THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



NovEMUEi: U, 1908. 



receives from the peasantry. In 190C a cnijj of 213 Hi. 

 of toinatos was fjrown on 60 sqnate yanls ot land at 

 Harris' Station, ]\[onlserrat. 



Promisinc i-esults, too, have attended tiie piodiie- 

 tion of vej^etables on a small scale liy ihe pnpil.s of 

 t!io St. Viiic(!nD Agiienltural .School. If. is mentioned 

 in the latest :inniia.l repoit. on the .school (l!)07-8) that 

 there is a ;;-ood demand in the island foi- such articles 

 as l)eans, tomatos, lettuce, ])ai-sh'y .and cabbaije, and 

 that it is ,an easy matter for a boy to realize $100 per 

 montli IVom the sale of lettuce alone. 



Onions form a minor crop that h.is received 

 considerable attention in ninny of the West Indian 

 Islands, more especially at AniiLjua and Jlontserrat. 

 It is a crop ih.-it is p.irtieular as to the nature and 

 condition of the soil, ami Land on which unions are to 

 be yrown shcinlil alw.iys be in 2;ood tiltii and well 

 Tiianined. Under average conditions the crop is easy 

 i,o pKidiico, .although ('■are is needed during the 

 curing process, especially if it, is intended to shi|) the 

 produce to an wutside market. The onion industry of 

 Aniigua has been under development during the past 

 ten or twelve years, .and is de.icribeii .as lieiiig distinctly 

 iucaalive, and capable of fni'ther extension. A quantity 

 ».f the produce is consumed locally, but the great bulk 

 IS cN ported to other West Indian Isl.ands, an(J to 

 America. The value of the cuiKin shipments from 

 Antigua in 1 DOti was over £.300. At (.iiuxc Station, 

 IMonl.'-en.U, ill l!)0(i, a yield of 12 barrels (or 1,(372 lb.) 

 iif oniiins was obtained from .a jilol- of l.uid one-tenth 

 of an acre in area. Eight of tiiese barrels were shipped 

 and realized £-5 .S.s. 4(/., the cost of cultivation, seed, 

 t'tc. being £1 .j'--. S /. 



The possibilities of onion cultav.ition ii.ive ;dso 

 been under c-onsideration both at iJarbados and 

 8t. Kitt's-Nevis, and but for the increasing attention 

 demanded by the developing cotton industry during 

 recent years, it is probable that efforts would have 

 been made to create a small export trade in this ])ro- 

 dnct from those islands. A good yield of onions was 

 obtained at the St. Kitt's Botanic Station in l!)0(i. 

 'I'he crop was considerably smaller in 1007, but still 

 yielded a protit at the rate of £14 1 l.s-. Ni/. per acre. 

 At Nevis, about 1,1001b. of onions were gathered from 

 ;i plot one-tenth of an acre in area, and in his latest 

 report, the Agricultural Instructor sjieaks of the cultiva- 

 tion as being one of the most promising of tin- small 

 industries of the island. 



Cabbage growing has of late years been encouraged 

 ■sit St. Lucia by experiments in this cultivation carried 



out at the Experiment Station in the island. The 

 kinds which have; given most success are ' Succession ' 

 and 'Autumn King.' These are ready for cutting in 

 .about three months from sowing. The siipj)ly of cab- 

 bages on the St. 'Lucia market has much improved^ 

 both in quantity and (piality as the result of this 

 experimental wurk. Similar efforts are also being 

 made to extend cabbage cultivation at Montserrat. 



r>e.ins .and peas are articles of yiroduce to which- 

 .attention may always profitably be given by small 

 cultivators in the'West Indies, as the iiiarket for this 

 class of vegct.able is regular and certain. At most of 

 the Experiment Stations in the different islamls experi- 

 ments .are in |)r(igrcss with different varieties, in nrder 

 to demonstrate the best method-; nf eiiltiv.itior; .and tin- 

 yields of be.ans and jieas that may be ex[)ected, as well 

 as to raise seed for distribution. It should not be tui- 

 gotten in connexion with these crops, that being 

 leguminous plants, their cultivation results in an 

 enrichment of the soil with nitrogen. 



This latter consideration applies, too, to the ground 

 nut crop, which belongs to the s.aine order, .and is also 

 a nitrogen g.atherer. Attention has frequently been 

 dr.awn in tln^ A'/ricnlliiral Mens to the value of the 

 ground nut as a suitable crop for sm.all holders in the 

 West Inilics. With the object of encouraging the 

 cultivation of the best kinds, seeds of two improved 

 varieties, \ iz : ' Dixie Giant ' and ' Tennessee Reil ' were 

 imported from the United States by the Iniperi.al 

 Commissioner of Agriculture during the past vear. 

 These seeds, wliich are miicii larger than the local kinds 

 ofnuls, have been distributed to the \arious Experiment 

 Station.s lor trial. 



Other minor crops which are to be seen in the 

 gardens of occasional cultivators, and which might be 

 grown more often, in ipiantity at least sufficient to- 

 supply the homo need, are beet-root, pumpkins, pepjiers 

 and ginger, etc. 



Uanan;is must be considered a minor product in all of 

 the West li.di.an Islands, with the exception of Jamaica. 

 Attention need hardly bi' drawn to the value of a fruit 

 so universally grown and appreciated in tile West 

 Indies, but it may lie pointed out that there are inaiiv 

 odd corners on numbers of estates, more especially if 

 well sheltered, where one or more banana plants could 

 easily be grown, with no trouble beyond planting the 

 original suckers. If distance from a market prevents 

 the profitable disposal of the produce, it should not be 

 forgotten th.at green ban.inas, when ehoppeil tine, form 

 a palatable and nutritious addition to the rations of 

 calves and other growing live stock. 



