1^8 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 13, 1908, 



GLEANINGS. 



Jfr. .Tohii Iv. Buvell, F.L.S., F.t'.S., Agricultural Super- 

 iiitfiidi'iit of l!itrl)ii(l(is, left for England oti June 2, by 

 It. M.S. ' TrtMit,' on six months' leave of absence. 



Tlie whole of the 1907-8 eottoii crop of Nevis has now 

 been gathered, and is estimated to have yielded 160,000 Bj. 

 of lint, as compared with 7-'i,()07 It), obtained in 1906-7. 



Seed, specially selected from cotton gr-own at Stirling 



I'lantation, I'.arbado.s, can now be obtained, at 12c. per It)., 

 from the iUrbados Co-operative CJotton Factory, Limited. 



The expoits of rubbei' finn) i'.razil in 1907 amounted to 

 .■?6, 489 tons, of which the t'nited States took 16,811 tou.s, 

 (Ireat ISritain 1 t,.i.5.'! tons, France 2, -"'06 tons, and ( Jermany 

 ■2,.'!ol tons. 



I'Vom January 1 to the end of May of the present year, 

 171,4S9 It), of balata were shipped from Briti.sh Guiana, as 

 coini)arcd with 17o,r)7() Itj. e\))oitrd during the corres[)onding 



period of 1907. 



Ily kind permission of the Hon. ]•'. J. Clarke, C.M.'l., the 

 ,\ttorney, a ploughing match and show of stock and sugar will 

 be held at I'oole Plantation, St. John, on June 21:, under the 

 iiuspices of tlie I'.arbados Agricultural Society. 



Tn Natal the cidtivatioii of the sugar-cane is carried on 

 over an area of about 4.^,000 acies, and affords employment 

 to some 200 Europeans and nearly 10,000 Indians and 

 natives. [ItitifiintiiDKil Siiiiar Jaiirnnl, May 1908.) 



'I'lie amount of produce ex[)orted from I'.aibado.s, fron> 

 I 111- cominencenn/nf of the crop .sea.son up to .May 2.") last, 

 reached 14, .531 tons of sugar and .■t4,0.'!.5 puncheons of 

 laolasse.s, as compared with 16,556 tons of sugar ami 40,7-">9 

 puncheons of moliisses for the corresponding peiiod last year. 



'I'l'a fiom Jaxii is rei)orted as having much improved in 

 ipiidity and manufacture during recent years, ami the best 

 .siimples are now (|uite e(pial to the tine.^t Indian and Ceylon 

 tea. Java tea i.s exported chietly to the I'nited Kingdom, 

 iJussia, iind (iermany. (Mritish Consular Iti/Kirt.) 



'I'lie (piantity of pliiut:ition rutiber e\p(iilrd licnn the 

 Eeilcrateil Malay States dui-ing the months of .January and 

 February 190.s,"was 468,395 It)., compared with 270,(552 It), 

 expoi'ted during the corresfionding i)eriod of 1907. 'I'his 

 represents an increase of 73 per cent. 



Samples of lemon grass oil pre|)areil at the (lovemnient 

 Laboratory, liarbado.s, have recently been forwaided by the 

 Imperial Comnu.ssioner of Agriculture to dealers in London 

 for examination and report. The gra.ss was grown at liarba 

 dos from .seed iiniiorted from Cochin. 



In Portfi liico the Barbados Cherry {Mnljiiiiliin i//ii/>r(iy 

 is proving of considerable merit for making jellies. The tree 

 bears .several crops a year ; those at the Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Statioji are reported as having so far borne one heavy 

 and two liiiht croj)S eacfi^eason. l^Exjierimcnt Station liejiarty 

 1907.) 



The .Agricultural Instructor of Nevi.s, writing at the end 

 nf .\pril, reported thatjall old cotton plants on estates in the 

 island were being [julled up and .burnt. It was hoped to 

 atteiniit earlier planting of cotton seed this year (in May 

 and June, if i)0ssible) : but, owing to lack of rain, prepara- 

 tion of the land was difficult with manual labour. 



I'rofes.sor Harrison, CM. G., in a recent letter to tht- 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture, reports that the- 

 various rubber trees planted at the Experiment Station and 

 on the farms in the North-Western District are doing very 

 well, and showing raj)id growth. About 120,000 trees have 

 been planted during the past two or three years. 



A heifer imported into St. ^'illcelit from Nova Scotia 

 in September 1907. when only twenty-two months old, gave 

 birth to a bull calf at the .Agricultural School, in May last. 

 It is not usually considered advi.sable to lireed at such an early 

 age, but the heifer is now doing well and yielding nearly 3.'. 

 gallons of nnlk per day, and primuses to develop info- 

 a valuable animal. 



Praedial larceny has been very prevalent in Jamaica of 

 late, and nearly all tlie Branch .\gricnltural Societies in 

 the island have passed strong resolutions urging the amend- 

 ment of the law on the subject. In regard to the freijuency 

 of theft f>y children, it is asked that attendanre at .school be- 

 made compul.sory, on the groiiiMl that -educatioir would be one 

 of the surest remedies for the practice. 



Particulars cuiitaineil in an article i:i the luir liiillcliii 

 (No. 3, 1908) indicate that increasing attention is being 

 given to banana cultivation in Egypt. The most important 

 kind grown is the Chinese or Canary Islands banana {Miisa 

 ('iir'iiilixhii). On good soil the plants niiiy occupy the 

 ground for six years. The cultivation is reported as being 

 very lucrative. 



.Messrs. Macfarlane, .lunior iV Co., of St. Lucia, not long 

 ago i.ssued a circulftr letter to planters and I'lhers in the 

 colony, stating their intention to start the lultivation of Sea 

 Lland rntton nn an extensive .scale on llie llalemboiiche 

 estate, and also to erect a ginnery at Castries. They invite 

 tlte co-operation and support of other planter.-- in St. Lucia. 

 Messi-s. Mai-failam- have engaged Mr. W. E. Stephens, a well 

 known cotton |)lanter of St. Vincent, as manager of their new 

 enterprise. 



'i"he .{■irifiillni-dl l.nl'jcr (No. 5, 1907) ileals with the 

 seeds and oil of the .^lexican poppy (Ari/tiiioin'iiK-.riciiiiti), which 

 is a t-onimon weed in the West Indies, belonging to the order 

 Paiiaverai-eae. The plant is well known t)y its yellow flowers, 

 prickly leaves with white veins, ami the yellow juice that 

 exudes when the plant is broken. The seed.s contain about 

 36 per cent, of oil which is much u.sed in medicine in India. It 

 is applied as a liniment, and also serves as an emetic and an 

 aperient. Tin- oil is further used for mixing paints, and for 

 burning in the lamps of Indian temples. [t is, however, not 

 suitable for food purposes. 



