■Vol. VII. Xo. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



413 



From the plot of land kept as a lime imi ser\-, .•i,f;0(l 

 lime plants were sold during the year. 



As already mentioned, the cotton area of Nevis .showed 

 a decline comijared with the jirevious year, bat owing to tljc 

 1,'reater care taken with the cultivatio.is, a considerable 

 yield of lint per acre was obtained. 



8T. KITTS-XEVIS: AXXUAL RhU'ORTS OX 

 THE BOTAXIC STATIOX, EVOXOMIV EXl'ERl- 

 JifEXT^, A XI) AdUirULTURAL IXSTUrCTIOX, 

 wo: -8. 



A total amount nf £1,070 S.v. \il. was expended on agri- 

 cultural services at St. Kitt'.s-Nevis in the year under review. 

 Of this sum, £"2.")4: 13.s-. 8'/. w'ere spent on sugar-cane, cotton, 

 and other experiments. Tlie total receiiits from the sale of 

 seeds, plants, and produce amounted to £lfi9 ix. 9(7. 



Some minor impros-ements have been made at the 

 St. Kitt's Botanic Station during the year. A con.'-iderable 

 ■decline in the number of plants sent out is noticeable, there 

 being but 56-1: distributed (including olO Caxtilhjit c/d.itiai), 

 compared with 1,038 in the previous year. Cuttings and 

 seetls of varirius kinds have, however, been distrilnited in 

 large quantity to planters and others in the presidency. 



Small but promising areas of cacao exist both at St. Kitt's 

 and at Nevis, and preiiarations have been made for extending 

 the area at Molineux estate, St. Kitt's, and at Maddens estate, 

 Nevis. From 4,000 to -5,000 rubber trees have now been 

 planted at Miilineux, and these provide shelter, and serve as 

 .a wind-break for the young cacao. 



The rainfall experienced at the Botanic Station was but 

 40-90 inches, i.e., ll''49 inches below that of last year, and 

 3 inches below the average of the past six years. 



Among the crops under experimental cultivation on the 

 .economic pilots at La Guerite are sweet potatos, yams, 

 ca.ssava, onions, ground nuts, tobacco, eddos, [ligeon jjeas, 

 velvet bean.s, and woolly pyrol. 



An area .of 61- acres at La Guerite is devoted to experi- 

 ments with cotton, and the work includes manurial trial.s, 

 experiments as to the mo.st suitable months and the best 

 .distances for planting, as well as .seed selection. A total nf 

 1,8S3 ftp. of lint was .shii>ped from the 61 acres. 



The total area under cotton cultivation at St. Kitt'.s- 

 .^evis (including Anguilla) daring 1907-8 was about 5,000 

 acres. Comiiared with the previous year, there was an 

 increase of 500 acres under cotton at St. Kitt's, anfl a decrease, 

 .amounting to about the same area, at Nevis. The return of 

 lint per acre varied very much, but the average for St. Kitt s 

 ■was no more than 1 30 lb. per acre. 



The sugar-cane experiments will, as usual, form the 

 •subject of a sejiarate report. It may be mentioned, howevei', 

 that returns sent in from forty-three estates at St. Kitt's 

 -show that out of a total of 7,506 acres under cane, no less 

 than 5,314 acres are planted with newer varieties of cane, 

 -introduced and tested in these experiments. 



A branch Experiment Station exists at Nevis. On this 

 a sum of £199 19s. Id. was expended during the year, while 

 £1 1 4.'!. was derived ' from the sale of jilants and produce. 



The exiierimeiits carried out at the Station include tho.se 

 with different varieties of provision crops, as yam.s, piotato.s, 

 and cassava ; also with Sea Island cotton, broom corn, castor 

 oil, and ground nuts. 



FED/-: A' AT ED JfALA V S'TATES .- REl'OliTOE 

 DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE, VMi7. 



The report of Mr. .1. B. C^arruthers, Director of Agri- 

 culture and Government Botanist to the Federated INIalay 

 States, oti the progress made in 1907, contains many points 

 of interest, more especially in regard to the development of 

 the rubber industry. 



-Vt the end of 1900, the rubber area of the Federateil 

 Malay States was 85,000 acres. and by the end of 1907 it had 

 advanced to 126,'235 acres, showing an increa.se of about 

 48 per cent. The total number of rubber trees planted, which 

 was less than 11,000,000 in 1906, had reached nearly 

 20,000,000 by the end of 1907. On land recently put under 

 rubber cultivation, the trees, in many cases, have been 

 planted more closely than was previously the custom. The 

 output of dry rubber shows a corresponding increase, 885 

 tons'being exported from the Federated Malay States in 1907, 

 as compared with 459 tons in 1906 — an advance of 93 per 

 cent. The wonderful rapidity with which the rubber indus- 

 try has developed will be realized when it is nsentioned that 

 ten years ago only 350 acres were planted, and in 1902 no 

 more than 7,500 acres were under rubber trees. 



The average amount of dry rubber obtained per tree 

 over the whole peninsula during 1907 was 1 lb. 12 oz. 

 This is very satisfactory, as large numbers of trees were 

 tapped'for the first time only. The fall in price of rubber 

 somewhat diminished the rapidity with which [jlanting was 

 being carried on, but it is mentioned that even the lowest price 

 yet reached by plantation rubber is 100 per cent, above the 

 cost of production. 



Owing to the high cost of keeping rubber |ilantations 

 free from weed, it is recoimnended that planters should give 

 a trial to three quick-growing leguminous plants — Crotolaiin 

 xtridtn, J[i/iiiisii jiiiiii.cd, and Des?iio(lium triiioriim, which 

 rapidly cover the soil, keep down weeds, and increase the 

 fertility of the land by tlieir nitrogen-assimilating properties. 



Cocoa-nuts come second to rublier as regards the area 

 [ilanted in the Mala}' States. The cocoa-nut plantation.s 

 cover 112,500 acres, including about 7,500 acres planted uj) 

 in 1907. The drop in the price of rubber has lately tended 

 to create an increased interest in this easily cultivated an<l 

 remunerative crop. 



The coffee area of the .Malay States extends to nearly 

 11,000 acres, but a considerable jirojiortion of the trees are 

 inter[ilanted with rubber, and owing to the dense shade of 

 tlie latter, give little return. Cas.sava occupies about 10,000 

 acres, and is a profitable crop. 



A good deal of attention is being paid to improve- 

 ment of methods of rice cultivation. On certain areas, it is 

 stated, the crop has been increased from 30 to 40 per cent, 

 by the introduction of irrigation. 



An E.xperiment Station has latel}' been established on 

 a block of land, about 100 acres in extent, near the Depart- 

 ment laboratories and otiices, and a immber of carefully plan- 

 ned e.xperiments started with various cro[)s. 



The reports of the rjovernment Mycologist, Inspector of 

 Cocoa-nut Plantation.s, and the Superintendent of Kxperiment 

 Plantations are also included with that of the Director of 

 Agriculture. 



