396 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



r)EC5?^iEr. 12, 1908. 



GLEANINGS. 



Sugar shipmL'iit.s were nuide from British l.luiana in 

 October last to tlie extent of 21,703 tons. Of thin quantity, 

 10,373 tons went to Canada, 7,233 tons to the LTnited 

 States, and 4,0-5-1 tons to the I'liited Kingdom. 



In the first nine months of 1908, tlie frnit exported from 

 Doniiniea (exclusive of limes) was as follows ; bun.) nas, 3,295 

 bunches ; cocoa-nuts, 30O,23.'- : oranges, 2.")2 liahels and 701 

 boxes ;, and a quantity of mangos \alued at i;()9. 



On the motion of Mr. S. C 'J'horUe, a C'.innnittce of the 

 Barbados House of As.soinbly, consisting of Jle.s.sr.s. Thorne, 

 .Tackmau, Robinson, Sealy, and Clarke, has been appointed to 

 'draw up a scheme for the establishmeut of cehtral sugar 

 factories in the island. 



Heavy, but very partial showers of rain were experi- 

 enced in .some districts of the parishes of St. Michael and 

 Christ Church, Barbado.s, on the morning of Novenilier 30. 

 AMiile .some estates received no rain at all, on others the fall 

 varied from 15 inches to as nnich as 5 inches in one case. 



According to the latest /!)(//»(// yj'fV'fi; ^ (1907-8) of the 



Board of Agriculture of Briti.sh Guiana, the total estimated 



numbers of live stock in the country districts of the colony are 



as follows : horses, 1,850: donkey.s, 5.75(i; cattle, 72,000; 



'..sheep, 17,200 ; goats, 1.3,.5()() : swine, 13,200. 



All the ground |iro\isions consnnied at tlie St. Lucia 

 Agricultural School are [uodiiced at the Ivxpcrinient Station 

 <'an'ied on in connexion with the institution, tl'.e necessary 

 labour for which is largely .sujjplied by the jjuiiils. Valuing 

 the provisions at market prices, the saving ett'ected in this 

 way during 1907-8 am<junted to £-12 'x. \OiL 



The cultivation of sugar-cane and cotton form the chief 

 agricultural industries of the lj;-azilian State of Pernambuco. 

 In 1907 the .sugar croj) of the State was 1,-178,4()2 bags, each 

 of 165 lb. The 1908 crop is estimated :,t l,S0O,00U bags. 

 Cottiai was produceil in l'.IU7 to the extent of 278,557 bales, 

 each of IGolb. 



In view of the increasing scarcity <>f the Gnayule rubber 

 plant (Partheiuiim atytiiMfiim) in ilexieo,-<ittention is lieing 

 |iaiil to the tree known as 'Palo aniarillo ' (liiijiliorhia- fuliYt, 

 Staid.). This tree is reported' to yield about 10 i>er cent, 

 of ruljber, and 40 per cent, of resin and soap-making materials. 

 ' Palo amarillo ' occurs wild in large (juantity in Mexico. 



The lollowing form the main results of experiments 

 carried out in Illinois to ascertain the most suitable distances 

 of planting niai/.e : on land that ordinarily jiroduccs more 

 than 50 bushels of grain |)er acie, the best return was given 

 when the seed corn was plante<l in hills at distances of 

 39-() inches each way, with three grains per hill. In the 

 .same district, on laiul that ordinarily produces less than 

 .50 bu.shels of grain jier acre, corn i)Ianted in hills 30 inches 

 each way, with two kernels per hill, has yieldeil the largest 

 return. 



The total area under ri('e cultivation in British Guiana 

 for the 1907'6 season (29,715 acres) comprised J 2,366 acres 

 in Berbice, 9,684 acres in Denierara; 4,113 acres on the 

 Essequibo mainl-and, and 3,552 acres on the adjoining islands-. 

 The total yield was 36,930 tons of paddy, ecpial to 27,1.50 

 tons of cleaned rice, {llnniil af A'jrifultinf Reliiriif.) 



Ground nuts form the main product of tlie colony of 

 Gambia, West Africa. In 1907, the quantity exported 

 amounted to 40,858 tons, (jf the value of i;25();()S5. Large 

 <|uantities of maize and rice are also grown, the latter being 

 the chief food of the natives. During 1907, rice was exported 

 to the <iuantity of 7,094 tons. (Anniml HciKiii, 1907.) 



A fine specimen of the Shea butter tree (Iluti/i-oxpermma 

 I'arh-ii), an impoitant economic plant of West Africa, exists 

 at the Dominica Rotanic Station. It was obtained from Kew 

 iu 1899, and has always kept in vigorous condition. The 

 tree tlowered for the first time in 1907, and has again flower- 

 ed and fruiteil in the [aesent year. 



Twenty-one grants of Crown land, amounting altogether 

 to 68 acres, were made at St. Vincent during 1907-S. The 

 Ci'own land which the Government of the island now have 

 for dispdsal is nearly all mountain land, suitable oidy for 

 provision ground. The price varies from .£1 per acre to 

 something over £3, according to the nature and loi'.dity of the 

 laud, and the .system of payment arranged. 



The olH"ial returns relating to exports from Diuninica 

 show that during the nine months ending September 30 la.st, 

 the s]ii])ments of limes and lime products were as follows : 

 fresh limes, 18.91 8 barrels ; pickled limes, 536 barrels; raw 

 linn^ .juice, l.')S,810 .gallons; concentrated .juice, 60,012 

 .gallons ; iime-.juice cordial, 16,800 gallons ; citrate of lime, 

 1,603 cwt. ; distilled lime oil, 2,490 gallons ; exjire.ssed lime 

 oil, 465 gallons. 



One result of the decline of the sugar industry at 

 St. Vincent has been a lar.gely increased scarcity of green 

 food for cattle. The stock kept at the Agricultural School 

 are mainly fed on Guinea corn grown for tlie purpose. It is 

 reconunended that this crop be sown in Seiiteniber and 

 October, and owing to its properties as a drought-resisting 

 plant, it can be relied U[ion to give a suiiply of fodder in 

 the dry season. 



.\s in the case of many other of the A\'est Indian Islandi*, 

 all plants, seeds^ bulb.s, etc , imiiorted into St. Lucia have to 

 undergo fumi.i;ation, in order to prevent the jjo.ssible iutro- 

 iluclion of ilestructive insects. This is carried out at the 

 P.olanic Station of the island. In li)()7 8, the mindier of 

 pachages received and dealt with at the Station was l(i4. 

 'J'he jirocess of fumigation lasted an hour in every ease, and 

 the restdts ot experiments go to show that the operation 

 is thoroughly satisfactory. Tlie foliage of jjlants sutler litth? 

 damage fi<ini the yas. 



