A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



~ LIBRAW 

 NEW YO 



UOTANIC 

 QAKDEl 



Vol. VTT. No. !■; 



BARBADOS, NOVEMBER 28, 1908. 



Price Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Accliiuiitiziitidii of Plants 

 Agric'.iltiiriil t'd-oporaticiii 

 M(n eiiieiit in (iivat 

 Britain 



BritLsli Gaiiina, AgricuUmo 

 in 



Britisli Guiana, I'rojioseil 

 Agricultural Sclmol for 



Cotton Notes : - 



Barliados Cotton Factory 

 i'otton. The (ii-ailini^ of 

 \N est hulian Cotton 



l'o^V'll^^•ls and Velvet Beans 

 f(ir(!reen Manuring... 



Cyanogenetic Glucosides in 

 Plants 



De[)artnienttil Reports : — 

 Barbados : .\grieMltural 

 and Botanieal l>e]i.-irt 

 nient.s, IS'.KS to I'.MIT... 



Fruit Pjxports friMu Hawaii. 



Experiments in 



tJleanings 



Gold Coast, Agriculture 



at the 



Indian .V;,Ticultinal 



Ueiiartnient 



The Testino- of Seeds. 



'^^•^""^ EED-TESTING is ;iii impDrtant branch of 

 ■^■^i^^ economic botany, and the many stations 

 OO ^^^MC which exist f.)r this purpose in Europe and 

 CTi America aie of threat service to agriculture in the 

 (-^ countries in which they are situated. At most of these 

 T— etalions purchasers of farm and garden seeds may liave 

 C_J the genuineneiis, purity, and germinating power ot 

 C: samples ihoroughly tcstid for a small fee. 



In the West Indies, many of the chief crops such 

 as sugar-cane, provision crojjs, etc., are raised by cut- 

 tings, grown by the jilanter himself, or obtained either 

 from a neighbour or the Botanic Station of the island. 

 Wiiere crops are grown from seed, as in the case of 

 cotton or maize, this seed is either produced at home, 

 or c.ire is taken to get it from a reliable source, and 

 there is no doubt as to its genuine nature, even though 

 its geriTiinating power is not known. Under thestr 

 circumstances, therefore, the need of a seed-testing 

 station is not so much felt as in many other countries. 



Conditions are different in England and other 

 European countries, and in the United .States. The 

 chief agiicidtural croiis in those parts of the world, 

 e.g., wheat, oats, maize, beet, turnips, swedes, clover, 

 grass seeds, pea.s, beans, etc., are all produced directly 

 from seed, which in the great majority of cases, 

 is purchased by the grower in the open market. The 

 source of the seed, as well as its age and character, are 

 necessarily uid^nown to the purchaser, except in so far 

 as they are guaranteed by the salesman, and the value 

 of an institution which will rapidly test the samples of 

 seed submitted, and furnish an independent report on 

 their character has long been iccognizi-d. 



.Seed-testing, as now understood, was first started 

 about forty years ago, wlini the first station vvas- 

 established in Germany. A book, dealing with the 

 fraud and deception regularly practised in the seed 

 trade, and the conseiptent loss suffered by agriculturists, 

 was nidjlished (also in Germany) a few years later, and 

 this led to vigorou.s action. Seed-testing stations were 

 started in a number of countries, mostly under Govern- 

 ment control, and at the present time there are over 

 150 in existence. A Government Station was started 



