ToL. VII. Xo. 158. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



157 



~BFMiTMmUM^^0R7^ 



ST. VIXCEXT: AXJUAL llEPQETON JiOTA XIC 

 STATIOX, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, LAXD 

 .SETTLE ME XT SCHEME, A XI) GOVERXMEXT 

 VETERIXARY SURG EOX, 1906-7. ■ 



This report is more full and interesting than has been 

 the case in past j-ears, since it contains a historical account 

 •of the Botanic Station, and is well illustrated by re[)roduc- 

 tions of several photographic views. The historical jjortion 

 includes extracts from the descriptive account of the old 

 Botanic Garden (founded in 1765, and on a portion of the 

 site of which the present station stands), prepared by the 

 Eevd. Landsdowne Guilding, and published in 1825. It was 

 for the St. Vincent Botanic Gardens and the Gardens at 

 ■Jamaica, that a .special expedition was' sent to the South 

 Seas in 1790, to procure specimens of the bread-fruit tree 

 and other interesting plants. About 530 plants of ditierent 

 kinds were brought to St. Vincent as the result of this 

 expedition. The present Station was -organized in 1890. 

 Mr. W. N. Sands, the present Curator, was aiiiiointed in 

 1901. ^' 



The repiirt also contains an account of the efforts made 

 by the Imperial Department of Agriculture to assist the 

 various agricultural industries of St. \'iiicent, and the plant- 

 ing community generally. The most successful efforts of the 

 Department have been in connexion with the cotton industry, 

 which has proved particularly remunerative in St. Vincent. 

 The erection of the Central Cotton Factory in 1903-1:, at the 

 instance of the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture, with 

 the approval of tlie Secretary of State for the Colonies, may 

 be sj.ecially mentioned. This factory cost nearly £2,000 to 

 build and eipiip, and is capable of ginning 4,000 Ifi. of lint 

 in eight hours. 



Other industries, e.g., cacao, arrowroot, live stock, etc. 

 have made advances during the past nine years. While in 

 1900 the cacao exported from St. Vincent amounted only to 

 443 bags, the shipments for 1906 reached 1,129 bags, of an 

 estimated value of £3,838. 



The St. Vincent Agricultural School was started by the 

 Department in 1900, and has largely fulfilled its object. 

 The luiniber of boys on the school books average about 

 "twenty-three. 



The agricultural efforts in connexion wth the Land 

 Settlement Scheme have been under the charge of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture since the start. The Agricultural 

 Instructor devotes the whole of his time, to the work of visit- 

 ing the allotments, and giving necessary advice and help to 

 the allottees. Considerable progress has been made in plant- 

 ing permanent eco)ioniic crops on the estates, and towards 

 this end the Department has annually distributed free, a large 

 number of plants and seeds. 



Coming to the work of the year inuler review, it is men- 

 tioned that the expenditure on the Botanic Station'was £5 711 2$., 

 ■while the receipts from the sale of plants and produce 

 amounted to £21 18.<. Id. This latter figure shows a falling 

 off as compared with the receipts for the previous year, 

 ■\\hich is accounted for by the fact that increased attention to 

 • Sea Island cotton cultivation lessened the demand for other 



economic plants. This is still more noticeable when the num- 

 ber of plants distributed is compared with the number sent 

 out in the previous year. A t|tal of 10,143 was distriljuted 

 in 1906-7 as compared with 17!4043 sent out in 1905-6. 



The progress of the cotton industry during 1906-7 Ls 

 reported upon at considerable length. The work of selecting 

 and disinfecting seed was con|[nued at the Central Factory 

 and over 18,000 Hi. of seed w|re dealt with and distributed 

 to local growers. The tota^area planted with cottoji in 

 St. Vincent in 1906-7 was 1,.^3 acres, and the yield of lint 

 reached 253,704 lb., or an '-average of 175 ft. per acre. 

 Cotton plant selection experiments were undertaken on 

 several estates in the island by officers of the Department 

 during the year. 



The expenditure on the St. Alncent Agricultural School 

 during 1906-7 amounted to £565 8.«. 8d., while a sum of 

 £20 12.S-. \lil. was derived from the services of animals and 

 the sale of plants. Twenty-one boys were reported to be on 

 the school books, with two probationers. The results of the 

 half-yearly examinations held at the school were satisfactory 

 and encouraging. 



In addition to the ordinary school routine the boys 

 receive training in practical agricultural operations, such as 

 cultivating, manuring, mulching, etc. Considerable assistance 

 is also given by the boys in the work of the experiment 

 plots. During the year a fine Ayrshire bull, a grade 

 Ayrshire cow, a thoroughbred stallion horse, and a Maltese 

 donkey stallion were imported for the Stock Farm carried 

 on in connexion with the school. 



The work in connexion with the Land Settleij}ent 

 Scheme showed satisfactory progress during 1906-7. The 

 allotments at the close of the year numbered 574. Cacao 

 appears to form the chief crop planted, and it is estimated 

 that over 60,000 cacao trees are now established on the 

 estates. Other crops receiving- attention are coffee, nutmegs, 

 pepper, oranges, sugar-cane, arrowroot, cassava, etc. The 

 establishment and maintenance of a good system of wind- 

 breaks, composed of Galba trees, form an important feature 

 in connexion with the St Vincent Land Settlement Scheme. 



The report of the Government Veterinary Surgeon, 

 which is also included, deals with the period from August 19, 

 1906 (date of apiKjintment), to March 31, 1907. The sum 

 expended in connexion with the department of this officer, 

 for the above period, amounted to £386 13.s-. 9'/. Tables 

 are annexed to the report showing the number of cases of 

 anthrax that occurred in the island, and also the slock 

 mortality, etc. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial Connnissioner of Agriculture, who 

 has been paying an official visit of inspection to the 

 Leeward Islands, returned to Barbados by the E.M.S. 

 ' Eden' on May 5. 



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

 the staff of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 who has been for some weeks in St. Lucia, Antigua, and 

 Dominica, investigating the fungus diseases of plants 

 in those islands, more particularly the root disease of 

 the sugar-cane in Antigua, also returned to Barbados 

 by the same boat. 



