Vol. XII No. 297 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



299 



Director concludes his varied observations by referrinsr 

 to the problems counfcted with the milk industry. A table 

 given ?.t the end of the report shows that out of 117 .simples 

 of fresh milk tested at the (Government Laboratory, thirty-four 

 were adulterated. It is believed to be practically impossible ta 

 effectually prevent the theft of milk and its adulteration in 

 Jamaica without the intervention of supernatural forces. 



JAMAICA: A^'^'rAL REPORT ON THE DE- 

 FARTMEXT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE YEAR 

 ENDED MARCH -Jl. 101-!. 



In spite of the occurrence of severe storms and pro- 

 longed drought, the report of the Director of Agriculture 

 shows that in Jamaica during the past year progress has 

 been made along several lines of effort. At Hope the 

 condition.s of drought were particubirly acute, and during 

 the summer months serious losses in live stock would 

 have occurred if it had not been found possible to feed the 

 cattle on sugarcane. In connexion with the provision of 

 fodder, it has been demonstrated that ihi the Liguanea Plain 

 it IS possible to secure a constant supply of succulent forage 

 in the form of ensilage without irrigation. 



After discussing the benefit derived from the Depart- 

 ment's assistance in the acclimatizntion of imported stock, 

 the report goes on to refer to iho trnpical agricultural 

 college movement, and a statement is put forward that 

 in Jamaica the institution would be an expensive 

 luxury, the cost of which would be difKcult to justify in 

 times of retrenchment. The local farm school is regarded 

 as a sound and economic venture and apparentlj' as 

 a satisfactory substitute for the institution just referred to. 

 In the next sentence, the report considers anthrax. It 

 appears that in Jamaica this contagious Jisease is fairly 

 ■widely distributed, and during a drought it is very liable to 

 break out on infected land. Tick fever is also verj" 

 prevalent, but a remedy exists in the form of the Tripan blue 

 treatment. 



The subject of plant diseases in Jamaica is dealt with 

 next. It appears that during the past year attention has 

 been given principally to diseases of the banana. It is stated 

 that planters should now feel satisfied that the Panama 

 disease is not a serious menace to the premier industry of 

 Jamaica, and that although it is unfortunately true that this 

 disease has made its appearance, and, in fact had been at 

 work for many years before it was recognized, there is every 

 reason to believe that it can be controlled by fairly simple 

 means. 



The report goes on to consider matters pertaining to 

 public health. Owing to the serious risk of plague-rats 

 effecting an entry into the island in consequence of ship 

 communication with Havana, an energetic campaign of rat 

 destruction was carried out. Althouirli success attended the 

 employment of poisonous baits at the beginning of the 

 campaign, the rat community appc:'.r now to be fully on 

 their guard against baits of all sorts. It was considered 

 desirable to attempt further destruction by the employment 

 of ferrets. Consequently a consignment of polar cat ferrets 

 was imported from England. Unfortunately the animals 

 proved to be quite useless. Not a rat was bolted from the 

 stored cargo; in fact two of the ferrets were so exhausted 

 from heat prostration that they reijuired first aid treatment 

 before they began to evince any interest in their new 

 -surroundings. The mongoose is, of course, vastly superior to 

 the ferrets in activity and power of rat destruction. The 



.SO UTIIERN NICER J A : A NNUA I. RE FOR T GIT 

 THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, lUIj. 



The part of tliis report dealing with mycological work 

 in Southern Nigeria was dealt with under Fungus Notes in 

 the last issue of the Afirirultitral Neivs In the following 

 brief abstract matters of general agricultural interest are 

 considered. 



On the second pagi- of the report information is pre- 

 sented in regard to u scheme for the establishment of small 

 model farms and nurseries in various districts of the 

 Protectorate. Educational efforts are also being made in 

 regard to the provision of instruction for agricultural pupil.* 

 at the various economic gardens and experiment stations. 



Turning to a consideration of the condition of the staple 

 cultivations, it is remarked that considerable attention has 

 been devoted to the cacao industry. The department has 

 distributed from its various nurseries during the year 39,675 

 plants and over 12,000 seeds. Ettbrts are being made to 

 improve the quality of the exported article, and with this 

 end in view, drying houses and fermenting boxes have been 

 established at the Model Farm at Agege and at Moor Planta- 

 tion. In regard to the quality of cacao, a note from 

 a report furnished by Messrs. Cad bury. England, shows 

 that very considerable progress has been made in Southern 

 Nigeria during the past few years; similar commendation is- 

 contained in a report by Messrs. Millers, of Liverpool, who 

 state that the sample of cacao forwarded them, compared 

 favourably with the (fold Coast product. The sample was 

 valued at 5.5s. to 5Gs. per cwt. 



The cotton industry continues to make satisfactory i>ro- 

 gress too; 39,043 cwt. of lint was exported during the year, 

 whilst the crop in the Western Province for 1913 promises to- 

 be the heaviest on record. 



Rubber under cultivation in the Protectorate chiefly con- 

 sists of Hevei Ijrasilieiifix and the Manihot Glaziorii, whilst 

 Funtioniaelastica and several species of Landolphia and Ficus 

 are indigenous, and occur in fairly large quantities in various 

 parts of the Protectorate. 



The status of the oil palm industry in Southern Nigeria, 

 is shown from the fact that the value of this product exported 

 during the year under review amounted to £4,.500,000 sterl- 

 ing. It is suggested that profitable returns might be obtained 

 from the cultivation of the oil \>A\m {Elaeis guinee'iais) on 

 plantation lines, and with a view to gathering data, seed 

 selection and germination experiments have already been 

 inaugurated. 



In concluding the remarks on the oil palm industry, 

 attention is given to an interesting observation, namely,, 

 the discovery of a valuable variety of oil palm having 

 the perianth persistent around the fruit. The seeds were 

 examined at the Imperial Institute and were found to- 

 contain 42 per cent, of palm oil — a yield which is almost as- 

 large as that given by the Ab-o be palm fruit of the Gold 

 Coast or the Aso-e jub variety of Southern Nigeria (see Bulle- 

 tin of the Inqyerial Institute, Vol. VII, pp. 370 and 379). 



