Vol. VII. No. 171. 



THE AGllICULTURAL NEWS. 



361 



Rubber Planting in Hawaii. 



The Oeani tree {Mmulinf Udi tin'-ii) if^ the favour- 

 ite v.-xi'iety of rubber ainonpj planters in Hawaii. In 

 ..•I. recent bulletin issueil by the Hawaiian Agricultural 

 Expei'iment .Station, it is stated that lip to the begin- 

 niiig of the present year 400.000 rubbfjr trees had been 

 planted in the isl.-mtJs, of which about !J0 per cent, were 

 of the Ceara variety, the remainder consistinor of 

 ■<'a.-filloa I'luxfira and Heri-n l)i-<(sUi<"nsis in .about 

 equal proportions. 'I'hore are now live large rubber 

 plantations in operation, and iul>lier yielding trees are 

 being planted on a snuill scale by numbers of planters. 

 It was intended to make a first tapping, on a commer- 

 cial scale, of some of the trees in the oldest plantation 

 during the jii'esent ye.ir, or .as soon as they have reached 

 a circumference of 20 inches. 



Analysis of Okra Plant. 



A sample jjlant from a field of 'okra grown by 

 ]Mr. S, C, Thorne, of Barbados, was recently sub- 

 mitted for analysis to the Government Laboratory of 

 the island. From Professor d'Alburquerque's state- 

 ment it appears that this okra plant contained 18'85 

 per cent, of dry matter, including 21!) per cent, of 

 albuminoids and other nitrogenous matter, and o'Oo 

 per cent, ash. The potash present in the -ash amounted 

 to 041 per cerTt, of the total weight of the yjlant, the 

 phosphoric anhydride to 0'17 per ' §ent,, while the 

 organic or humus-forming matter (total dry matter, 

 less the ash) amounted to 1.5'82 per cent. 



'J'he weight of one hole of okra was -Sw lb,, and 

 therefore the total weight to the acre (1,4.52 boles) was 

 at the rate of .T"6 tons. This amount would include 

 1,998 lb. of organic matter, 44'2 lb, of nitrogen, ■5r8 Iti. 

 of potash, and 2r.5 If), of phosphoric anhydri.le. 



Banana Trade of Trinidad, 



The biiuana exports of Trinidad have inire.ased 

 enormously during the past twelve months, and in this 

 period over (30,000 bunches were shipped from the 

 island by the Royal Mail Company, In view of the 

 extending demand for this fruit in Englan<l and other 

 European countries, there is, no doubt, abundant scope 

 for further developments in the near future. 



This question of the trade and its prospects were 

 recently discussed in an editorial article in the P(irt-<if- 

 Mpii'ii Gazette. While a good deal f)f gratification is 

 expi'essed at the results so far achieved in building up 

 a fruit trade tor Trinidad, reference is also made to two 

 matters which need attention if the industry is to 

 progress satisfactorily. One of these ditticulties is the 

 failure of growers in the island to produce, in suttieiently 

 large quantities, bananas of the size and quality in 

 chief demand on the market, and the second is the 

 high freight charges of the Koyal Mail Company. 

 Probably if the first trouble were remedied and larger 

 and superior supplies brought forward for shipmimt, 

 it would bo found po.ssible to remove the second diffi- 

 culty. There is every reason to believe that bananas of 

 excellent quality can be produced in Trinidad and the 

 matter is well worthy of the attention of those in the 

 island best qualified to help. 



School Gardens at St. Lucia. 



The E<lucation Department of St, Lucia is mak- 

 ing endeavours to encourage school garden work, 

 and of the twenty-one boys' schools in the colony, garden 

 plots are attached to sixteen, and will shortly be started 

 in connexion with two others. Two of the schools in 

 Castries, by reason of their situation, are unable to 

 have gardens, and it is suggested by the Inspector of 

 Schools that the difficult^' might best be met, as ha.-- 

 been done in British Guiana under similar conditions 

 by the establishment of .a model garden at the Botanic 

 Station, where the town bo^'S could receive agricultural 

 instruction. The work at present is necessarily more 

 or less in au experimental stage, and the Inspector 

 points out that it is in need of expert direction to make 

 It more systematic, A substantial bonus to head teach- 

 ers who receive a good report for agricultural instruction 

 IS also mentioned as a means whereby the work would 

 be encouraged. A sum of £40 is to be distributed as 

 special bonuses to teachers who did gooil work in 1!)07. 



Bai'bados Milch Cows. 



The milch cattle kept at Barbados are very mixed 

 in type, and are undoubtedly in most cases the result 

 of crossing with a number of the best known breed.s. 

 Nevertheless the Barbados cow is recognized as being 

 the best in the West Indies for milking (jualities. The 

 Ayrshire type is frequently notici'able among cows in 

 these islands, anil this breed of cow is a very economical 

 animal to keep. It will find pasturage in the fields 

 during the most droughty season, ami is very hardy in 

 constitution. The large amount of white in the coats 

 of many Ayrshires makes .these animals liable to 

 blistering by the sun's rays, !)ut it is of course possible, 

 to a large extent, to breeil out this white, l)y crossing 

 witii dark-coated native cattle. 



The Holstein element is also prominent in the 

 case of some Barbados cattle; These cows are large 

 animals that do not readily /jiut on flesh, but yield 

 a large volume of milk of poor quality. The male 

 calves become good ser\iceable beasts of burden 

 Shorthorns have in the past been often imported into 

 Barbados, and cows in wdiicli the Shorthorn type is very 

 evident are frequently seen. Owing to the long fine 

 hair in the coat of this breed the cows suffer from the 

 heat of a tropical climate. 



The value of the Jersey as a milch cow is v.'ell 

 known in all parts of the world. The animals of this 

 breed easily take first place as regards the richness of 

 their milk in fat and total solids, and where butter- 

 making is carried on, the Jersey breed is undoubtedly 

 the one from which the cows should be selected 

 Jersey cows do well in the tropics, their short, thick 

 iroat serving as an ailmirable |)rotection from the effei_-t« 

 of the s'.in. 



A gooil method of feeding mili-h cows in the West 

 Indies is to give them 7.5 lb. of green fodder, together 

 with 8 lb. of dry feed, the latter consisting of equal parts 

 of corn meal, pollard, and cotton-seed meal. Guinea <!orn 

 ibdder is valuable for keeping up the milk yield. 



