252 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



Au.JusT 8, 1908. 



GLEANINGS. 



Tobacco cultivation in Ireland is making progress. Tlie 

 production lias increased from 7,3.5.'! ft. in 190fi-7 to 68,fil2 t). 

 in 1907-!!;. 



Two experiment plots of Sea Island cotton have been 

 laid out on the Balembouche estate, St. Lucia, and persons 

 residing in the neighbourhood, and all who may think of 

 taking up cotton growing in the island, are invited to inspect 

 these plots. {Voice of St. Lucia.) 



The Ayshire Jiull ' (;ipsy Staiof liellevue ' stands for 

 service at the Agricultural School, Union, St. Lucia. Kee 2.<. 

 per .service. Stock-owners in St. Lucia may be reminded 

 that the Ayshire breed of cow.s stands in the very first rank 

 as milk producers, while the animals also possess good beef- 

 prodncing capacity. 



From the beginning of the sea.son uj) to .Inly .'!() last, 

 there were e.xportinl from Bf;rbados 28,313 tons uf sugar and 

 47,474 puncheons of molasses, as compared with L'T.T'l'.l tons 

 of sugar and .59,021 i)uncheons of molasses, slii|i|i(/d during 

 the corresponding period of 1907. 



At a recent meeting of the Stewai-d Town iiranch of the 

 Jamaica Agricultural Society, it was stated that a. peiniy bank, 

 started in (-onncxidu with the branch in March last, had made 

 very good progress, and already £'1X had been dcpositi'd. 

 (JaiiiHicn 7'ctcc/i;i/i//, .July 2, 19(),S.) 



Tlif pure bled Ayrshire bull ' I )ida' of Truro II,' four 

 years old, and now stationed at the Stock Farm, Agricultural 

 School, St. Vincent, is ottered for .sale. 'I'he ])urchaser nuist 

 enter into an agreement to keep tjie animal at St. Vincent for 

 a period of at least two years, and not to charge more than i.t. 

 per service. Otters will be received by the Acting Agricultural 

 Superintendent. St. \'inccnt. 



In the tobacco experiments carried out in Hawaii 

 during 1907 about ;3i acres were under cultivation, and a 

 crop of 3,000 lb. of tlie cured leaf was secured from this 

 area. The best tobacco gi'own was the Sumatra, although 

 the Cuban grades are also reported to have been of excellent 

 quality. About 7 bales of the tobacco were distributed 

 in small ipiantities to dealers in the I'nited States and Mnroiie. 



The fact that the C'ubau sugar cro)) of 190(S was short 

 by about 500,000 tons, while the young canes planted ioi- 

 the crop of 1909 have surt'ered considerably from the same 

 cause, has brought u|i the i|uestion of the |H>ssibility of 

 irrigation on the sugar lands of the island. The Loinsiiinn 

 Planter recently stated that various measures for the 

 improvement of agricultural conditi(iri.s, including .schemes of 

 irrigation, are under consideration b\ the .Administration of 

 Cuba. 



The rice .shipment from Cochin-China (French) for the 

 year 1907 amounted to 1,026,500 tons, this being an increase 

 of 481,200 tons as compared with the exports of the previous 

 year. In addition, 153,677 tons of broken rice and rice flour 

 were shijiped during 1907. Itather more than half the rice 

 cx[iorts were shipjied to China. 



The exports of fruit from Jamaica to New Voi'k .showed 

 a healthy increase during 1907. The bulk of the .lainaica 

 banana crop goes to the States, the exports to that country 

 during 1907 having reached l,254,O0O stems. Shipments 

 of oranges to the States,, however, declined considerabl}-, the 

 crop being mainly sent to the I'nited Kingdom and to Canada. 



A large increase in ;the quantity of ground nuts usually 

 imiiorted into Marseilles took })lace in 1907. The ijuantity 

 imported from Coromandel alone reached 1,385,000 bag.s, 

 and prices obtained by producers kept at a satisfactory figure. 

 (Iround-nut oil is largely used for soap making in the south 

 of France, where, for this purpo.se, it is j)referred to cotton- 

 seed oil. (British Consiilar Report.) 



Pros|iects for the autumn rice crop in liritish Guiana 

 still remain good, according to recent report.s, and v.ith a 

 continuance of suitable weather a record crop is anticipated, 

 although the harvest is likely to be later than last year. Bice 

 shipments from British Guiana to the West Indian Islands 

 foi- tlie forcnigiit ending .Inly 24 last am<iunted to 1,40(1 bags. 



By an amendment recently made to the Customs Tariff" 

 of St. Kitt's-Xevis, it is provided tint insecticides and 

 fungicides which are certified by the Superintendent of Agri- 

 culture as lieing suitable for agricultural use, are to be 

 admitted into the presidency duty free. The same Ordinance 

 also provides that cotton seed, whether whole or crushed 

 into meal, is also to be admitted free of duty. 



In his report on the fruit in(ln.--tiy during 111117. the lirit- 

 isli Consul at .Mahiga (Spain) states that the yield of lemons 

 was a poor one, the total crop amounting to about 100,000 

 cases, of which 40,000 cases were .shipped to (!reat Britain. 

 Tlie prices received vaiied from 8.< to 17.<. (average price lO.-.-. 

 (i'/. ) per ca,sc, the grower paying freight. Bitter oranges are 

 exported to Great Britain, via Seville, a return of about 10s. 

 per ca.se being obtained, but coin])!aints were made that the 

 market during 1907 was not a ifood one. 



With the oliject of conveying useful information 

 c<incerning the various phases of cotton cultivation, the 

 (ieorgia State t'ollegc .some months ago organized a ten days' 

 course of instruction for cotton growers from all parts of the 

 Stale. Till' iiiinibcr who took advantage of this course was 

 |IM. I.ertiires oil cultivation, manuring, treatment of 

 fungoid and insect [lest.s, .seed .selection, and ginning and baling 

 the ]>ro<luce were given each morning, and tlie.se were 

 supplemented by |iraclica:P-^vork in the afternoon. 



The infestation of clover and alfalfa crops by the para- 

 sitic [ilant 'dodder'and the' severe loss caused thereby through- 

 out many parts of the I'nited States have demanded .special 

 attention from the Deiiartinent of .Vgricultnre during the 

 past year. Of late years the presence of dodder has been more 

 noticeable in many countries, and the International Seed 

 Control C'ongre.ss held at Handiurg towards the end of 1906 

 pointed out to the governments reiiresentcd, the necessity of 

 taking stei>s to exterminate the jiest. The dodder is a species 

 of Cnsciitu, and a near relative of tin' 'Love \'ine' of the West- 

 Indies. 



