304 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



NoVEMliKR U, 1908.^ 



GLEANINGS. 



CJntfted niiingo plants for sale within tlie isl 

 obtainofl at the Uotaiiic .Station, St. Lucia, at 

 2s. each. 



and cai 

 a pri 



cc 



Clf 



The Ayrshire bull "tiipsy Star of Kelleviie, ' and the 

 African woolless i-ani sheep ' Kgba ' are both stationed for 

 the present at tlie Agricultural School, Union, St. Lucia, 

 where tliey are available for .service. The fee is 2.--. in the 

 cAse of the bull, and l.<. in the case of the ram. 



It is mentioned in the U'cxt Imliii. Cui/imiltcf. (Jivcnliir 

 that tlie Colonial Fruit Show, arranged to be held in London 

 on N'ovcinber 2() and 27, will remain upen for tv.o extra days, 

 viz.. Satnrday and Monday, Xovemlicr 28 and oO. 



The total exiKjrt of bananas from Costa Jtica in 11)07, 

 according to the returns of the I'nited Fruit Company, was 

 10, 1 (J"), 75'.) buiK'hes, this being an increase of W'hl percent. 

 over the shipnieiits of 1006. 



Two male lambs, the piogeny of one of the West African 

 rams recently imported from f/agos by Sir Daniel Morri.s. 

 liave been .ship|)ed to Trinidad for breeding jiurjio.ses in that 

 island. Another ram land), the progeny of the same animal, 

 li*N also been sold to a planter in Dtiniinica. 



The improvements which are evident on small hold- 

 ings in .Jamaica as the result of the Prize Holdings t'ompeti 

 ti<in is commented on by the .htiinxd of the Jamaica Agri 

 cultural Society. On holdings which have entered for the 

 •:oiniietitioh, an improve<l water suii])ly, better fences, and 

 iiii|iroved arrangements for storing an<l ntili/iiig manure aie 

 fr<Mpiently noticcaljliv 



Reaping operations are in active progress on Demerara 

 sugar estates. ■ Reports state that the canes are dry and the 

 yield of juice is "less than was anticipated. The labour supply 

 is insutticient to meet the demand. Few factories have been 

 aMe to run six days a week, and wages have necessarily been 

 advanced. {Denn'r'h'n ArijoKi/.) 



I>uring 1!)07 8 only J'lo sugar factories were in operation 

 in France, as compared with 27;i in the preceding year, 344 

 ill ltS!>7-8, and "i75 in lS,S7-8. The decline in nundjer is part 

 ly explained V)j' increasing centralization, but beet cultivation 

 lias also lost ground in France dining late years. The 

 <Hiitiitity of sugar produced in 1907-S was ().")(i,,s;52 tons, as 

 ixinipared with 082,851 tons lurned onl iu HKHi 7, an<l 

 <)84,(i7I tons in 1905 (i. 



A note in a receni rinmliei' of A'<(tiirf refeis to tln' 

 vigorous measures that are now being carried on iu I'ganda 

 for <-<»inbating the s[>reail of slee|iing sickness. Uuring 1907 

 there were no new cases among I'jiropeans, ami deaths among 

 natives during the twelve moiiths numbered less than 1,000. 

 TIm! wliole of the population have been removed from the 

 .shores of lake Victoria Nyaiiza, and it is hoped that the 

 <lisea.se-carrying fiy in that belt, if not reinfected, will 

 gradually cease to be a source of danger. 



l'"rom January 1 of the pre.sent year up to Octfiber 28 

 the cjuantity of rice exported from British (iuiana was- 

 6,427, 144 lb, as against 4,897,654 1b. shipi)ed during the 

 corre.sponding period last year. The anu.unt of rice-ineal 

 exported to date this year is 2,328 tons compared with 19(> 

 tons .shipped to the .same date in 1907. 



The nund)er,s of economic plants distributed during 

 1907 from the St. Liicia Botanic Station to purchasers of 

 Crown lands in the island were : nutmegs, 744 ; kola, 412 ; 

 cottee, 994 ; cacao, 5,200 ; rubber, 150 ; orange, 261 : cinna- 

 mon, 261 : vanilla, 25 ; and limes, 2,500. 



A prize of £1 has been offered by Sir liickham Swect- 

 Escott, K.C.M.G., to the peasant proprietor who exhibits- 

 at the coming St. Kitt's-Ncvis Agricultural Show the best 

 mule, that was sired by the stud jack ' Yankee Boy,' the prop- 

 erty of the Imperial Deiiartment of .\griculture. Lady Sweet- 

 Kscott lias also offered a prize of £\ for the best collection of 

 vegetables grown by a peasant proprietor. 



An unusually heavy lainfall was experienced at Trinidad 

 throughout October, 12-96 iuelics being the fall registered for 

 the .southern portion of the island. From figures given in 

 a late number of the J'lirtoi-Sjiaiii (idu-ttc it is .seen that this 

 is a higher figure than has been experienced during the month 

 of October for the past nineteen years. October of 1892 

 previously bore the record at Trinidad, but in that month 

 only 8'85 inches of rain were registered. 



The following dates have been arranged for the School 

 and Feasant Agricultural Shows that will shortly be held in 

 Trinidad : Show at Princes Town, ])ecendx-r 22 : at I'ort (if 

 Spain, January 22 ; at San F'ernamlo. February 5 ; at Arima, 

 February 12, and at Scarboiough, February 17 next. Prizes 

 and iliplonns will be offered for live stock, vegetable.s, and 

 oilier produce, and awards will also be made for the best- 

 l<e[it gardens and I'anc plots. 



The .Agricultural Society of Tiinidad ami Tobago is 

 off'ering a prize of 850 for the best essay on the subject of tlie 

 ' Frog hopper ' an insect ]iest of the siigar-i-ane that is doing 

 considerable damage to the sugar-cane in Trinidad. This 

 insect belongs to the family Cercopidae, of the order 

 Heuiiptera, and is therefore related to tlie plant lice, plant 

 bugs, -scale ill-sects, etc. 



Ill reference to the ijiiestion of maintaining a surface 

 mulch of loose soil on cultivated land, the .\cting .Agri- 

 cultural Superiuteiideiit ot St. \ inceiit draws attention to the 

 value of light draw hoes and ' Dutch ' scuttle, or push hoes, 

 for this pur[>o.se. Tlie.se tools have been found to be of 

 great .service at the Agricultural School of St. A'iuccnt for 

 rapidly cleaning and loosening the .soil of cotton plots, and 

 tliey might be the means of somewhat reducing the cost of 

 estate cultivation where labourers have been educated to tho 

 Use of such light implement.s. 



