236 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 25, 1908- 



GLEANINGS. 



A quantity of Castilloa rubber seed is now ready for 

 •distribution at tlie Dominica Botanic Station, and planters 

 in tlic island can obtain supplies free on application. 



Six hundred Para rubber ])lants {llcvea hnnilii-mis), 

 growing in bamboo pots, are on sale at the Botanic Station, 

 Dominica. Price M. jier plant. Application should be made 

 to Curator, Botanic Station. 



The Tobago correspondent of the M'cst India ('unnnitttc 

 ■Circular reports that several iilaiiters in the island are 

 taking up tobacco culture in the hope of develoijing a profit- 

 uble industry. 



The shipment of bananas taken from Surinam by the 

 Royal Dutch Mail Comi)any's steamer ' Saramacca ' on .May 

 30 last, comprised 87.3 bunches of nine hands, 1,;5()1 bunches 

 of eight hands, and 1,397 of seven hands. {Dtmn-ara 

 A njosi/. ) 



Mr. .1. 11. Halt, F.L.S., retired from the post of Superin- 

 tendent of the Botaitical Department, Trinidad, on .June 30 

 last, after twenty-two years' service in the colony, ilr. Fraidc 

 Evans, who was Mr. Hart's chief assistant, has been appointed 

 Acting Superintendent for the present. 



The jiritish Consul at Progreso, Mexico, reports that the 

 exportation of logwood continues on a fair scale from 

 Yucatan. The logwood is, liowever, more dithcult to obtain 

 than formerly, since the cuttings are further inland. During 

 1907 the <|uantity shipiied from Yucatan reached 3,201,107 

 kilograms [1 kilo. = 22 It).]. 



In Florida and other of the Southern States of Atnerica 

 interest in mango growing has lately been stimulated by the 

 introduction of tine tiavoured varieties of the fruit from the 

 East Indies. The 1907 report of the U.S. Secretary for 

 Agriculture states that many landowTiers are planting out 

 •orchards of the.se lately introduced kinds. 



Trials made ill (he past to grOw leguminous green crops 

 under cacao in 'J'rinidad and Grenada, with the object of 

 ■enriching the soil in nitrogen, have so far failed, since the 

 plants did not flourish under the heavy shade of the cacao 

 trees. It has been jiointed out that this may possibly be due 

 to lack of ]u-oper nitrogen-assimilating bacteria iti the .soil, 

 and an etJort is now being made by Mr.' It. D. Anstead, B.A., 

 Agricultural Superintendent of Grenada, to decide this ques- 

 tion by carrying otit cx|ieriinents in growing cowpeas, which 

 have been inoculated Avith suitable organisms, beneath the 

 shade of tJie cacao trees. 



In reference tjii.the note on the plant .l/».w Gilhtii, 

 (a native of the Congo Free State), which appeared, in the 

 Atjricidtiiral Xi irs of June 27 last, it may be mentioned that 

 a single jJant of this species was raised at the St. Yincent 

 Botanic Station, from the seed received from the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, and is now growing well in the 

 grounds of the AgricultUTal School. 



The fortnightly rice report dated July 10, of Messrs. 

 Sandbaek, Parker, .'i: Co., Georgetown, states that the light 

 showers of rain that had lately fallen were most favourable 

 to the young crop, which continues to look well, and good 

 returns are anticipated. Shipments to the AVest Indian 

 Islands during the fortnight ending July 10, amounted to 

 1,L'00 Ijags of rice. 



The President of. Venezuela has recently issued a decree 

 prohibiting the cutting down of rubber trees in the districts 

 of liio Negro and El ('aura. Rubber must be extracted by 

 means of incisions. Balata trees may be cut down in certain 

 seasons, provided two new trees are planted . for each one 

 destroyed, but the cutting of trees under eight years is for- 

 liiddcii, unless they are fully developed. 



Experiments in cotton growing are in progress in Portu- 

 guese liist Africa, and interesting results have been obtained. 

 In one case, an acre of land on the I'mbeluze river, about 

 20 miles from Lourengo Marcptes, yielded (nine months 

 after planting) 463 lb. of cotton and 1,364 lb. of seed. The 

 variety is not stated, but the lint, unpressed and .somewhat 

 discoloured, was sold in the United Kingdom at Id. per lb. 



The export of copra from Zanziliar in 1907 was not so 

 large as in 1906, beiiig 143,163 cwt. as compared with 

 l-")7,44.5 cwt. in the previous year. The value, however — 

 £137,633 — was the highest on record. The ])ricc on the 

 local market averaged 5.«. 8c/. per 3."i lb. in .January, and rose 

 to ().«. 3'/. in ^lanh. From that time there was a gradual 

 decline to l.s. 3'/. in December. (British Coiisidar liiport.') 



The nunibci- of bales of cotton imported into the Unitinl 

 Kingdom duiing the week ended .May 21, 1908, was 16,110 

 (inclu<liiig 194 bales British West Indian and 774 bales 

 British West .African). The number imported from January 

 1 of the i>resent year down to May 21 was 1,877,843 bales 

 (including ."),737 bales British West Indian and 3,405 bales 

 British West .\fri.!an). 



Refreshing showers of rain fell at llarbados <lin'ing the tirst 

 and second weeks of .Tnly, and the cane crop, which was very 

 backward as the icsult of the dry weather experienced in 

 Juiu", has cousidcralily improved in appearance. .More rain is 

 .sadly lu'cded, however, or it would seem that only a .short 

 cro|) of sugar <-an he expected. Green fodder and ])rovisions 

 are at i)resent scarce in the island and comniaml high prices. 



June wius a very dry month in liritish Guiana, the 

 average rainfall recorded being only 6 81 inches. This was 

 less than half the fall that took place in .May, viz., lG-33 

 inches. The shortage was fairly general throughout the 

 three counties, the only stations at which nmch higher 

 figures were recorded being Canal I'oldcr, West Jiank, 

 Demerara, with 15 inches of rain, and Springlantis and 

 Skeldon in Herbice, with II 49 and 1024 inches respectively. 

 For the six months ending June .'iO last, the average total 

 rainfall of Ihitish Guiana was 4791 inches, while the fall for 

 the corres[)onding six Hionths of 1907 reached 88G3 parts. 



