Vol. XII. No. 300. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



345 



^acquired by the expenditure of continually increasing 

 effort.' This point is one which, we believe, must have 

 the consideration of those responsible for agricultural 



•departments in the ^Vest Indies and! in the Tropics 

 generally. 



Another aspect of the last twenty years, com- 

 mented on by Professor Wood, was the success that 

 has attended the ))ractice on the part of certain 

 scientific workers to confine their efforts t<i the 

 thorough solution of specific r.nd circi'i'mscribed prob- 

 lems. In this respect reference is made to the 

 researches of Russell and Hutchinson on the partial 

 sterilization of the soil, and to liiffen's notable achieve- 

 ments in regard to the breeding of heavy-yielding and 



■disease-resisting wheats of high ijuality. Work of 

 this kind is of academic interest, of great educational 

 A'alue, and of immediate practical us,e to the agricul- 

 turist under the widest range of conditions. 



Disease of Horses in Berbice. 



The fatal disease of horses which appears to be 

 spreading in Herbice was at first considered to be 

 cerebrospinal meningitis, and sometime ago enquiries 

 from British (iuiana were made at this Office on the 

 subject of that complaint. According to the Demerara 

 Daily Argosy (October 1, 191H), Dr. Minett has now 

 diagnosed the disease as 'mal de caderas', which is 

 a well-known South American disease caused by a blood 

 parasite {Trypanosoma eijuina). There is some 

 indication that the disease may be carried by the biting 

 stable Hy {Stovio.cys calcitrans:). which has quite 

 recently been observed in Barbados by the Mycologist of 

 this Department and is known to occmr in St. Vincent, 

 Antigua, :Montserrat and Jamaica. The Veterinary 

 Officer to this Department has called attention 

 to the risk as regards this disease, involved in the 

 introduction of Venezuelan horses into Trinidad, Bar- 

 bados and elsewhere. Surra disease has occasionally 

 been said to occur in Barbados, bub it is quite possible 

 owing to the similiarity between the symptoms of the 

 trypanosome disease, that what has been diagnosed 

 clinically as surra is really 'mal de caderas', though of 

 course this cannot be said definitely. 



At any rate 'mal de caderas ' is a very fatal disease, 

 death resulting sometimes in so short a time as three 

 or four weeks: and the indefinite knowledge which 

 seems to e.xist in regard to its means of spread and 

 diagnosis points the great necessity for further 

 investigation. 



In the DemcvdYSL Daily Anp'sy (October 12, 191:5), 

 a notice appears to the following effect: — 



'Viewing with alarm the serious nature of the 

 disease affecting horses and mules in Berbice, and 

 the possibility of the disease reaching Ceorgetown 

 -(Demerara), :\Ir. E. W. Wills moved at a meeting 

 of the Town Council a motion directing a si)ecial 

 inspection by the Health Department of every stable 

 with;' the object of advising and directing owners as 

 to the precautionary measures that should be taken 

 immediately.' 



Two New Indian Exchanges. 



These are the Wealth of India (a monthly maga- 

 zine of practical information and useful discussions), 

 and an Agricultural Journal of the Department 

 of Agriculture, Bih.ar and Orissa. The former publi- 

 cation is in its second volume and presents a review 

 of current topics in India: it has a section devoted 

 entirely to agricultural affairs and to co-operative . 

 movements. From what we have seen, this agricultural 

 section would be more interesting outside India and 

 possibly more useful within, if greater space were 

 devoted to investigation work and general agricul- 

 tural progress in India rather than to American 

 and European results. 



The agricultural journal is an entirely new 

 publication, to be issued half-yearly. Its contents 

 are confined to agricultural science, ;ind if future ■ 

 numbers maintain the standard set by the first, 

 it is sure to prove useful and jjopular. Articles 

 are given on entomological, botanical, engineering 

 and on purely agricultural subjects, all well illustrated; 

 but for the information of tho.se who reside in the Westi \ 

 it may be added that the greater part of the information 

 is of puiely local application, This, ot course, for . 

 a local departmental publication, is as it should be. 



Trade of Grenada and St. "Vincent, 1912-13. 



The Grenada (lO'-emiwnt Gazette (Sejjtember l-">, 

 1913) shows that exports of the value of £285,.380 were 

 recorded for 19I2-lo, being X5,70G in excess of the 

 total imports for that year. This is an increase of 

 £20,940 or about 8 per cent, as compared with the 

 year 1911. Of these, the United Kingdom took 

 £l(i9,7()2 (.59 per cent.), the United States £.54,72f> 

 (19 per cent.) and France £48,4.S7 9s. (kl. (17 percent.). 

 Cacao is credited with shipments to the value of 

 £22.5,::il7, or about 79 pei- cent, of the total exports of 

 the Colony. Of this commodity, .3(! per cent, went to 

 the United Kingdom, 211 per cent, to the United 

 States and 22i per cent, to France. The exports of 

 nutmegs showed an increase from 9,087 cwt. in 1911 

 to 12,21.5 cwt. in 1912. IMaces and spices also showed 

 an increase. Over S.'5 per cent, of this produce went to 

 the United Kingdom, and (,'anada appears for the first 

 time as a recipient of 20 cwt. There has been an 

 increase in the output of cotton (by 83-5 bales) but that 

 of coco-nuts remains about the same. The year under 

 review was marked by the first shipment of concen- 

 trated lime juice (value £123) from Oarriacou. 



From St. Vincent — according to the Government 

 Gazette (September 18, 1913) — the exports amounted 

 to £lll,t)84 or £17,4.58 less than the imports, and 

 .£(),941 less than the exports in 1911. The value of the- 

 exports of Sea Island cotton fell from £40,-529 in 1911 

 to £32,073 in 1912. The value of the e.x])orts of 

 arrowroot, on the other hand, increased from £40,430 

 in 1911 to £48,854 in 1912. About 7(3 per cent, 

 of St. Vincent produce went to the United Kingdom, 

 22 per cent, to the other British West Indian islands, 

 3 per cent, to Canada, also about 3 per cent, to the 

 United States. 



