•Vol. VII. Xo. 167. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



:301 



AGRICULTURAL WORK AT THE 



BARBADOS INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 



A detailed account of the agricultural work carried 

 on in connexion with the Industrial School at Barba- 

 dos, appears^jn the rejoort for l(]D7-8,of-tJiat. institution. 



Two )ilantation.s are worked by the boj.-i at tlie .scliool, 

 Dodds and Suinmervale respectively. -The area planted in 

 sugar-canes at Do<lds estate for the crop of 190S was 

 23i acre?.- The cr,oi) reaped in 1907 gaye air average retiun, 

 the canes reaped representing a yield! of nearly 2 tons of 

 sugar per acre. At this plantation, where the .school is 

 situated, the greater portion of the lan<l planted in sugarcane 

 is given over for the purpose of ex|jei'inients with different 

 varieties of cane, and niannrial trials, carried on under the 

 direction of the Imperial Department of Agriculture. At 

 Summervale plantation the area planted in canes for the crop 

 of 1908 is 30| acres. In 1907 the average crop of canes 

 reaped was 22 tons per acre. This represents a retuiii <if 

 a little under 2 tons of sugar per acre. 



In 1907 for the first time canes were sold from the 

 Industrial School plantation to a neighbouring factory instead 

 of being worked up on the estate. It has been arranged 

 that the price paid for the canes shall vary with the market 

 price of sugar. The buyer agrees to pay ll.s. ])cr ton of 

 cane when the price of dark cry.stals is $1-85 per 100 lb. in 

 the local market, aii<l when it takes 11 tons of cane to make 

 1 ton of dark crystal sugar. The cost of. delivering the canes 

 from the plantation to the factory was shared by the seller 

 and the buyer. 



During the 1907 sea.son the i>rice realized per ton of 

 canes was 13.s., approximately. This Was considered satis- 

 factory, as the canes were somewhat under average in ipiality, 

 and also in view of the fact that at the time the price of <lark 

 crystal sugar ranged between $1-97 and !f2'30 per 100 lb. 

 Since the i)rice obtained for the canes .sold in this way 

 depends in chief part upon the amount of sucrose yiehled, 

 it is evident that the provision of sui^erior crushing machinery 

 at the factory, which would ensure higher e.xtractidii, wnuM 

 result in a higher price being paid to the grower. 



At Dodds estate in 1907 about 3 acres were planted 

 in Sea Island cotton. The yield obtained was not a high one, 

 but the lint commanded a satisfactory price. At Sunnner- 

 vale plantation al)ont 30 acres of cotton were reaped in 1907, 

 and the price of about £13 per acre was obtained for the 

 lint. ISIost of the seed was fed to the oxen. iVlthough the 

 crop was grown under unfavourable weather conditions, and 

 was severely attacked by pests of various kinds, the result 

 ■was still financially renutnerative. Attention is drawn in the 

 report to the fact that there has been a deterioration in the 

 amount of seed-cotton yielded per acre each year since 1900. 

 While the average figure in the later year was about 1,100 Itj., 

 in 1906 it was about 915 ft., and in 1907 only .590 lb. This 

 suggests a probable deterioration in the seed, and emphasizes 

 the importance of selecting and growing only the very best 

 seed, with a view to improving both the quality and the 

 quantity of the lint. 



A fairly large area of provision crops, suc-h as sweet 

 potatos and yams, were grown at the school. Twenty-fo\u- 

 acres of sweet potatos planted in 1906 realizeil £7 16.s. per 

 acre. A slightly smaller acreage was planted in 1907. The 

 crop sutt'ered from attack by the larvae of the potato beetle, 

 which undoubtedly caused a shortage in the return. About 

 9 acres of yams were also planted, the value of the return 

 being about £9 per acre, as compared with £12 per acre in 

 1900. The Superintendent of the Industrial School remarks 



that the yam crop is one that deserves more attention tluui in 

 generally paid to it in Barbados. 



During the year the system w.as continued of allotting to 

 the boys small garden plot.^ for cidtivation during their play 

 hours. The results that have been obtained are s; tisfactory, 

 and the boys usually earn si^iall sums of pockei Mi'.jey from 

 the vegetables grown on the.se plots and afterwards Hold. These 

 vegetables include eschalotts, beans, ground mils, melons, 

 etc. : 



Some labour-saving implements have been obtained 

 during the season rejjorted i)n, since the boys were unable 

 themselves to carry out all the work on the p'antations. The 

 implements purchased are 2 seed planters, 1 potato digger, 

 and 3 mould board plouglis, at a total cost of £13 8-s. 4d. 

 These implements have not been on trial for a long period, 

 but it may be said that the 2 seed planters have so far proved 

 entirely satisfactory. One is a miniature plough with seed 

 box, and can be drawn by a mule or donkey. It cuts the furrow 

 and drops and covers the Beed, all at the same time. This 

 implement, which was obtained as a .second-hand one fiom 

 Messrs. H. E. Thome & Son, Ltd., planted practically the 

 whole of the cotton crop at Summervale plantation, and not 

 only saved labour, but it was pleasing to see the regular spring 

 of the seed : two boys were employed in working it when drawn 

 by a mule. The other seed planter has also been a success 

 for planting cotton. This 's a small machine which wmII, if 

 properly handled, plant cotton more eft'ectively and cheaper 

 than is usually done on plantations. 



The potato digger is being made good use of and saves 

 labour considerably where, as is the case here, potatos have 

 to be dug for consumption at the institution. 



The mould board ploughs have also laeen used in milking 

 furrows for turning in green dressing and farmyard manure, 

 and in this way they save manual labour. 



It is hoped with implements of this sort, not only t(.i try 

 and improve the methoils of cultivation, but also to cheapen 

 the cost, and at the same time to turn the laljour of the boys 

 to better account, and rerluce expenditure in hired labour. 



INCREASING CAMPHOR PRODUCTION. 



A considerable amount of interest has of late been 

 shown in camphor cultivation by planters in certain liritish 

 colonies, and the latest is.sue of the Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Institute (Vol. VI, No. 2) contains a short article reviewing 

 the recent advances that have been made in the production 

 of this article. 



In 1907 tlie world's consumption of camphor was esti- 

 mated at about 10,600,000 ft. About 70 per cent, of this 

 ipiantity was utilized in celluloid manufacture, 15 per cent. 

 in the preparation of disinfectants, etc., 13 per cent, in 

 medicinal preparations, while the remaiiung 2 per cent, 

 was utilized in the manufacture of explosives. 



The area under camiihor cultivation in Ceylon is extend- 

 ing, an<l plantations of the camphor laurel have of late years 

 been established in the Federated Malay States. In the 

 United States experiments in the growth of the tree are in 

 progress in Michigan, Florida, and California. India and 

 German East Afi'ica are other parts of the world in which it 

 is ho]»ed to develop a camphor industry. 



Increa.sing sup|ilips of the product, too, may be expected 

 from China and Japan. Formosa has in the past been the 

 chief .source of .supply, and in 1907 produced 5,388,918 ft., 

 as against 1,040,838 ft. in 1900. The progress that is being 

 made in China in this connexifin may be judged from the 

 fact that while the exports from Foochow in 1905 amounted 

 to 4,805 cwt., they had increased in 19(10 to 13,585 cwt. 



