392 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



DliCEMBER 12, 1908^ 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, siionld be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications fur Copies of the ' Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Agents: Messrs. Bow en & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agevts : Messrs. Dulau & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, W., and The West India Com- 

 mittee, 1.5, Seething Lane, E.G. A cotnplete list of 

 Agents will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural A'nvs : Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, is. M. 



gigriciiltiiral ^xm 



Vol. VIL SATURDAY, DKCEMBEH 12, I'JOS. No. 173. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



Thi^ properties of superphosphate and basic slag, 

 and their relative suitabilities for different soils, are 

 discussed in the editorial. 



Facts and figures, .'-bowing the chief results of 

 experiments carried out on estates in British Guiana, 

 during the crop seasons of 1907, with seedling and 

 other canes are given on pages 3S()-7. 



Notes on fruit cultivation at St Lucia, and 

 the orange industry of Spain will be leunil on page 

 3.SS. 



Interesting and instructive exj)eriments with 

 cacao are in progress on the pK)ts worked in connexion 

 >vith the St. Lucia Agricultural Schocd (page 3S9). 



Cotton Notes (page 390) include a summary of 

 the chief points of an address on the Lancanshire 

 Cotton Conference r('cei;itly delivered -.xh Antigua b3'one 

 of the delegates. A summarized account of agricultural 

 conditions in ]5ritish Central Africa is given on the 

 following Jjage. 



Remarkably successful results have attended the 

 maize breeding work that has been carried on at the 

 Illinois E.xperiment Station since 1896 (page 394). 



On yiage 39cS will be found an account of the 

 method employed in the manufacture of calcium 

 fy.an.imidc, together with other paiticul.irs in regard to 

 this new nitrogenous manure. 



Broom Corn At Dominica. 



A plot of broom corn about ^-acre in e.xtent was- 

 grown at the Botanic Station in 1907. The seed was 

 sown in July on banks 4 feet wide, and at distances of 

 about 2 feet in the row. The corn greSv well, and 

 brush commenced to form si,\ weeks after sowing. As- 

 the brusli emerged from its sheath, the heads were bent 

 over at about 3 feet from the top, since this assists in 

 the production of a straight compact brush. The 

 brushes were cut at distances of about 1 foot from the 

 ground, ami afterward placed on shelves in a shed to- 

 dry. The jirocess of drying occupied about two weeks. 

 Cleaning followed, an ordinaiy curry comb being used 

 for drawing away the seed. Owing to unfavourable- 

 weather the yield was small — no more than at the- 

 rate of 224 lb. per acre. 



Crown Lands at Trinidad. 



The sales of Crown lands at Trinidad during 1907-8 

 are reported upon as being highly satifactory, especially 

 upon comparison with the figures of the previous year. 

 The increased demand lor land is e.xplained by the high 

 yjrices received for last year's cacao crop, and the 

 improvement of means for travelling and transport as 

 the result of opening up new roads in the island. 



Altogether, 1,157 grants of Crown lands were 

 Tnade, com])rising 9,494] acres, for which £24,768 18*-. 

 3i(/. were received. Of this area, 47.5 grants, compris- 

 ing ;>.18(i] Jicres, were made to East Indian injmigrants. 

 In 1906-7, the total area gi'anted was 8,004] acres. 



In Naparima, 1,772 acres of Crown lands were 

 taken up in the past year, this being the highest total 

 acreage granted of any Ward L^nion. Savana Grande 

 comes ne.\t with 1,364 acres, and Chaguanas third, 

 with grants amounting to 1,136 acres. 



Botanical Expedition to Jamaica. 



I )r. N. L. Itritton, Director of the New Vork 

 Botaiuc Gardens, has just issued a report on his recently 

 completed fourth trip of botanical exploration to the 

 island of Janiaica. A collection of West Indian plants, 

 seeds, fruits, and herbarium specimens, nnndjcring 

 altogether about- 3,500, was m.-ide. These of course 

 include many duplicates. 



Among the interesting plants collected were 

 a number of epiphytic bromelaids, belonging to the 

 genus Hohenbergia. About fifteen species of this genus 

 e.xist in Jamaica, but Dr. Britton states that at least 

 si.\ arc new to science. 



A s])ecimcn of the larged-leaved little-known 

 Plumiers grape-tree (C(«v(<^(j/»( Pin micrl) was found 

 in the ripe fruiting stage at Mandeville. Another 

 interesting plant found at Cedar Hurst, at a high 

 elevation,' was the climbing aroid PliUodcndroii 

 fvijvirtifum, a nfitive of Venezuela. Many orchids 

 were also obtained in this neighbourhood, which is rich 

 in rare mosses and ferns. A si)ccies of Dorstenia, 

 hitherto uid^iiewn in the Jam.iica Hora, was also dis- 

 covered in the limestone cliffs at Somerset. 



