Vol. VII. No. 165. 



THE AGRICULTUllAL NEWS. 



•2G7 



HEADING COURSES IN PRACTICAL 

 AGRICULTURE. 



List of Books Recommended for Candidates. 



Details \vei-e given in a recent numluT of tlie 

 A(jrk-uitv.ral iVfiMvs (Vol. VJI, p. 209) uf cnurse-s ot 

 reading and e.>;aniination in praotir-al agiieultun.', which 

 the Imperial Depattnient of AgncMlliue jiroposes to 

 establish in the U'e.st Indies tor- the benefit nfovei-seers 

 and .siib-niaiiagers of estates. Below is given a list of 

 books recommended for use b}' candid itcs in ]]icpaimg 

 for these examinatioii> : — 



'Elements of Agi-ii'iiltuie,' l>y AV. iMvaiii (PuMishcd by 



.J. Murriiy), l'n. M. 

 ' Catei.-liisiu cif Agricultural Cliciiiistry,' I'V .li.iiiison 



(liulili.>htil liy lilackwdiiil A- Sons), bs. 

 'Cheniistrv of thcOanlcn,' by ^b H. Cousins (Publislierl 



l.v Macniillan), Ix. 

 'The «oii; by A. D. Hull (Pubbsliea Ijy -b Muriay), 



3*-. 6f/. 

 ' Xatni-o Teaching,' Iuii)ciial L)epartment rif Agriculture, 



is. 6(/. 

 ' Lectures to Kugar Planters,' Ini|ierial Department of 



Agriculture, \x. 

 'Sugar anil the Sugav-C'anc,' l)y Noel Deerr (Piililishcd 



by N. liodger, Altrincliani, Manchester), Tx. i'td. 

 ' Introiluctory Aboiual for Sugar Crowers,' by ])r. Francis 



Watts (Pul)lislicil by Longmans, Oieeu A: Co.), 3.s-. 6(/. 

 ' Cacao,' l,y .1. H Hart ( PuMishril l.y Davidson cV ToiUl, 



Trinidad), ;>.<. 

 'Cacao, its cultivation, botany, chemistry, and diseases,' 



by Herbert Wright (Pulilislicd by Ferguson, Colombo 



and Loudon), 7s. fi''. 

 'Tropical Agriculture,' l.>y Nicholls (PuMished by 



ifacmillanj,. 6.v. 

 'Panqihlets published I ly the Ini|icrial Department of 



.'\griculture ':-- 

 No. "). • ( leneral treatnaait of insect pests,' 4</. 

 No. 7. ' Scale insects of the Lesser Antilles,' P:nt I, b/. 

 No. 22. ' .Scale insects of the Lessor Antilles,' Part [1, 



4-/. 

 No. 17. ' General treatment of fungoid pests,' 4(/. 

 No. 29. ' Lectui'es on the Diseases of the >Sugar-cane,' 



4'/. 

 No. 4-'). ' A H C of Cotton Planting,' (»/. 

 No. 53. ' A P. C! of Umv Cultivation,' 4'7. 



Candidates should in all eases provide themselves 

 with the books given in the above list. The pamphlets, 

 etc., issued by the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 which are recommended, and also the Agrlcaltural 

 Ni'V's will be supplied free of charge on application. 

 Registered candidates at Barbados will be tnrnishcd, 

 free of charge, with copies of the annual reports (in 

 pa:nphlet form) on the Barbados sugar-cane e.vperi- 

 inent.s, while reports, also in pamphlet form, on the 

 sugar-cane experiments at Antigua, and St. Kitt's, will 

 be forwarded free to candidates in the Leeward Islands. 



The books already mentioned form a list by no 

 means exhaustive, and for further information, or for 

 purposes of reference, candidates may in addition, 

 consult any of the following volumes: — 



'The First Book of F^u-ming,' by Goodrich (Published 



by Doubleday, Page A.' I'o., New Vork). 

 'The Soil,' by S. \\. Fletcher (Published by Constable, 



London). Price 8.<. Gd. 

 'The Chemistry of the Farm,' liy 1!. Warrington 



(Published by Vinton .;■ Co.), 'Is. (W. 

 'Agricultural Physics,' by King. 

 ' Manures and }ilanuring,' by C. M. Aikman (Pulilished 



liy Itlackwood, Edinfmrgh). 

 The Farmers' Pulletins of the I'.S. Department of Agrb 



culture. (To be obtained from the Superintcudeut of 



I )oeuments, Washington ; 5c. each and [(ostage). 

 The U'lxf Iinliiiii liiilli/titi, the Quarterly Scientific 



.lounial of the Imperial Department of Agriculture 



for the West Indies. 

 'J'he Rejiorts of the West Indian Exiieriment Stations. 

 ' Cane Sugar and the process of its Manufacture in. 



Java', by H. C. Prinsen Geerligs (I'ulilished by 



N. liodger). Price S.'*. 

 'The Cotton Plant ;' liulletin No. X\. Otiice of Ivxperi- 



ment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

 'Sea Island Cotton;' Farmers' P>ulletin No •'502; 



U.S. Departnii'ut of Agrieulture. 



RICE CULTIVATION IN BRITISH 

 GUIANA. 



Certain phases of the rice industry of British 

 Guiana are commented on as follows by the Dnnerara 

 Clircniclv of July 24 last : — 



Within a few weeks rice planting on the East Coast 

 will have been completed. Although the acreage under 

 cultivation has greatly iu'^ceased this year, all the lands 

 intended for cultivation could not be cultivated owing to the 

 scarcity of rice seedlings. This scarcity is due to the fact 

 that the seedlings have not come up to expectation.s, and 

 farmers can learn a valuable lesson from this experience. 

 First, they must select the very best of seed, as on the 

 seedlings depends to a very great extent the success or 

 faUure of the cro[is. When the seedlings are strong, not 

 only do they grow with more vigour and mature earlier than 

 when they are weak, but they are also able to resist floods 

 and absence of water far better than the weak .seedling.s, the 

 greater portion of wliich onl}' result in successful crops 

 when the weather and irrigation conditions are very favour- 

 able to their growth. Another lesson is, that too many 

 •seedlings must not be put into one hole and that the plants 

 must be jjlaced at reasonable distances apart. One of the 

 rea.sons for this mistake in planting is, that many rice farmers 

 believe that the more plants they put into a hole the greater 

 yield is oljtained. This belief is a fatal mistake and is 

 a very fruitful cause of the production of blighted rice. The 

 crop this year will be reaped better than that of last year, 

 lint notwithstanding that, if rains continue till August, the 

 ijnality of the rice can be depended upon. The price of 

 paddy this year may lie higher than prices last year. The 

 sole reason for this anticipation is, that a great quantity of 

 the paddy that will be obtained is already pledged for loans 

 obtained to a.ssist the planters in their ctdtivation. At 

 present paddy can scarcely be obtained on the Coast and 

 rice is selling at some parts as high as 32c. per gallon. This 

 scarcity of paddy and consequent rise of rice will continue 

 and will be greatly intensified as time goes on, until the 

 arrival of the harvesting season of the crop. 



