ToL. VII. No. 160. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



185- 



Proposed Experiment Station at St. Oroix. 



Following upon the introduction and development 

 •of the cotton indu.str)' at St. Croix, a desire has arisen 

 among the cotton and sugar planters of the island for 

 the estahlishnit'iit of an AgricultiiP.ii Experiment Sta- 

 tion in their midst, under the guidance of a scientific 

 and practical man, who should l>e specially qualified to 

 promote the interests of the cotton industry, and to 

 give advice and assistance in regard to the several pests 

 affecting cotton. It is thought, too, that valuable ser- 

 vice could be rendered to the colony by such an officer 

 in the institution of a series of sugar-cane experiments. 



The establishment of such a station with the 

 necessary officers, and probably branch stations at 

 •St. Thomas and St. John, would naturally be somewhat 

 ■costly at the start, but a Connnittee, appointed by the 

 Colonial Council of St. Croix, is at present enquiring 

 into the possibilities of realizing the idea. 



Plants and Coast Erosion. 



More than one species of grass belonging to the 

 genus Spartiiui. have proved themselves of great value 

 for growing on sandy or muddy shores which are 

 especially subject to erosion, the effect of the grass 

 being to bind and consolidate the soil, and so prevent 

 the wearing away of the land. In British (Juiana, 

 according to an article in the Jaarual of the Board of 

 Agriculture, Spartina hrazUiensis has been used with 

 •considerable success for preventing erosion on certain 

 <;oast estates in the colony. The grass is plantetl in 

 rows feet apart, and 2 feet apart, in the row.s. The 

 plants root firmly, and soon extend to meet each other. 

 If Covered by mud washed over them, they soon grow 

 through it again. It is .<tated that on the estates in 

 •question, mangrove seedlings are planted in the gra.ss 

 -as soon as the latter is firmly established, and these 

 mangrove? ultimately form dense thickets that effectu- 

 ally prevent further erosion. 



Rainfall at Antigua. 



Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G., has forwarded ;i fable 

 showing the monthly r.iinfall returns from seventy 

 rStations at Antigua during 1907. The mean rainfall 

 for the year, from all the stations, was 4.S4o inches. 

 The station at which the highest fall,' 6.540 inches, was 

 recorded is Wallings (Dam), while \\'Jillings (Hill), and 

 •Cochranes and Thomas' came second and third with 

 Tain falls of tiO 92 and 6060 inches respectively. The 

 least rainfall experienced at any station, 2620 inches, 

 was recorded at Cocoa-nut Hall, while the next lowest, 

 .32"6o inches, occurred at Collins. September was the 

 month in which the greatest amount of rain fell, 7"15 

 inches being recorded as the mean of all the stations 

 during that month. The rainfall of October, (iKi inches, 

 was the next highest. ]\Iarch, with only 0'.5-5 inches of 

 rain, was the driest month, February eoming next in this 

 respect, with 1 84 inches. The average rainfall for the 

 past thirty-four years has been 4.57.5 inches, so that the 

 .rainfall for 1907 was 2-30 inches below the average. 



Insurance of Cultivations against Hurricane. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture has 

 received a copy of a circular letter sent by Messrs. 

 Henry Head.& Co., Insurance Brokers, of London, to 

 the Leeward Islands, and containing particulars of 

 premiimis payable for insuring buildings, and crops 

 under cultivation against loss by gales and hurricanes. 

 This sul)ject was fifjly discussed in the Agrieultaro.l 

 iV«((;.s(Vol. V, p. 129). 



Premiums for the insurance of cacao and lime 

 cultivations in the Leeward Islands are at the rate 

 of 2 per cent. (40.s\ per cent.). For the insurance 

 of cocoa-nuts the premium charged is 2i (50s.) per 

 cent. In the above cases, full value is paid in case 

 of damage, and when no claim is made at the expira- 

 tion of the policy, a return of } (5s.) per cent, 

 is made. There is a special scheme of insurance for 

 cotton during the hurricane months — July, August, 

 September, and October. The value of the cotton crop 

 is taken at £10 an acre, and on paj'ment of a premium 

 of 1 per cent. (2s. per acre), a planter is entitlefl to 

 ■i7s. 6«/.i if hia cotton is damaged in July, 42.s. 6'/. if it 

 is damage* I in August, -ios. for loss caused by hurricane 

 in September, and 60.'^. for loss in October. On pay- 

 ment of a prmiium of 11 per cent. (Ss. per acre) 

 a planter is entitli-d to a correspondingly higher rate 

 of compensation. 



Agricultural Education in Trinidad. 



Instruction'in the principles of agriculture, com- 

 bined with school garden work, is being carried on in 

 a large number of the elementary schools of Trinidad 

 with very promising results. It has been suggested, 

 however, that in order to secure the best results in 

 agricultural trainuig for the youths of the colony, the 

 establishment of a .system of compulsory education will 

 prol)ably be necessary. Under existing conditions, most 

 boys and girls leave school at about thirteen or fourteen 

 years old, just at the time, in fact, when the\' might enter 

 upon a course of training in agricultural work with the 

 greatest advantage to themselves. The uselessness of 

 attempting to give instruction in agriculfural science to 

 boys before they have reached the aboveage wascommen- 

 ted u[ion by Profes.sor Carmody in a recent report on 

 the work done at the Queen's Royal College, and the 

 same thing practically applies to the elementary sehooLs, 

 where, however, the teaching is more agricultural than 

 scientific. 



The general provision of courses of instruction, such 

 as will interest .md inform the youth of the island in the 

 principles underlying the cultivation of cacao, sugar, 

 and other crops, is a matter of first importance in an 

 agricultural colony such as Trinidad. The establish- 

 njent in the island, of one or more Agricidtural 

 Schools similar to those started b}- the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and 

 Dominica, would be most valuable, and that there 

 would be suitable openings for the youths trained at the 

 .school is evident from the fact that several lads from the 

 above schools have found employment on Trinidad 

 estates. 



