Tot. XVII, No. 427, 



THE AGRICULTURAL SEWS. 



285 



Si: LUCIA: REPORT ON THE AGRI- 

 CULTURAL DEPARTMENT, igij-tS- 



This report which has recently beep issued contains much 

 of interest to the general reader. In common with the other 

 West Indian colonies, St. Lucia has evidently been experienc- 

 ing difficulty with regard to the exportation of the products 

 of the chief industries, owing to shortage of shipping facili- 

 ties. This difficulty appears also to have afifected the 

 sugar industry, through the deficient supply of artificial 

 manures obtainable.- The fair results,- attained during the 

 year in reganl to this industry would seem to be entirely due 

 to the perseverance of the estate managers, who in some 

 instances con.siderably increased their expenditure on tillage 

 in an effort to minimize, as far as possible, the shortage in 

 production which must have resulted in the absence of fertili- 

 zers. In a small colony like St. Lucia, it is not possible to 

 throw out large areas of land to lie fallow for any length of 

 time, and to take up new land, as is the practice of larger 

 colonies. It is therefore not difficult to foresee that unless 

 the sugar planters are given some practical assistance in 

 procuring the manure they require, the sugar crops will 

 diminish year by year, and sugar being the mamstay of the 

 agricultural industries, the future must - be viewed with some 

 misgiving- 

 Judged by the exports alone the cacao industry would 

 appear to have received a set-back, the export of this 

 product during the year under review being the lowest 

 recorded since 19G1, and 2,851 cwt. less than the previous 

 year; but the falling off is in great measure again attribut- 

 able to the difficulties experienced in shipping, and also 

 to the fact that larger ^[uantities of native cacao are being 

 used locally. There is also recorded an apparent falling 

 off in the lime crop, as shown by the export returns. 

 This falling off is due to large supplies of juice remaining 

 on hand at the close of the year through lack of shipping 

 opportunities. Steady progress was however maintained in 

 the green'lime trade, and it is satisfactory to note that the 

 St. Lucia brands continue to secure the highest market prices. 

 The total value of lime products exported during the year 

 was £6,94.">, Continued attention is being given to an 

 extension of the areas under coco-nut cultivation. Large 

 areas are now coming into bearing and it is anticipated that 

 the exports of coconut products will in future be greatly 

 iocreased. 



In regard to minor industries, the closing down for a 

 portion of the year of the private lictory for the distillation 

 b{ bay oil is to be regretted, for the reason that the trade in 

 bay leaves is capable of being developed into ijuite an 

 important peasant industry, there being no scarcity of leaves. 

 Ob the other hand, it is satisfactory to note that bay rum 

 "was manufactured tor the first time, ai^d disposed of locally, 

 snd it is hoped that this article will be inchided in the list 

 of exports of the colony in the near future. Lime 

 4)lantiDg hating be' f-me generfil. increased attention is being 

 •fciven to bee keeping by Jinie gri wnrs, the value of bee." in 



fertihziDg the flowers and thus producing larger crops of 

 fruit having been more generally recognized. Owing to the 

 difficulty experienced in oSaining imported leather, increased 

 attention has also been givtn to the tanning of locaPy pro- 

 duced hides. These are gprchased direct from the batcher, 

 and tanning is carried oift in each district of the island. 

 It IS estimated that thrse-fifths of the total leather no,w 

 used in the trade is loMly tanned. The increased atten- 

 tion given to this minor industry is reflected in the expotits 

 of hides, which show a decrease of 6,.o70 during the last two 

 years. Although comparjau; favourably with some of the 

 inferior grades of American leather, the best quality prcduced 

 at the St. Lucia tannery, is .said to leave much xr,r,m for 

 improvement. " 



A considerable amount of time and energy appears to 

 have been devoted by the agricultural officers throughout 

 the year in dealing with the question of the local food supply, 

 and in taking steps to prevent as far as possible any serious 

 hardships that may have resulted through the threatened 

 shortage of imported foodstuffs from the I'nited States and 

 Canada. After careful investigation it was decided that the 

 best practical results would be obtained by devoting special 

 energies to the production of sweet potatoes, cassava, and 

 corn. As a result a Government corn granary and a dep<jt 

 for dealing with locally grown ground provisions were estab- 

 lished. Following on this a farine plant at R-union 

 Experiment Station was also erected. Sweet potato 

 meal has been manufactured on a commercial scale at 

 Reunion, and supplied to local bakeries for mixing with 

 wheaten flour for bread making. .More than l>3,000 Bb. of 

 farine and starch were manufactured at the farine factory, and 

 supplied to public institutions and to the general public for 

 local consumption. 



Interest in the introduction and distribution of new 

 botanical species has been maintained. A consignment of 

 3,000 seeds of S'Mthnia mafrophylla was obtained 

 from the Agricultural Department, Trinidad. Plants are 

 being raised to enable this valuable tree to be distributed 

 throughout the island. Seeds of a drought resistant strain 

 of alfalfa were received from St. Croix through the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, and sown in a dry light soil 

 with full exposure. The plants grew bushy, to an average 

 height of 9 inches, and flowered profusely. When sown in 

 more humid beds they were killed out by a fuogns. The 

 green-dressing plant ( A'/zV/w.f Hoseit) has continued to spread 

 vigorously. Planted a year ago between permanent crops of 

 oranges, grape fruit, mangoes, etc., it "Las made a dense 

 compact covering of the soil over "large areas, and in 

 numerous places is now over 1 foot thick. Mr. Brooks, 

 the Agricultural Superintendent, regards this as being 

 by far the most successful green-dressing plant intro- 

 duced, as it is permanent and requires little or no weeding. 

 The ajowan plant (T/r'/v/ .v/'/zW.-w), which yields thymoX 

 has been successfully grown at Reunion. Each trial has 

 clearly shown that this plant can be successfully grown, and 

 without any particular care. It thrives in very light soil, 

 with full exposure to the sun, and without any care beyond 

 forking the soil, scattering the seed and then breaking the 

 lumps with a hoe. I'nder this treatment at Reunion the 

 plants grew to an average height of 1 4 inches, and produ .ed 

 a good supply of seed. I 'nder more generous treatment, with 

 a copious supply of moisture, the plants made greater growth, 

 but the production of seed was not -o great. 



The officers of the Agricultural Department are to be 

 commended for their viiergetic efforts ini mauy directions, 

 and for the effective way jn which the varieil worl-. o' ih* 

 Depirtiatteiit i- being conducted. 



