A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



LJBKARV 



*^^ '^^^ eOTANlCAJ 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 0A.eDEN. 



Vol. XII. No. 2S4. 



BARBADOS, MARCH 15, 1913. 



Peiob \d. 



CONTENTS 



Agricultiual Show, Mont- 



serrat 



Hacteria, Requiiemeut.s 

 of Denitrifying 



Dernuid.t, Botanical Ex- 

 ploration in 



Book .Shelf 



British Cotton Gro.ving; 

 Association and a Trojji- 

 cal University 



Cacao Fermentation, Na- 

 ture of 



Co-operation in St. Vin- 

 cent: Report on -Agri- 

 cultural l!.-nik 



Cotton Notes ; — 



Branching Habits of 

 Egy]jtian Cotton 

 Para.sites of the Cotton 



Worm 



West Indian Cotton ... 



Department New.s 



Dep.irtmental Reports ... 



Fruit Tree.s, Action of 



Grass on 



Fruits for Transport, 

 Storage Test of, 



Paok 



8h 



89 



89 

 95 



87 



91 



91 



86 



86 

 86 



93 

 85 



84 1 

 84' 



Paoh. 



Fungus Notes : — 



A Leaf Spot of Euc.-ilyp- 



tus Pulverulenta 94 



A Root Disease of Pas- 



jialum Dilatatum 94 



Citrus Scab 94 



Gleanings 92 



Herd H.iok, West Indian cSl 

 Hurricane*, Damage to 



Ditierent Crops by ... 88 

 Insect Notes : — 



The Lime Twig Borer. . . 90 

 Index to Agricultural 



News ... .';. 88 



Market Reports 90 



Meat, New Method of 



Preserving 89 



Notes and Comments ... 88 

 Pen Manure, Maximum 



Profit from 93 



Poultry, Fungus Disease 



of 85 



Students' Corner 9o 



Sugar Industry: — 



The I'se of Germicides 

 in Sugar Factoi'ies ... 83 

 University in the Tropics 87 

 VegetaViIe-growini; in the 

 Tn.pics ^ 88 



A West Indian Herd Book. 



rfe^"^'^ temperate countries where the breeding 

 »of cattle is conducted in an organized 

 ^^^nianner entirely for the production of human 

 food, it will be noticed that two distinct objects are 

 continually kept in view. Either animals are bred 

 for purposes of meat-production or, on the other hand, 

 the production of milk is the primary aim. Selection 

 and management are restricted to these two lines. 

 Indeed so definite are the points which denote the 

 beef and dairy animal, that modern writers on Brit- 



ish live stock common!}' employ these characteristics 

 as a basis for the classification of the different breeds. 

 But it wa.s not always so. In earlier times, o.\- labour 

 on arable farms in Britain took precedence over every 

 other consideration in regard to the breeding and 

 rearing of cattle, and selection was then as definitely dir- 

 ected to the production of agile, powerful and enduring 

 animals, as to-day selection is there concerned with the 

 eradication of such characters. Even up to the year 

 1880 we read that cattle were in many parts of England 

 used chiefly for draught, and that it was only after thej^ 

 had discharged their functions in the field that the 

 .animals were fattened for the production of meat. 

 William Marshall, writing in 1796, described the North 

 Devon cattle as being somewhat below the desirable 

 point in size for the heavier works of husbandry, but 

 that they made up for this deficiency in exertion and 

 agility. The Somersetshire Devon, of larger scale^ 

 formed a link between the North Devon and the Sussex 

 breed of large and powerful oxen suited to the plough- 

 ing of the wealden clay lands. The steers of this breed 

 were broken in at the age of two years and a half, and 

 from the lime of completing their third year were 

 worked regularly for three or four years after 

 which they were either fattened by the breeders 

 or else sold to graziers. Eight to fourteen oxen 

 were allowed to a single plough — eight oxen con- 

 stituting a team, but ten to twelve being u'i'd on 

 stiff land. The reason for employing so many was 

 the consideration that if the oxen were worked up to 

 their full strength, growth was impaired, and a check 

 was put upon the disposition to fatten. Frequently 

 the oxen were worked only on alternate days, for it 

 soon became clear that with the increasing demand for 

 meat, the profit on fattening was more important than 

 the exaction of full working power. The growing 



