Vol. XVII. Xo. 424. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



235 



island, provided the local Government would find the funds 

 necessary for the purchase of drugs and stationery, and would 

 also undertake to make the necessary arrangement for per- 

 manently improved sanitation, without which the treatment 

 of individuals would represent a waste of energy an^l money. 

 As soon as the Legislative Council met in their present 

 session, a deputation of members of the .Jamaica Imperial 

 Association urged upon the elected members the vital neces- 

 sity of the Council availing itself of the Rockefeller Founda- 

 tion's oft'er. A resolution was brought forward in the Council 

 calling for immediate action in this matter. The Covern- 

 ment accepted the resolution, placed £2,000 on the estimates 

 for the drugs and stationery that would be renuired in the 

 first year's campaign, and promised that not only hookworm, 

 but other germ diseases would be dealt with in the near 

 future. Since then the Council has passed a law for the 

 compulsory treatment of venereal diseases, while the abnox- 

 ious disease of yaws is to receive far more attention than it 

 has ever received before. The ij/iaiier remarks that this 

 may be called the beginning of a rem-irkable revolution in 

 the health of the island. The Jamaica Imperial Association, 

 the Legislative Council, and the Government are to be 

 congratulated on the prompt steps taken. 



Dr. Connor intends to make a preliminary survey of 

 the island, so as to be able to strike an average of what 

 percentage of the people may be infected with the hookworm 

 parasite in the different districts. In parts of the island 

 where there may be better sanitation, it is not probable that 

 a large percentage of the people will be found infected, but 

 ■where sanitation is neglected, there is probably a very large 

 percentage. 



If anyone had been told ten years ago that 'West Indian 

 laziness' was largely a disease caused by microscopic blood- 

 sucking parasites, the suggestion would have been laughed 

 at. We know now, however, that the microscopic hookworm, 

 boring into the arteries of human beings, sets up internal 

 bleeding which leads to a wretched state of health, and thus 

 produces the lassitude and want of energy in a large propor- 

 tion of the inhabitants of these islands, which had been 

 formerly attributed to the enervating influence of a tropical 

 climate. 



DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF BAY TREES 



The manufacture of bay oil and bay rum constitutes two 

 important industries in .some of the West Indies, having 

 been developed chiefly during the last fifty years. 



A note on the subject in the Kck< Bulktiii, No. 4, 1918, 

 points out that the industry has suffered much from the 

 admixture of the leaves of two forms of Piiiwiita curis, which 

 are known in the French islands as 'Bois d' Inde citronelle' 

 and 'Ivjis d' Inde anise', which are so similar as to be 

 distinguished with difficulty. 'Bois d'Inde citronelle' is known 

 botanically as Pimenta acris, var. rtrifolia (P. citrifolia, 

 Myrtus citrifolia); the oil of this has the taste and odour 

 of lemon, owing to the presence of 'citral', which reduces 

 the value of the true bay oil if mixed therewith. 'Bois 

 d' Inde anise' does not appear to have been distinguished 

 botanically, but its oil also is an equally undesirable 

 product, which reduces the value of bay oil. The true 

 economic plant is known as 'Bois d' Inde', or in Engli-sh, 

 the bay tree. The presence of the leaves of the other two 

 varietie.s amongst produce sold as true bay leaves is not 

 only a matter of considerable inconvenience and possible 

 loss to distillers of bay oil, but tends to give a bad name 

 to samples of such mixed oil when put on the market. 



Leaves and flowering branches of all three forms have 

 been submitted to Kew by Mr. J. .Jones, Curator, Botanic 

 Garden, Dominica, with a view to the detection of any 

 botanical characters by which they can be distinguished, but 

 the principal difference detected is in the fragrance of the 

 bruised leaves; that of the 'Bois d' Inde citronelle' being 

 citron-scented, while the others are simply aromatic, a char- 

 acter difficult to utilize in collecting leaves from wild sources. 

 Moreover, it fails in differentiating the 'Bois d' Inde anise', 

 and it is not yet clear why this particular variety fails to 

 reach the desired standard as regards its essential oil. The 

 specimens have been subjected to botanical comparison, and 

 to more detailed examination in the laboratory, but no con- 

 spicuous differences have been observed. 



Mr. .Jones remarks that the three varieties have been 

 cultivated in the Botanic Garden for fifteen years, and that 

 they wtre obtained as representing the true varieties. The 

 differences observed are thus defined: 'The "Bois d'Inde citro- 

 nelle" is possessed of a lax growing habit, which is quite dis- 

 tinct from the compact erect habit of the "Bois d Inde anise". 

 The appearance of "Bois d'Inde" approximates that of "Bois 

 d'Inde &nise, ' but is less compact. The cymes of "Bois d'Inde 

 citronelle" are longer than those of "Bois d'Inde anise", and 

 several times larger than tho.se produced by the true "Bois 

 d'Inde." ' 



Fruiting specimens are not yet available. Any differ- 

 ences here, however, if they exist, would be of no practical 

 value as a guide in gathering the leaves before the fruits 

 are developed. 



At present the leaves are collected from the wild plants 

 in several islands, including 1 )ominica, Porto Rico, and the 

 Virgin Islands; while in Montserrat there is increasing 

 interest being taken in the cultivation of the trees. It is 

 suggested therefore, that wherever the plant is being brought 

 under cultivation, steps should be taken to ensure that the 

 plants selected have been derived from a pure stock of true 

 Pimenta acris. 



This case of varietal forms of Pimenta acris affords a 

 parallel to those of camphor (Ciiuiamominn Camphoni) and 

 chicle gum {Achr-is SaMfa). (jf both these plants more 

 than one form is known to exist, and the present instance 

 affords yet another example of the absolute necessity of 

 making sure of the value of any particular strain or physio- 

 logical form of an economic plant, before establishing 

 plantations on an extensive scale. 



Mr. .Jones states that Pimaifa acn's in its three 

 varieties exists in great numbers on poor soils near the coast. 

 When the lemon scented pimento was brought to the 

 knowledge of Kew .some thirty- five years ago, the plant 

 was propagated, and between the years 188.5 and 1889 there 

 were distributed many seedlings to Jamaica, Demerara, 

 Lagos, Queen.sland, Fiji. Ceylon, Java, and Singapore. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



^Ir. W. ^[. Malins-Smith has resigned his ofHce of 

 Agricultural Instructor on the Staff' of the Agricultural 

 Department, Grenada, in order to take up the appoint- 

 ment as manager of the estates of the heirs of the late 

 Mr. (ieorge Patterson. In accepting Mr. Malins-Smith's 

 resignation as from the olst inst., His Excellency the 

 Ciovernor of (Jrenada expressed his appreciation of 

 the efficient and conscientious work performed by 

 Mr. Smith in the public service. 



