Vol. VII. Xo. 168. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



307 



BARBADOS PEASANTS" AGRICULTURAL 



SHOW. 



The ninth annual Peasants' Show of Agricultural 

 Produce and Live Stock to be held at Barbados, will 

 take place at Mo.unt plantation, St. George, on Decem- 

 ber 9 next, by kind permission of the Attorney, the 

 Hon. G. Laurie Pile, M.L.C. Referring to the value of 

 these annual exhibitions, the Barhudos Bulletin of 

 September 25 writes: — 



On the occasion of the last peasants' show, held at 

 Applewhaites in December 1907, the Imperial Commissioner 

 of Agriculture bore testimony to the distinct advances that 

 have been made in the class of articles sent in since the shows 

 were started, and he expressed the hope that the local 

 Cldvernment would see its way to come to the assistance oF 

 the Department of Agriculture by providing the funds for 

 the i)rizes, which would no longei- be available from Iniiierial 

 .sources in conseuuence of the reduction of the grant. We 

 are pleased to tind that the Government has recognized the 

 good work which has been done in this direction, and has 

 shown its jjractical appreciation thereof by acting upon 

 Sir Daniel Morris' suggestion, thus ensuring the continuance 

 of these local exhibition.s, which have now come to be hioked 

 forward to as regular annual fixtures among the class tor 

 which they are principally intended. 



The prize list is of the usual kind, including prizes for 

 the best exhibits of jjlants grown in schr>ol gardens and in 

 pots or boxes, etc.. by pupils attending elementary st-hools. 

 Diplomas of merit are oftered by the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture for com[ietition among large cultivators as 

 follows ; For the best stool f>f sugar-canes, best collection of 

 yams, best collection f>{ sweet potatos, best collection of 

 eddos, best collection of Indian corn, best collection of 

 Guinea corn, best sample Sea Island seed-cotton of not less 

 than 25 lb., best crate of dwarf bananas packed for shipment, 

 best crate of onions packed for shipment, and best bunch of 

 plantains. 



CULTIVATION OF ENGLISH POTATOS 



AT MONTSERRAT. 



Some experiments in the growth of English 

 potatos were carried out at Montserrat in 1907, under 

 the direction of tiie Curator of the Botanic Station. 

 The following particidars as to the results obtained 

 are given in the Aniriud Report (I907-(S) on the work 

 of the Botanic Station : — 



A small plot of English potatos was iilanted on 

 October 18 on St. George's Hill, Montserrat. It was intended 

 to plant a larger area, but a number of the sets were 

 lost through decay before planting. The potatos were 

 grown at an elevation of about GOO feet. The land was 

 carefully prepared by pickaxing and was manured. The area 

 |)lanted was ^^ acre. The rows were 2 feet apart, and the 

 sets 9 inches apart in the row. Thirty pounds of sets were 

 used. The jiotatos were dug up on December 3, and the crop 

 yielded weighed 13.^ lb. ' Bli.ss Triun)ph ' was the variety 



p!a7i 



ted. 



The jilot was replanted with the sets reaped in Decem- 

 lier, after the jjotatos had conunenced to sprout. In tins case 

 the rows were placed as before, 2 feet apart, but the sets 

 instead of 9 inches apart were planted at distances of 4 inches 

 from rach other. The amount i>f potatos reaped was 145 B). 



A plot was also grown at Grove Station, and planted in 

 February, with some of the potatos reaped from St. George's 

 Hill in December. The area was -^^ acre and the yield of 

 potatos was 180 ft. 



In each of these three cases the amount of potatos 

 yielded unght be considered satisfactory. The potatos 

 individually were small, and the quality was inferior, being 

 somewhat " watery ' in character. 



Alongside the last mentioned plot at Grove Station, three 

 rows of an acclimatized potato were planted. This variety, so 

 far as the writer can ascertain, has been growing in Montser- 

 rat for more than twenty year.s, and its cultivation 

 is carried on in a small way in the Molyneux district. It is 

 a clean-skinned, white potato, loundish-oval in shape, with 

 shallow eyes. The tubers ate very small and seldom reach the 

 size of a hen's egg. They grow quite as vigorously as the 

 imported sets and occasionally bear flowers. In this case 

 a row 207 feet in length was i)lanted and yielded 70 lb. of 

 tubers. 



STOCK FEEDING AT THE GOVERN- 

 MENT FARM, TRINIDAD. 



In his latest A iniwil Report (1907-8) the managei- 

 of the Trinidad Government Stock Farm calls attention 

 to the value of cocoa-nut meal, cotton- seed meal, and 

 rice meal as food-stutfs for cattle. The following 

 is quoted from Mr. Meaden's report : — • 



Cocoa-nut meal is our own production in Trinidad, and 

 when fresh this material has exceptional value for feeding 

 purposes to all kinds of animals. The rough, undecorticated 

 cotton-seed meal can be obtained from the cotton-growing 

 islands of the West Indies. It is useful for milking cows, 

 working oxen, and estate cattle generally, and for these latter 

 it should take the place of imported oil meal, since it has- 

 a better and cheaper food value, while the manure produced 

 by animals fed on cotton-seed meal is also of superior value. 



Rice meal, importeil from British Guiana, is the refuse 

 from the rice grown in that colony, and is obtained on 

 milling the grain. This meal has good feeding properties, 

 is clean, sweet, and msefid for all classes of animals. Good 

 rice meal, in a fresh state, possesses similar food value to 

 bran or corn meal. 



A useful bulky food fed at the Government Stock Farm 

 to growing oxen at grass, and one which improves their 

 weif'ht and condition, consists of a mixture of banana leaves- 

 and stalk, with Guinea grass and Para grass, the whole 

 choi)pod up by means of a chart' cutter, and with i tt). 

 molasses, and i lb. cotton-seed meal added for each head of 

 oxen. This is' an economical nuxture, and one which was 

 readily consumed by the oxen, the results which followed 

 being very satisfactory. 



T'he use of green bananas as food for stock has been 

 increased as much as ])ossible at the Government Farm. 

 During the year (iO,000 lb. of bananas were grown and 

 turned into fotxl for the vari<;ius animals — cooked for pigs, 

 chopped fine and added to the rations for the calves, and also 

 sometimes included in those of the oxen and growing steers. 

 All animals are extremely fond of the green fruit, which 

 forms an economical and nutritious addition to their diet. 

 Sliced and dried, the bananas make a good food for poultry 

 and sick animals. 



