348 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



October 31, 1908. 









GLEANINGS. 



The Agricultural Suiierintenilfiit of Ureiiadii writes that 

 ■a pot specimen of J'eriMcrin cliita, a ground orchid from 

 Panama, is now in flower, for the hrst time at the Botanic 

 Station, Grenada. This pUmt has been placed temporarily on 

 exhibition at the Public Library, St. George's. 



The 1907 vanilla crop of the Seychelles Islands wa-^ 

 a record one. It readied 1.400,932 Iti., and was valued at 

 £66,460. The price obtained for the jiroduct was also good, 

 being about lO.s. per fc., i\n <:o7upared with is. per If)., the 

 average price last yii-Ar.{Annii<i/, Jiip,,rt. 1U()7.) 



A first edition, amounting to 360,000 copies, of tlie 

 Yaarlidok for 1907 of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture has lately been issued. It is expected, however, 

 that the ultimate demand for this useful and interesting 

 volume will reach .500,000 copies. (.Ve/r York Tiinrs.) 



Profe.s.soi' X. L. ISriltou, Din^ctor of the Xcw York 

 Botanic Gardens, lias recently been paying a visit of botani- 

 cal research to Jamaica, with the special object of collecting 

 .specimens of ferns, rare orchiils, ami other plants growing in 

 the island. 



From the plot of spineless lime trees at the l)onuuica 

 Botanic Station a crop of ^6 barrels of fruit was obtained 

 in 1906-7, and 29 barrels in 1907-8. 'I'he plot which consists 

 of twenty-eight trees planted at distances of 12 feet by 12 feet, 

 lias received a mulch 'if leaves each year in the dry season. 



A Barbadian cow, which had just given birth to its 

 third calf, was in August l^ist purchased for the Stock Farm 

 at the St. Vincent .\gricnltural School. During the |ieriod 

 from August 3, 1907, to March .'!1, 1908, this animal yielded 

 773-1 2 gallons (7,731 -211). ) of milk, which is geiuTally regarded 

 at St. Vincent as a surprisingly good (juantity. 



The Diimrnra Vhroniflc mentions that steps are lieing 

 taken by some Hast Indian rice farmers in the colony to 

 purchase land for the erection of a co-operative rice mill at 

 .Maliaicony. In this way the rice growers concerned would 

 mill their own paddy and thus secure the profits which imw 

 go to the large milling concerns. 



The prize lisl has been rec'eived of an .\gricnltnral 

 Exhibition to be held at Nassau, ISaliamas, from February 

 24 to 26 (inclusive) of next year. There are nine classes in 

 which [)rizes, ranging in value from £\ to 2.s'., are ottered for 

 fruits, ground provisions and other vegetables, meals and 

 starches, preserves and honey, sisal fibre, tobacco, cotton, 

 .salt, and manufactured articles. 



The number of indentured East Indian coolies in 

 Jamaica on ilarch 31 last was 2,832. This section of the 

 population appears to be in a flourishing condition, as the 

 Fast Indians together own 8,41.5 acres of land, with houses, 

 the value of their^ property being £4-'?, 550, and of live 

 stock £6,992. ; 



The amount of .balala shijiped from the North- Western 

 1 )istrict of British Guiana for the year 1907-8 was 1 53,532 lb., 

 as against 149,342 Ih. exported in 1906-7. The rubber 

 exports however fell from 1,638 H). in 1906-7, to 944 lb. in 

 1907-8. Small farmers in the district are rejiorted to be 

 planting the native rubber trees {S'lji/iiiu .spp.) on their lands 

 in considerable ipiaiitity. 



The I'nrt-iif-SjHiiii (lautti- mentions that the (juantity 

 of bananas exported from Trinidad during the twelve months 

 ended June 30 last reached 61,386 bunches, as again.st 

 24,551 bunches exported in the previous twelve months. 

 The increase is veryi satisfactory, although it is stated that 

 the quantities .shipped are not yet sutticient to fill the cold 

 storage acconnnodation provided on the Royal .Mail Com- 

 pany's steamers. 



The imports of .sugar into the United States from foreign 

 countries for the twelve months ended June 30, 1908, amount 

 to 1,686,000 .short tons (of 2,000 ft.) valued at over 

 $80,000,000. This quantity does not include the sugars 

 received from Hawaii or Porto Itico. Cuba stands first on 

 the list of countries furnishing the imports, and from that 

 island 1,155,000 short tons were received. Java came .second 

 with 345,000 tons. {Lnii'miana Phtnti'r.) 



Mos(|uito destruction is being carried out in a most 

 thorough manner in ("uba. A recently issued report of the 

 chief sanitary officer of the Island states that in Havana, 

 nios(|uito breeding has practically been brought to an end, 

 since larvae were found in only one house out of 450 inspec- 

 ted. Similar good I'esiilts are reported from other provinces. 



A crop of 2 tons 18 cwt. of [irovisions, consisting of 

 yams, potatos, taiiias, peas, and bananas was produced on 

 the land cultivated in connexion with the Dominica Agri- 

 cultural School 111 the 1907-8 .sea.son. These provisions were 

 consumed at the school, and enabled a saving of £27 '2s. Sd. 

 to be made on the vote for the year. 



Practically aH the estates in British Guiana were 

 rejiorted to be busy making sugar early in October. The 

 <'aiies, however, we,re found to be drier than was anticipated, 

 and yields are more or less disappointing. Returns vary from 

 115 lb. of sucrose jier gallon of juice (75 jier cent, jnuity) to 

 1 '40 lb. sucrose (8-5 per cent, purity) jier gallon. (Dniicj-arft 

 Aiyiisi/.) 



As miMilioiieil ill the Aiirii'iilliiriil Xiu-s of Scjitember 

 2.3 last (jjage 284), the fact that the Italian Government 

 jirojiose to put a tax on lemon jiroducts cxjiorted from the 

 country has given ri.se to the hojie in .some quarters 

 that this action may result in a considerable advance in 

 the jirice of citrati' of lime on the Fiiglish market. Mr. F. A. 

 Agar, of Dominica, writes to jioiiit out, however, that since 

 this tax amounts to no more tlian about 2.<. 1(^. jier hogshead 

 of concentrated lime juice, and is only to be imjiosed under 

 certain conditions, it is hardly likely to have nuich ettcct on 

 the selling price of citrate of lime. 



