Vol. XVIL So. 434, 



THE AQRICULTURAL NfiWd. 



393 



of Agriculture, that under the auspices 6f the Provin- 

 cial Government in Quebec, a commercial and industrial 

 museum is being organized in Moncreal. Professor 

 Laureys, the Director, states that ic is desirable to have 

 in the museum aearly all the West Indian products 

 mentioned iu the editorial referred to, and that he is 

 sure It would be to the advantage of West Indian 

 producers to have their goods exhibited in Montreal, 

 the city which is practically the commercial metropolis 

 of Canada. 



The object of the Museuin is to stimulate com- 

 merce by demonstrating to Canadian dealers and manu- 

 facturers what may be produced and manufacturtd at 

 home and abroad. 



In the next place, as the names of exhibitor.s 

 accompany the products and sampler, the Montreal 

 Commercial and Industrial Museum constitutes for both 

 Can;idian and foreign manufacturers and pruducers a 

 cheap and permanent means of advertising their goods. 



The collections of the museum are intended to 

 eontaio samples of all the natural and manufactured 

 products of the world. Labels of exhiuits will give 

 summarized information concerning the processes of 

 cultivation iind fabric II inn, :ind concerning the pr.'per- 

 lie.^ and uses of tht' clilliiei;!. v iv, materials and 

 products 



All samples are exhibited, classified, etc., free of 

 ari\ charge. All specimens may be exhibited with the 

 names of the persons or hrm.s turnishing them. 



The address of the l)irectoi is Professor H, Laureys, 

 I)irector of the Commerci d and Industrial Museum, 

 ;^9y Viger Avenue, Montreal, L'anada, who will give 

 any further information re<inii 'd to intending exhibi- 

 tors. 



Antigua G-overnment Granary 



In spite of several untoward accidents which ha\e 

 happened to the machinery of the Granary, the work 

 performed during the months oi' August and September 

 mikes a considerable showing. The quantity of cob 

 corn received for drying from August 26 to September 7 

 amounted to 43.4.&9 lb. Work was commenced at the 

 (iranary on August 2(i, but unfortunately the engine 

 broke down about midday of the following day Tne 

 repairs were not finished until September 5, and 

 operations were completed on September 7, s.) that 

 the above mentioned <|uantity of, corn was shelled and 

 dried in f ur days. 



The total amount of dried com obtained from the 

 ijuautity of cob corn stated above «as 28,b5o lb., giving 

 a percentage of dried corn to cob of y5'87. The shelling 

 and drying of the above amount cost £5 is. 5hi. with a 

 further cost of £1 nj. XJ. in connexion with the bag- 

 ging of the dried corn, making a total of £(i 9j.. 'i\d. 

 Roughly speaking, 25ti bags of corn or 512 bushels were 

 dried. It will be seen that as the drying of corn is 

 charged for at the rate of V. per bushel, there is a fair 

 margin of profit to the Granary on the transaction. 



One of the difficulties that the Granary has had to 

 coutend with during the season was scarcity of water; 

 it was very difhcult to obtain really sufKcient to 

 rua the engine. The other was the Berious breakage 



referred to above, which might have resulted in great 

 damage, had it not been for the presence of mind of one 

 (•f the mechanics. These difficulties, it is satisfactory t». 

 know are now things of the past, and the (iranary, it is 

 to be hoped, will continue to do much useful work ia 

 the future. 



Food-Plants of the Pink Boll Worm. 



The plants which furni-h food for the development 

 of the pink boll worm larvae have been a subject for 

 some discussion. Cotton of course is a recognized food- 

 plant wherever this insect occurs. Iu Egypt, okra 

 {Hibiscus esculentus), til {Hibiscus cannaliinus). and 

 hollyhock (Althea rosea) were known as food-plantjs. 



In India, hibiscus and 'trees with oily sead.^" were 

 recorded as food-plants, while in the Hawaiian Islands 

 the milo, known in the West Indies as 'John Bull", 

 mahoe or gamboge (Thespeshji. popidnea). was given as 

 a lood-plant of this insect. 



In a pap'^r on the pink hoU worm. Mr. Auj,i.:.sC 

 Bu.'^ck, of the United States Bureau of Entomology, 

 who spent some time in Hawaii studying the pink 

 boll worm, stated that only plants of the genus ( ! js- 

 sypium, that is to say, cultivated or other cottons, were 

 attacked by this insect. 



In a letter recently received from .Mr. C L. 

 Marlatt, Chairman (.f the Federal Horticuituril Board, 

 who is in charge of the work being carried out for the 

 eradication of the pink boll worm in Texas, and is 

 carrving on observation.-* and experimental work in 

 Mexico, it is stated that 'our experimental work in 

 Mexico has developed very conclusively that the pink 

 boll wnrni does feed rather readily on okra and holly- 

 hock, and, in f^ct, under a little stimulus will feed on 

 almost anything. Nevertheless it remains perf.-ctly 

 patent that cotton is th? favourite food-plant, and 

 that these others are exceptional.' 



These results as to the feeding of the pink boll 

 worm on okra and hollyhock stand as a correctioti to 

 the conclusio s of Mr. Busck. .ind tend to confirm the 

 observations of workers in Egypt and India. They 

 constitute an ;idditioual wari.irg to the cotton giowers 

 in the West Indies as to the greit care necessary to 

 prevent the introduction of this insect into these 

 islands. One of the ways in which an introduction 

 might occur was mentioned in the last number of tibe 

 Affvicnltttral i\v<c,v; where reference was made to the 

 arrival at Barbados of a schooner, part of the cargo of 

 whit'h was infested otton seed from Br:i/il, 



The Earthquake in Porto Rico 



A severe earthipiake occiirred iu Porto H.ic.^ on 

 October 11. The city of Mayaguez on the west coast 

 seems to have been the C'^ntre of this earthquake, 

 although it was severely felt all over the island. Ab 

 Ponce, a large city on the south side, .seven men were 

 killed and the dam ige repoicedat S2.iOOO!). The losa 

 of li'e in the island is estimared ai; 200 persons .and t.lie 

 <lamageac $.').l)0(),;;0(). 



The sympathy of the neighbouring islands is sin- 

 corelv felt for the sufferers 



