Vor,. VII. Xo. 170. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



349 



DOMIXICA : REPORTS ON HOTANIC STA TIOX, 

 EXRERIMKXT PLOTS AND AGRICULTURAL 

 SCHOOL, ni():-S. 



The total iiniount expenduil in connexion with the 

 Botanic Station lUirinf! the year was i;7So S.s. Of tlii.s Nuni 

 £430 wa.s provided by the local Governnient. 



The receipts from the sale of plants, seeds, and of 

 produce auiounled to £362 8s. dd., an incCease of £110 4*-. "id. 

 over the receipts of 1906-7. There has, however, been 

 a large decrease in the number of plants .?.3nt out. While in 

 1906-7, the total number distributed was 83,505, it has 

 fallen to 53,855 in the ]iast year. The falling oft' is chiefly 

 noticeable in the case of lime plants, and is in large jjart due 

 to the fact that several private nurserie.'^, have lately come 

 into existence which are helping to ;neet the local demand 

 for seedlings. 



Goo;l (u-ogress has been made in grafting cacao during 

 the year. Tliei'e are now 156 grafted plants at the Station, 

 and in additiim 146 have been distributed to various estates 

 for trial. Tlic yield of cacao obtained in the past year from 

 trees at the Station reached 70 cwt. 14 It)., and was the 

 largest crop on record, being 9i cwt. in excess of the yield 

 of 1906-7. The report on the manurial experiments with 

 cacao, which arc carried on both at the Station and in 

 country district.s, is very full, and contains a large amount of 

 data which should be of the utmost interest to cacao growers, 

 as indicating the methods of treatment which are likely to 

 give the best returns. Four additional plots, for manurial 

 experiments with this crop were started at the Station during 

 the year. 



Experiments with spineless limes are still in progress 

 and the demand for this variety of ]jlant continued steady 

 throughout the year. The advances made in the manufac- 

 ture of citrate of lime are indicated by the fact that the 

 exports of this article rose from 728 cwt. in 1906 to 

 2,388 cwt. in 1907. 



Seedlings of Para rubber (Ilei'ea >ira.ii/iensis) for .sale 

 to planter.s have been raised at the Statioh, and samples of 

 rubber, both of this kind, and from Castilloa trees, were 

 prepared and sent to London. The Para product was valued 

 at 4.5. '2d. per lb. and the Castilloa uibber at 4.s. per lb. 



There are now nineteen boys at the Agricultural School. 

 The expenditure on this institution during 1907-8 was 

 £511 O.s. 7'/., while a sum of £42 4.s-. 2d. was derived from 

 the sale of plants, poultry, and honey. , 



The land under cultivation in connexion with the school 

 is from 12 to 14 acres in extent. Part of this is planted with 

 permanent crops as limes, cacao, oranges, etc., while the ' 

 remainder-is under temporary cultivation with such crops as 

 ground nuts, bananas, fodder crops and provisions. Nearly 

 the whole of the cultivation work over this land is done by 

 the pupils, and since up-to-date methods are employed, and the 

 work includes practice in grafting, budding, pruning, etc., it 

 constitutes a valuable part of the training of the boys. 



Among the more interesting of the experiments in 



progress at the School are those with dift'erent varieties of 

 fodder crops, with cacao, and with ground nuts. 



The live stock kept at the School have been increased 

 during the year by the addition. _pf a pure-bred Toggenburg 

 billy goat, a i-iure-bred Toggenbfirg nanny, and a half-l:)red 

 Indian nanny with kids. 



BRITISH GUIAXA: ^''XUAL REPORT OF 

 THE DEPARTMENT OF ISCIEXCE AXD AGRI- 

 CULTURE, li:i()7-S. By Profes'sor J. B. Harrison, CiLG., 

 ALA., etc., Director. 



The total expenditure in connexion with the several 

 branches of this Department during 1907-8 was •f40,212'77, 

 or $3,188'23 less than the amount voted. Of this, the sum 

 of $18,605"90 was spent on salaries of officers, travelling 

 expenses, printing, etc. Agricultural experiments with sugar- 

 i-ane, rice, rul)ber, etc., the purchase and maintenance of live 

 stock, etc., cost $11,517'07; §9,453'65 were expended on 

 the Botanic Gardens, and $636T5 iu connexion with the 

 Government Laboratory. A sum of !?6,178'30, from Labora- 

 tory fees, sales of produce at Botanic Gardens, etc., was paid 

 into the Treasury as the result of the working of the 

 Department. 



Science teaching work was carried on at Queen's College 

 <luring the year by officers of the Department, and several 

 boys CTitered, with succes.s, for the Cambridge Local Examina- 

 tions in Chemistry in December 1907. 



Practical agricultural teaching in connexion with public 

 elementary schools is now solely under the control of the 

 Departir.ent of Science and Agriculture. As a result of thi.s 

 new arrangement, the Alodel School Gardens at CJeorgetown, 

 New Amsterdam, and in various country districts have been 

 placed under the superintendence of one f>fticer. It is rei)orted 

 that the condition of the gardens, and the attendance of 

 children at them have si]ice shown great improvement. 

 Arrangements have also been made for regular courses of 

 lectures in Agricultural Scie)ice to be given to masters in 

 Elementary Schools in the colony. 



A geological hand-book of British Guiana, containing 

 a map and views of the colony, was compileted by Professor 

 Harrison during the year, and will shortly be issued. 



liiibber-yielding plants, principally Ilcma lirasUieiiais, 

 Sajiiinii .Ii'tniKinl, and Funtiniiia elaMicn have been planted 

 during the year at the Experiment Station in the North- 

 western District. A profit of $6S6'92 for the financial j'ear 

 was made oiij the ^\'orking of the Onderneeming Industrial 

 School, where experiments arc being carried out with cacao, 

 coffee, ridiber, etc. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



It has been announcefl that Sir Daniel Morris, 

 K.C.M.G., will retire from the post of Imperial Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture for the West Indies on 

 NovQ^n-ber 30 next. 



Mr. H. A. Ballon, M.Sc, Entomologist on the staff 

 of the Imperial De])artment of Agriculture, accom- 

 panied by Mr. C. W. Jemmett, sailed for the Northern 

 Islands by the C.L.S.'Dahome' on October 30. Mr.Ballou 

 will visit Antigua, Montserrat, and St. Kitt's-Nevis, 

 for the purpose of investigating the insect pests in 

 connexion with cotton and other industries in the 

 different islands, and is expected to be away from 

 Barbados for about a month. 



