T,il. VII. \o. 172. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



377 



Increasing Orange Production in Cuba. 



Tlie orange industry ot Cuba is almost entirely con- 

 trolled by Aint-ricans, and a great deal of attention has 

 ■of late years been paid to the (|uestioii of increasing the 

 ■output. The variety of orat]ge chiefly planted in Cuba 

 is said to be Hart's Lnte, while the Pine-apple, Par.eon 

 Brown, and Washington Navel kinds are also very 

 popular, 'i'he United Stales Consul at Cienfiiegos, in 

 a recent report, states that systematic orange cidtivation 

 in Cuba did not begin until about eight or nine years 

 ago, and must at present be legarded as being only in 

 a very early stage of development. In the near future 

 it will probably undergo great e.\pansion. The Cuban 

 ■orange crop for this season is expected to reach 500,000 

 ■ crates, which is the largest in the history of the island. 

 Imports of the fruit from Caliibrnia and Florida have 

 rapidly declined of late ycai'S. 



— ^ — 



Sunflower Cultivation. 



The sunflower {Hcliarilli nn nnnus)'m cultivated 

 on a considerable scale in Russia, Hungary, Italy, and 

 Germany, as well as in parts of India, for the sake of 

 the oil contained in its seeds, and the cake left after 

 extracting the oil is used for cattle. The sunflower 

 grows well in the West Indies, although it has never 

 been cultivated .-is an economic crop. The yilant needs 

 a good well-manured soil to give the best returns. 

 About 12 lt». of seed are sown per acre, in rows 3 to Si- 

 feet apart. When the plants are well formed they 

 should be thinned out to distances of 12 to 18 inches 

 apart in the row. The general method of cultiv'ation 

 of the crop resembles that practised in the case of 

 ^maize. The ))lantstake about three months to mature. 

 When grown for seed, the best results are obtained b}' 

 ilimiting the number of seed heads formed on each plant. 

 The yield of seed may be from 8 to 15 cwt. pei- acre. 

 The price of white sunflowei'seed on the London market 

 is 17s. to 19s., while that of black seed is V-^x. to 14->--. 

 An analysis of an average sunflower seed cake shows that 

 this contains .S46G per cent, of nitrogenous niatter, and 

 .is at least equal to linseed cake for feeding purposes. 



■Crops and Manures at Martinique. 



While there was a considerable advance in the 

 value of the cacao shipments from Martinique during 

 1907 the sugar exports were less than usual, owing 

 partly lo reduction of the area under cultivation, and 

 partly to drought. 



In 190(j the sugar exports wore 42,230 metric tons 

 .(1 metric ton = 2,200 lb.), valued at £438,048, while in 

 1907 they fell to 3(i,922 metric tons, of the value of 

 £379,800. Owing to remunerative prices, rum is being 

 produced in increasing qiu'.ntity at Martinique. A con- 

 siderable amount of molasses is being imported from 

 (juadeloupe, as the local supply is insufficient to meet 

 the re(juirements of the distillei'ies. The rum exports 

 ti'om Martinique during 1907 show an increase of 

 319,24G gallons in quantity, and £35,634 in value, as 

 compared with those of 1900. 



Cacao cultivation is being slowly extended in the 

 island. The (juantity of cicao shipped abroad in 1907 



was 1,106,136 lb., or an advance of 65,763 It), on the 

 exports of fliis product in 1906. The increased value, 

 however, was £20,204. Coffee was exported to the 

 quantity of 8,587 lb., while 171,499 lb. v.eie imported. 

 Martiniijue imports considerable quantities ef 

 artificial manures. In 1907 the chief manures of thi.s 

 kind brought into the island were superphosphate, 

 2,803 tons : nitrate of soda, 1,129 tons: sulphate of 

 ammonia, 828 tons: nitrate of potash, 748 tons : and 

 suljihate of potash, 141 tons. 



West Indian Bulletin. 



There has just been issued a new number of the 

 Wt^sit Indian Bidletin, viz.. No. 3 of Vol. IX. This 

 includes several papers relating to the cotton indus- 

 try of the West Indies, read at the Agi'icultural 

 Conference of January last. Mr. J. R. Bovell deals 

 with cotton cultivation at Barbados, while Dr. Francis 

 Watts, C.M.G., and Mr. W. N. Sands contribute papers 

 in which the progress made in the Leeward Islands and 

 at St. Vincent, respectively, is discussed. Dr. Watts also 

 has a second paper on cotton seed selection as practised, 

 in the Leeward Islands, while the general progress of 

 the cotton industry in the West Indies is discussed in 

 an interesting arti<-le by Mr. Thomas Thornton. A.R.C.S. 

 There is al.so included a paper by Mr. H. A. Ballou, M.Sc, 

 dealing with the treatment of cotton pests in the West 

 Indies. 



The rice and rubber experiments in progress in 

 British Guiana are dealt with in two papers by 

 Professor Harrison, C.M.G. A lecture on the geological 

 formation of Barbados, delivered dui-ing the Conference, 

 is also reprinted in this number of the BalUtin. A few- 

 short papers on general subjects, e.g., the production of 

 essential oils, vegetable ivory, etc., conclude the 

 number. 



Rice Production in British Guiana. 



From the official returns lately issued it is seen 

 that the lice area of British Guiana underwent further 

 extension in the year 1907-8, when 29,624 acres were 

 planted with the crop in the colony. In 1905-6 the 

 area was 23,853 acres, and in 1906-7 it advanced to 

 26,567 acres. The chief rice districts are East Coast 

 and Canje Creek, Corentyne Coast, and West Coast, 

 in Berbice, where together about 11,000 acres are 

 planted ; Essequibo River, North Essequibo Coast, and 

 South Essequibo Coast, with about 6,200 acres : and 

 Abarv, West Coast, East Coast, and JIahaica, in Dein- 

 erara, which districts, taken together, have about 9,500 

 acres under the crop. In 1906-7, the rice exports from 

 the colony were 3,474,512 lb. In the following year 

 the shipments reached 6,977,877 It), (an increase of 

 100 per cent.), and were valued at £39,879 IS.v. 



The harvest season for the [)resent year (1908-9) 

 is very neai'ly over, and ])ractically all the paddy h.-is 

 been gathered in. The area planted is greater than that 

 of last year, but Messrs. Sandbach, Parker fr Co., in a lat(.» 

 report, mention that the average return per acre 

 is lower than in 1907, and with increased consumption 

 in the colonj^ it is likely that there will be little 

 advance in the rice exports for the season. 



