivation of the crop are simple, 

 .and the directions given in the article above referred 

 10 are necessarily much the same as those contained in 

 Pamphlet No. 2.5 of the series issued by the Imperial 

 Department of Agi'iculture, ' Ground Nuts in the West 

 Indies.' 



A very light, ])referably sandy soil, is necessary fm- the 

 cultivation of ground nuts in order that the fruits may In- 

 easily able to bury themselves on maturity. The croii will 

 not succeed in clays or even in heavy damp loam. A certain 

 amount of lime appears to be necessary for, or at any rate 

 favourable to, its .successful cultivation. 



The ground ought to be well ^\Tirked up to a depth of 

 10 iir 12 inches and tlien tlioroughly liarrowed, after hs.ving 

 been exposed for a few days to the action of the atmosphere. 

 The ground is next ridged up into flat ridges about 4 feet 

 6 inches wide, with narrow furrows between. 



The seeds are set two or three together in pockets about 

 3i to 4 inches deep, at distances of 12 inches along the centre 

 of the ridges. It is advisaljle to manure the bottom of the 

 jiockets before scttiug the seeds, with any rich manure 

 that may be available, .\bout 100 lb. of Seed will be required 

 per acre. 



In regard to sowing the seed, a necessary condition for 

 germination and successful growth of the young plants is 

 a nKiist condition of the soil. The seed should therefore 

 [)referably be sown at the commencement of the rainy season, 

 [n Barbados this would be alxait the month of .lune, and 

 planting in Carriacou, where ground nuts are cultivated, is 

 also done in the same month. In |)onunica. good results 

 have followed sowing in Septendjer. In the West Indies 

 a period of from four to six months is necessary from the 

 time of sowing seed to gathering the crop. Some American 

 varieties, however, will ripen in three months or .so. 



Little cultivation is wanted for this crop except weeding. 

 It is well, however, that at the time wlien the plant is 

 aiiproaching maturity the ground immediately around should 

 be worked up, and loosened with a hoe so that the fruit may 

 easily bury itself. During growth the ]ilant requires 

 a considerable amount of moisture, but a dry condition of the 

 .soil at the time of fructifii-atifin is a necessary factor to the 

 production of a good crop of fruit. Maturity of the crop is 

 notcil by the stalks and leaves withering and turning yellow. 



In gathering the crop the plants are dug up or jndled 

 uii and dried in the sun, the nuts being afterwards detached 

 fioni the stalks by hand and exposed to the sun as long as 

 possible in order to dry them thoroughly. 



Those varieties which chieHy bear their nuts at the 

 base of the main stem entail nuieh ll•^> labour in gathering 

 the crop as compared with other varieties in which the nuts 

 occur along the trailing branches. 



Tlie yield of ground nuts appears to be very variable, 

 naturally depending to a large extent on the variety cultiva- 

 ted, the nature of the soil, and prevailing climatic condition.s. 

 In Senegal, in gr(jund prepared simply by the hoe, the yield is 

 said to be from i ton to 1 ton of nuts per acre, while in the 

 same districts, on land receiving better cultivation, manuring, 

 etc., the yield is reported tf> be as high as 4 tons per acre. 

 An average on properly prepared ground may be taken to be 

 about 1 ton per acre. This may be looked upon as the return 

 which may reasonably be expected in the West Indies. The 

 cost of cultivation of ground nuts in St. Kitt's has been 

 estimated at £1 9s. per acre. 



ANTHRAX IN ST. VINCENT. 



At a meeting of the St. Vincent Agricultural 

 and Cornmercial Society held on April 18 last, Sir 

 Daniel Morris delivered an address in which he dwelt 

 par tic ul ally upon the nece.ssity for compulsorx- vaccina- 

 tion of all the cattle in the island, if the efforts now 

 being made by the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 to stamp out the disease are to liave any chance of 

 being rewarded with success. 



The report of the Government A'eterinary Surge(.>n 

 showed that the disease was still prevalent among the stock 

 of the island and was the cause of much mortality. Stati.stics 

 showed a total of 969 deaths from August 1906 to August 

 ] 907, of which about .500 were from anthrax. Further lo.ss 

 to the island was entailed as the result of the prohibition of 

 stock importation from St. Vincent by other West Indian 

 colonies, with the exception of Barbados. 



Under pre.sent conditions, stock-owners in St. Vincent 

 could decide for themselves whether or not they would have 

 their cattle vaccinatetl, but the system of voluntary vaccina- 

 tion has proved futile. Since the introduction of the system 

 about a j-ear ago, only 5,000 animals had been inoculated 

 out of a total of 16,000 in tlie whole island. The inoculation 

 work had cost a sum of £\,.W0. It had undoubtedly 

 been the cause of a very large reduction in the nundjer of 

 deaths from anthrax, but while a number of owners refused 

 to have their stock vaccinated, it was useless to hope that 

 disease would be entirely stamped out. Vaccination was 

 free; it was attended with no harmful results to the animals, 

 and was introduced for the welfare of the island. Since it 'was 

 evident that the voluntary .system was ineffectual, legis- 

 lation making vaccination compulsory should be resorted to. 



In conclusion the Imperial Commissioner pointed oirt 

 that the subject was one vddch should receive the most 

 careful consideration from the Agricultural Society of the 

 island. Uidess inoculation was made compulsory it had been 

 decided that it wf)uld be useless to continue the efforts at 

 pre.sent made by the Dei>artmcnt to stamp out anthrax in 

 the island. The work would therefore cease, the animals at 

 the Stock Farm be removed, and the other colonies be advised 

 to act as they chose witli regard to the importation of 

 stock from St. Vincent. 



A discussion took |)lace among the members pre.sent on 

 the points raised by Sir Daniel Morris, and it was agreed to 

 convene a general meeting of the stock-owners of the island 

 and to consider the matter. It was evident that at 

 the meeting addressed by the Imperial Comnussioner there 

 was a general feeling ni favour of comi)ulsory \accination, and 

 it is hoped that those attending the meeting to be held on 

 ^[ay 13 will recogiuze the nature of the situation, and make 

 a united eflort to bring aUont this important and necessary 

 safeguard against anthrax. 



