408 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 20, 1913. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 bhe Department. 



Local Agents: Advocate Co., Ltd., Broad St., 

 Bridgetown. London Agents: Messrs. Dulau & Co., 

 37, Soho Square, W.; West India Committee, Seeth- 

 ing Lane, E.C. The complete list of Agents will be 

 found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News : Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 28. 2d. Post free, 4s. M. 



gigricultur al 'Mtm 



Vol. XII. SATURDAY. DECEMBER 20, 1913. No. 30i. 



Inotes and comments. 



•Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number deals with the subject 

 of co-operative credit. The principal consideration is 

 the manner in, and the extent to, which the Government 

 may be expected to assist in the establishment of credit 

 societies of the Raifteisen pattern. 



An interesting and comprehensive article dealing 

 with 'wood-oil' trees will be found on page 403. 



On page 404 an article is reproduced dealing with 

 the subject of the effect of the new American tariff on 

 the world's sugar industries. 



^ 'icultural 

 iwed on page 40-5. 



The recently issued report on the Agri 

 Department, St. Lucia, is reviewed on page 40-5 



( )n page 40G, will be found an article which 

 describes the recent Sea Island cotton-growing com- 

 petition held in St. Vincent. 



Supplementary to the editorial will be found 

 a note on the West Indies and agricultural credit on 

 page 408, and another dealing with credit in England 

 on page 41:}. 



Insect Notes and Fungus Notes, which will be 

 found on pages 410 and 414, respectively, contain 

 a considerable amount of information concerning legisla- 

 tion in relation to plant pests and diseases. 



The West Indies and Agricultural Credit. 



It will be noticed that the present number 

 of the Agricultural Xfvs contains several refer- 

 ences to this subject. Apart from the editorial, a 

 note appears on the establishment of a (Jovern- 

 ment Loan Bank in German .South- West Africa 

 which will lend money to agricultui-al credit societies; 

 another on the interest shown by Trinidad in 

 the new .St. Vincent Credit Ordinance; and still 

 another bearing upon the possibilities of a land settle- 

 ment scheme in Trinidad. To complete the references, 

 the reader's attention may be called to a recent article 

 in the Demerara Argosg (November 22, 1913) on the 

 subject of agricultural banks, which prophesies an 

 early and definite declaration of policy on the part 

 of the Ciovernment of British Guiana in regard to the 

 establishment of co-operative banks. And finally, 

 an important announcement in the St. Croix Avis 

 (October 18, 1913) may be commented on. This 

 announcement makes known that the Danish Govern- 

 ment was authorized to dispose, during the period 

 August 1 to Octt)ber 31, 1913, an amount not exceeding 

 30,000 francs for the purpose of granting advances to 

 owners of land in .St. Croix (D.W.I.) in order to enable 

 them to continxie the cultivation of the sugar-cane. 



No advances were given to any party having less 

 than 10 acres of cane and the maximum amount 

 advanced was fixed in each individual case proportion- 

 ately to the area under cane. The amount loaned 

 could not exceed 2.5 francs per acre. Interest was 

 charged at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum and the 

 loans are to be repaid at the time of the sale of the 

 cane or sugar in 1914. 



The Government is further authorized to dispose, 

 for the same purpose, from November 1 to IMarch 31, 

 1914, of an amount not exceeding 50,000 francs. But 

 in this case the security required is growing cane 

 sufficiently developed to enable an estimation of the 

 yield to be made. Each loan cannot exceed half the 

 estimated value of the crop, and in no case may exceed 

 12.5 francs per acre. No advances can be given to any 

 party having less than .5 acres in plants. 



^ I ^ 



Problems Awaiting Solution in Tropical Agri- 

 culture. 



Perusal of the latest issue of Tropical Life 

 (November 1913) which has just been received, brings 

 to mind again the question of the fermentation of 

 cacao and allied problems awaiting solution. Readers 

 may remember that a recent book on the plantation 

 manufacture of cacao was reviewed editorially in this 

 journal a short time ago. The principal object in 

 doing this was to present our readers with a detailed 

 discussion (as far as space would allow) of the differ- 

 ent points dealt with, and to emphasize that one of the 

 crying needs of the cacao industry is that these contro- 

 versies should be thrashed out. It is pleasant to 

 observe that Tropical Life a))preciates our endeavours. 

 Agreement may be expressed with the views of that 

 publication on the function of the book: 'What we ask', 

 it says, 'is that no ime will pretend to think of the 

 book as the last word on the subject, as, on the con- 



