Vol. XII. No. 280. 



THE AGltlCULTLTRAL NEWS. 



19 



ST. LUCIA: REPORT ON THE AGKICVLTURA L 

 DEPARTMENT, I911I.'. 



In ibe letter of transmittal of this rei'ort reference is 

 maiie to the alteration in the arrangement of the subjects, 

 which will in future take the place of the headings used 

 fortrirly. The eli'ect of this alti ration is to bring forward 

 proniinei'tly ihe main activities of the stations, and to place 

 details of administration and similar ati'airs -where they will 

 be useful fur rtcoid without detracting from the interest of 

 the report. 



Attention is first directed to work in the Botanic 

 Gardens, and several useful facts are recorded which should 

 prove of interest not only to the planting community, but 

 also to the gt-neral public. 'J'he nielhod of establishment of 

 new lawns, the .-uilability of Pelargoniums for ornamental 

 purposes during nry seasons, the s-uccessful cultivation of 

 new ornamentiil perennials like FKyraea ui/lain'ot, are 

 examples of this kind of general information. 



The section on the raising and distribution of economic 

 plants refers to the increased distribution of lime seedlings, 

 and useful experiments are described in connexion with the 

 germination of imported Hevea rubber seeds. Work has 

 also been carried out with regard to the budding of the mango. 



As regards plant importations, several exotic species 

 of Phoenix and ■ Eucalyptus have been received, besides 

 seed of various kinds forwarded by the Imperial Department 

 of Agriculture, and other departments in the tropics. 



, The economic use of the Gardens is chieHy made mani- 

 fest by the trials with various green dressings that have 

 been conducted during the year under review. The Lyon 

 bean {Stizolobiuni niveum), the Bengal gram (Clrer arir- 

 Hnina), Tcphrosia Candida and T. jjur/nuen, and the well- 

 known horse bean (Canavalia en.-fiformix), have been grown 

 experimentally, their capacity for keeping down weeds being 

 a factor to which much attention has been paid. Attempts 

 are also being made to raise local seedling sugar-canes. 



At the I'.xperiment Station, Union, the grafting of the 

 mango and of cacao has received special attention. In the 

 case of cacao, Calabacillo is the most commcnly employed 

 stock on which the less hardy Forastero is grafted. Para seed- 

 lings have been raised during the year, but the growth of 

 ulready established plants has been somewhat disappointing. 

 la the budded orange plot, Washington Navel, St. .Michael's 

 Blood and other well-known varieties are being raised for bud 

 wood. As regards limes, useful information has been collected 

 relating to the highly beneficial eli'ect of direct sunlight on 

 the trees; and finally this section refers again to the trouble 

 and expen.se that have been caused during ihe past year by 

 the rapid growth of weeds, chietiy Johnson grass {Soir/huin 

 halepiitsc). 



The matter relating to work connected with plant pests 

 and diseases covers a wide range, but no serious outbreaks 

 are recorded. The root disease of cacao continues to cause 

 considerable anxiety, particularly because of the large number 

 of ditterent hosts the causative fungus attacks. Tlje red rot 

 of the sugar-cane {Collttotrichiiin falcaium) appears to be 



causing some loss, but a remedy lies in substituting 

 disease-resistant varieties for the at present widely cultivated 

 Bourbon. Other diseases and pests of various plants are: 

 a fungus disease of the banana, suspicious cases of bud rot 

 of the coco-nut (in regard to which a warning has been issued), 

 a disease of ihe Lyon bean and a leaf bug on tobacco. It is 

 gratifying to note the continued spread of the white-headed 

 fungus (Oj)hioiiectria corricobi) and the red-headed fungus 

 {SphaeriixtUlie corruphila). The latter seems to be parasitic 

 on the burrowing scale {Ilouardia bidavis). 



Progress in the chief industries, namely sugar, cacao 

 and limes, appears to be satisfactory. The somewhat reduced 

 output of sugar has been caused by the adverse etfect of 

 Hoods upon the growing crop The output of cacao has been 

 10,.3GS liags, being 487 short of the figures in 1909. It is 

 stated, however, that comparisons of the kind are scarcely 

 justifiable, since the calendar year does not coincide with the 

 crop period. 



The increased cultivation of limes during recent j'ears 

 has constituted the chief feature of progress in the agricul- 

 ture of St. Lucia; and although it is stated that the number 

 of plants distributed from the nurseries shows a decrease 

 com pared with the [jrevious year's figures, this decline is only 

 apparent, and is explained by the fact that use has been 

 made of plants raised on the estates on which extension has 

 chieHy been made in the [last. 



As regards the minor industries, reference is made to 

 the declining interest in cotton-growing. The cultivation 

 of European vegetables for local consumption receives note- 

 worthy attention from many of the peasantry, and the 

 example set by St. Lucia in this respect might well be 

 followed in several of the other islands. The remainder of 

 the report deals chieHy with instruction in agricultural 

 matters. A comprehensive report on the cacao Prize holdings 

 Competition, by the Assistant Agricultural Superintendent, 

 describe-) the progress that has been made in this direction. 

 It is stated that a keen spirit of competition has been 

 aroused, and that the steady improvement in the work done 

 has been greatly due to the activities of the Agricultural 

 Instructor, who is continually in contact with the com- 

 petitor.'. 



In contrast to the keenness displayed by the small holders, 

 is the apathy toward the schenie for training agricultural pupils 

 at the llotanie Station. The nature of the instruction is 

 described in the report under review, and it is not too much 

 to say that in few European count ries are such facilities 

 available, as in St. Lucia, for learning, free of all cost, 

 the fundamental principles and operations of horticulture. 



The agiicultuial teaching in the primary schools, on the 

 other hand, appears to be remarkably progressive. This is 

 pirtly the outcome of the arrangement by which the teaching 

 receives the co-operation of the Agricultural Department. 

 The recent annual oral examinations by the .Junior Instructor, 

 under the direction of the Agricultural Superintendent, con- 

 stitute one of the best tests of solid progress, and the 

 following results taken from the detailed report submitted by 

 the oHieial e.xaminer is indicative of the extent ol this 

 progres-: 'i>f the seventeen schools examined, seven obtained 

 over 75 per cent, of marks: seven obtained marks between 

 .50 per cent, and 7") per cent.; whilst three obtained not less 

 than 43 per cent.' 



The report concludes with a reference to the special 

 investigations of the agricultural oHiccrs, detailed accounts of 

 which have appeared in the Weit Indian. Jlitl/etni, or in the 

 A(/rinilfural Nrwf. Details of administration are also 

 described, and the report ends with meteorological returns of 

 considerable local interest and value 



