306 



THE AGRICULTUltAL NEWS. 



XovEMUEii 14, 1908. 



EXPERIMENTAL CULTIVATION OF 

 FODDER CROPS AT DOMINICA. 



Much trouble is frequently e.xperienrerl by stock- 

 Ijeepcrs in the various West Imliiiii Ishinds during the 

 <lry season owing to the lack of an adequate forage 

 supply for their animals, particularly milch cows. This 

 has been especially noticed in St. Vincent, Dominica, 

 ■Grenada, and Barbados, and therefore the experiments 

 with a number of fodder crops, which were started two 

 years ago on the land cidtivated in connexion with the 

 Dominica Agricultural School, should ultimately give 

 valual)!e assistance to stock-keepers in the island by 

 indicating the crops that may with most advantage be 

 planted with the object of providing a supply of green 

 iodder (hiring the dry season. 



'file pxperiments were started in 190() wlien four crops 

 were under trial viz. : Bhscoiu Guinea cnin, Improved Ha.scom 

 (luiiiea corn. .Jerusalem corn, and Guinea grass. Tn 1907, 

 the experiment plots were increased to twelve and the new 

 •crops included in the ". e.xperiments consisted chietly of 

 a number of varieties of .sorghum and impliee, viz : Early 

 Amber Sugar-cane and Early Orange Sugar-cane (Impliees 

 or varieties of Atidrujio'/nn xm-i/hioii, var. >:acrhn)ufi(-s) : ' Eural 

 branching Doura,' and ' '^'ellow blanching Doura,' ' Red Kaffir 

 corn,' and ' White Kaffir corn,' the last four all being 

 varieties of Audi-opo;/oiii- sor(/hi(iii, var. vul;iurlx. together witli 

 teosinte, Para grass, and J/ilins J/iiii(fiJh>rii. 



These crops were all sown during yVugust. A satisfactory 

 rainfall was experienced during tlie following three months, 

 and the crops grew ao well tliat a first reaping Avas niiule 

 ■early in Xoveinber. A good weeding and mulching ot the plots 

 was then made, and about the third week in .January, a time 

 when fodder usually begins to be scarce in Dominica, a second 

 reaping was available. The soil upon which these fodders 

 -were grown was comparatively poor, being of a light sandy 

 texture, and deficient in organic matter. On tlie whole, all the 

 crops under trial gave very good results during the season 

 1907-8, with the exce|)tion of the .Jerusalem Corn, and failure 

 in this case was due to the fact that the seeds were destroyed 

 by ants after sowing. With tlie exception of this crop, yields 

 At the rate of from 4 to r)':3 tons per acre ucre given at the 

 .second reajiing, and, speaking gen(M-ally, a quantity unlv 

 slightly less was obtained at the Hrst cutting. It will be seen 

 therefore (basing our assipnption on the yields of the past 

 .season) that if three harvests ycv year are taken witli these 

 fodder crops, planters might expect yields of tVoin 1 _' to IT) 

 tons per acre of green forage, wliile if foin- leapings were 

 made, wliich in the case of many of the crops, it is not 

 unreasonable to expect, the annual yield of fodder per acre 

 will readi from 1(5 to I'O tons. 



In .Mr. Hrooks' repf)rt on these ex[ierimeiits, he mentions, 

 in reference to the two varieties of im])hee (' Early Orange ' 

 and ' Early Amber Sugarcane') under trial, that germination 

 took ])lace very raj)idly and f lirly strong plants were i)roduced. 

 The yield pei- acre from the second reajiiiig was 4d tons in 

 the case of the Early .\niber variety, and b"2 tons in the ca.se 

 of the Early ( )range variety. The ' Doura ' plants also grew 

 well, but it is mentioned, that they were dwarfed in size 

 comjiared to .some of the other fodders under trial. Tlie 

 'Rural branching' Doura gave at the rate of 42 Ions 

 per acre, and the ' Yellow branching ' J )(uira at tiie rate of 

 53 tons per acie in tin; second reaping. As already men- 

 tioned, the Jerusalem corn gave but a small yield of fodder in 

 the past season. In the rejiort of 190()-7 however, it is 

 mentioned that this plant can be strongly recommended for 



very (h-y situations. Guinea grass gave a yield at the rate 

 of 4"3 tons per acre on the second reaping, and, as is well- 

 known, this cro[) will give many reapings during the year. 

 Bascom Guinea corn gave at the rate of 4'3 tons per acre, 

 and the report states that in past years it has proved a mo.st 

 reliable fodder crop tluring the time of drought. 



The lied and White Kattir corn germinated fairly well, 

 and both varieties are mentioned as lieing .specially suited for 

 poor lands. The Red corn gave at the rate of 4 tons per acre, 

 and the White 5"2 tons per acre on the second reaping. 



The three remaining crops under trial, viz.: teosinte. 

 Para grass, and Mel his MiniUiHorn, have not yet been under 

 cultivation long enough to give a reaping, but in every case 

 the [ilants are mentioned as being in good condition. Teosinte 

 is described as a ■plant which promised to be one ol the most 

 useful fodders that can be cukiv;Ued in Dominica. 



SISAL HEMP CULTIVATION IN THE 

 BAHAMAS. 

 The B.ihanias form the chief J:!ritish colony in 

 which Sisal hemp (Agan; ri'jula, var. sinalnntt) is 

 produced, although in the West Indies, a remunera- 

 tive and developing industry in the cultivation of the 

 product exists in the Caicos Islands, a dependency of 

 Jamaica (see Agricaltwnd X<'tr^ oi'M:i.ic\\ 7 last, p. 79), 

 and efforts havebeen made to start a sisal industry in 

 Jamaica itself. Of late \-ears the cultivation of the 

 plant has been under e.vperimcnt in India, and sisal 

 fibre of the fine'St quality has been produced both in 

 British and GerHian East Africa. The following notes 

 on the sisal hemp industry in the Bahamas appeareii 

 in the Report for 1907 of the Board (d' Agriculture of 

 the colony : — 



The most imiiortant industry in the Bahamas is the 

 raising of si.sal fibre, used for making binder-twine, ropes, 

 bags, mattings, brushes, etc. Its profits can bejudge;! from 

 the [irosperity of the Out Islands of the Bahama group. 

 iJviatfected by heat, drought, storm, or insects, the si.sal crop 

 is certain, and the price is staple. Tlie Bahama fibre is 

 .said to beef superior strength. Its annual yield is variously 

 estimated at from .£.') to £,\0 per acre. 



'flic cstimatcci area under sisal cultivation is consider- 

 ably over 12-"), 000 acres. The output exceeds that ot previous 

 years, and the acreage is increasing especially in the Out 

 "islands. 



From the beginning of the year up to the end of October 

 there was a good'demand for fibre, and good prices weru 

 obtained : at the end of October a financial crisis was experi- 

 enced in .'\nicrica,''with the result that prices for fibre fell away 

 considerably ; at present the price is about 2c. ])er lb. less 

 than at the beginning of the year. 



The ex|iortsof sisal fibre for the financial vear 19(i."i (i were 

 3.040,04.". lb., vahtcd at £37,-522. For 1906-7 3,SC.7,034 lb., 

 valued officially at £fO, 140, were shipped — an increase of 

 826,989 U). over the exiiorts of the previous year. Taking 

 the average price as a basis, the actual return obtained for 

 . the year's crop was .£56,394, a much larger figure than that 

 given in the Blue Book. 



Other countries are coining to the fro}it with the si.sal 

 fibre industry, which makes it more and more imiiortant 

 that no efi'orts should be spared to improve the liahama.s 

 lirodiiet. 'J'lic Hawaiian Islands, Porto Rico, Mexico, and 

 other countries are setting to work with a will to develop 

 a fibre in<lustry, and vast .piantities of filire are produced 

 and cominic forward for the American market. 



