Vol. XVII, \o. 4J5. 



THE AGKIC ULT UKAL N t.-.\ 5 



40J 



lleneral Agricultural and Imlnstrial Exhibition at 

 <^)ueen's Park. 



'I'he Barbados Goat Society is to be congratulated 

 on the evident success of the etforts to improve the 

 breed of goats in Barbados The exhibits at" this show 

 wouM seem to be of an uiiu-iually high class, both as 

 regards the milch goats of some age, and those 

 ^vhich had produced only one litter of kids. 



In Class 1. of ten exhibits consisting of goats 

 which had produced more than one litter of kids, the 

 champion milker was 'Ann. ■ This goat, after 2!)2 da3-s 

 of milk production, yielded -io it), of milk when milked 

 at the show, her last milking having been at .") o'clock 

 on the previous evening. The first prize, and a Diploma 

 of Merit were awarded to the owner of this goit by the 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West 

 Indies. In theseco.id class, of goats having had but one 

 litter of kids, the first pri/.e was awarded to Springhead', 

 who after 2!J4 days ot milk production gave .SIO lb. 

 milk at the show under the same conditions as in 

 Class 1. In Class III of doe kids, among the tvventy 

 ■exhibits there were some remarkably fine specimens, 

 the first prize going to 'HnKeld Sina". Class IV', bucks, 

 contained only four exhibits, two ot which received 

 prizes given by th.^ Barbados Agricultural Society. 



The goats shown in many cases seemed to be pure 

 breil Saanen or Toggenburg, though probably a large 

 number were not quite pure, being the results of 

 crosse.s with native goats, and iu some instances 

 •certainly, having an admixture of the Anglo-Nubian 

 strain. 



The Influence 01 Sun Spots on Ciim ite and Plant 

 Activity. 



Variation in solar radiations should be followed by 

 variation in terrestrial climatic conditions. Meteorolo- 

 gists have long looked to variation in the number of 

 sun spots as a possible factor underlying variation in 

 climatic factors. 



If such climatic raotors iis heat and rainfall be 

 related to the number of sun spots these should be a 

 factor of importance in plmt growth. From a review 

 of recent literature ou this subject in the A }r<t;rican 

 Naturall'it, December 1917, it would appear that Dr. J. 

 Arthur Harris considers that the result-s of recent 

 investigations are directly opposed to the theories 

 which seem to have prevailed among many writers. 



In the first place, the relationship between the 

 number of sun spots and the annual record of terrestrial 

 meteorological phenomena is very slender indeed. 



In the second place, with regard to rainfall and 

 barometric pressure the correlation between these and 

 the number of sun spots is especially losv. 



In the third place, the correlation between number 

 of sun spots and terrestrial temperature is the 

 more consiscent and subst^antial. It is remarkable, 

 however, that the years of larger numbers of sua spots 

 seem to be. in the long run, years of lower, not higher 

 terrestrial temperature. 



Biolojii Ceutrali-Americana. 



During the nineteenth century a number of scien- 

 titic surveys of countries, and scientific voyages were 

 undertaken by various European governments, which 

 have added greatly to the world's knowledge of zoology, 

 botany and archaeology. Most of these publications 

 were produced, altogether or in part, at the expense 

 of various European governments who were able to 

 enlist the co-operation of the most eminent scientific 

 men. Perhaps, however, the most comprehensive and 

 beautifully executed work of this class is the '?Jiologia 

 Centrali-Americana', which was initiated and completely 

 carried out by the authors. Dr. F. Ducane ( iodman and 

 Mr. Osbert Sal vin, two eminent English naturalists, at 

 their own expense, between the years l'S79-191.5. Its 

 subtitle is the modest one of Contributions to the 

 Knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of Mexico and Cen- 

 tral America'. It describes the antiquities, Hora, and 

 fauna of the whole of Mexico and Central America as 

 far as the southern boundary ol Panama. The work 

 consists of sixty-three volumes, containing 1,()77 plates, 

 of which more than 900 are coloured. The total number 

 of species described is 50,2(io, of which 19,2tj3 are des- 

 cribed for the first time. It was privately issued, and has 

 therefore remained for the most part unknown to the 

 general public. After .Mr. Salvin's death in 1898, 

 T)r. Gorlman completed the book, and has recently .sold 

 the remainder sets of this monumental work to Bernard 

 <,Juaritch, Ltd.. to be disposed of commercially. 



The British Guiana Sugar Crop, 1917-18. 



In a note which appears in the Jtywi'nnl of th^ 

 Board of Ar/ricultur<i o'f Britiah OnU(n-a, October 

 191.S, Professor Harrison.*" M.G., Director of Agriculture, 

 and Mr. Robert Warcl, Agricultural Superintendent, state 

 that the total area in sugar-cane cultivation in the 

 colony during 1917 wa*; 7.S,:{4t) acres, an increase of 

 2,()02 acres over the area occupied by that crop in 1916. 

 For the crop of l!il s, 77,-S2:{ acres are under canes, being 

 •"il.S acres less than in 1917. 



°? 



By far the most widely grown cane is D.ti2."), do 

 less than .{(i.OOO acres being planted under this variety 

 for the present year. It is to be noticed that a consid- 

 erable area — -1,950 acres— is still planted with the old 

 Bourbon. Keturns supplied by the .sugar plantations give 

 the following percentagi' of the crop of I'MH: Demerara 

 varieties, 7! >o percent; Bourbon and other old \arie- 

 ties, i;i per cent.; Barbivlos varieties, iV~ per cent: .la\a 

 varieties, ^ per cent. 



From the returns supplied by the managers of 

 the sugar plantations, as to the average yielil in tons 

 of commercial sugar per acre of the principal varieties 

 untler cultivation for the crop of 1917, it appears that 

 the variety D.419 headed the Hat with a return ot" 

 21. 5 tons per acre. 



The results ot large scale field trials with other 

 varieties show that at least seven of the Deinerarsu 

 seedlings indicate a yield of -i tons or more per acre. 



