178 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 13, 1908. 



:months from April 1 to September 30, 1907, indicate 

 a still greatei' rate of decline on comparison with the 

 corresponding period for the previous year. From April 

 to September 1906, the quantity of rice brought into 

 the colony from foreign sources aggregated 3,609,8.54 Ih., 

 ^vhile for the corresponding period of 1907, the iiiipoi ts 

 ireached only l,4.55,8(i.5 lb. 



In view of the fact that there is a Customs duty 

 ■of 35c. per 100 lb. of rice brought into British Guiana, 

 it is evident that the decline in the imports necessarily 

 causes a corresponding decrease in the revenue receipts. 

 It is understood, however, that the intention of the Gov- 

 ernment of the colony is to give the rice industry a fair 

 chance of development, before attempting to impose 

 any tax with the object of compensating the Public 

 Treasury for the loss sustained on the import duties. 

 It may be mentioned; too, that this loss is probably not 

 so grea* as it may seem, since the rice industry is of 

 immense value to the colony, and its nourishing condi- 

 tion is the source of a large measure of public pros- 

 iperity. 



The decline in the imports indicates that the local 

 demand is being increasingly met by the home-grown 

 product, but during the past few years British Guiana 

 has also developed an e.xtensive export trade in rice. 

 The chief shipments are made to the British Wesr, 

 Indies, and to the French and Duti'h Gui:inas. Kice 

 was first exported from the colony in 1902-3, when 

 shipments were made, amounting to 10,.50() lb , of the 

 value of $290-04. In I i)()4-r), the ex|.oits ucie iil:22ri, 

 of the value of Sl,709-44, while in l9{)(i-7 they learhed 

 3,474,512 lb., of the value of S89,07.S. From Jauu;uT 

 to December li)07, the total exports of rice from 

 British Guiana reached 4,1S(),(I()() 11,^ 



The chief kind of rice grown in IJritisli Guiana is 

 ■a native variety Unovvn as 'ereole' rice. Trials nn\ 

 being carried on in the colony, under the direction of 

 Professor Harrison, C.M.d, with several impelled vaiie- 

 ties of rice, chieHy from (Ceylon. Seventy-nine varieties 

 were tried in 1906-7. The native rice came out well 

 in eoiup.arison, but was exceeded, in poiiii el yu'ld. 

 by six of the im])orted varieties. 



The Ceylon Upland rice, variety No. 6, gave the 

 ■highest yield of all the kinds tested (39 bags of paddy 

 per acre, as against 36 bags yielded by the ereole rice). 

 Ho. 6. and the variety No. 4, also a Ceylon Ifpi.ind rice, 

 are mentioned as being suitable for the local t.rade. 

 Re[)oits have been publisheil on ihe ri'sults of these 

 ■ experiments, showing the periods of growth ol the ditVer- 

 ent kinds, yields in bags of paddy per acre, aud their 



milling qualities where possible. Seed paddy of the 

 best varieties, too, is distributed to bona fide riw' plant- 

 planters on application. The ])lanters p;iy only the 

 cost of packing andlcarriage. 



The development of a proper system of irrigation 

 is necessary in many districts, in order to obtain the 

 best results with th^ rice crop. But, as was pointed out 

 by the Hon. B. Howell Jones ( West Indian Bulletin, 

 Vol. VIII, p. LS8), difHcalties in this direction can be 

 largely overcome l)y care in regard to the season of 

 planting and the variety chosen. If early ripening 

 varieties, such as the Carolina Golden Grain, Honduras, 

 and Dwarf Japan, are ])lanted, the crops will be reaped 

 one or two months earlier. 



Extensive experiments carried out in different 

 parts of India and Ceylon indicate that the best returns 

 from the rice crop are always obtained when the seed 

 is sown in nursery beds, and seedlings transplanted to 

 the field when about five or six weeks old. This is 

 the method generally followed in British Guiana, and 

 trials have also proved that planting carefully selected 

 single plants at one hole gives better results than are 

 obtained when two or three seedlings are planted at 

 a hole. 



The natural conditions of many parts of British 

 Guiana are so suitable for rice growing, and the early 

 stages of the industry havi' been attended with such 

 satisfactory results, that, provided a sufficiency of labour 

 is assured, there is every reason to anticipate that the 

 culliv.-ition will develo|) into one of the most stable and 

 remunerative industries of the colony. It is unlikely 

 that its progress will be hampered by want of labour, 

 sinci' the cult ivalion is so largely cariied on liv East 

 Indians, who have a good knowledge of rice grov/ing, 

 and readily take it up on every available spot of land. 

 At jiresent, the industry is more handicapped by the 

 waul of capital and suitable organization. Until these 

 requisities are supplied, the methods of planting, reap- 

 ing, and handling the crop must necessarily remain 

 more or less primitive .uid wasteful for want of suitable 

 appliances, and the full measure of success cannot be 

 attained. 



In connexion with the extension of the industry, 

 it is worthy of nqte that an export trade in rice meal, 

 ,1 by-product in nee production and a valuable feeding- 

 stutf for c.-iti,le, is being developed in British Guiana, 

 from January to May 1908, 1,050 tons of rice meal 

 were exported, as compared with 111 Ions shipped 

 (luring the corresponding period of 1907. 



