Vol. XIV. No. 349. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



291 



ST. LUCIA: REPORT OX THE AGRICULTURAL 

 DEPARTMENT, 1914 to. 



The St. Lucia Agricultural ' inducts its 



official and experimental work a1 t\ ili bments, na 



in the Souffriere District, which is the principal 



lishment, a i Botanic ' lard ins in t las trie 



the Government Lime Juici I i n is situated. The 

 report under review begins with a di criptive account ol the 



done in tin i and certain obsi rval 



plants. Recent plant importations have included several 

 species of Eucalyptus, and amongst the more economic 

 plants, seeds of Sesamum from Grenada, seeds ol varieties 

 round nuts from Montserrat, and 100 suckers of 'Red 

 Spanish' and 'Smooth Cayenne' pine-apples from Florida. 

 The notes on economic plants which follow, refer to the 

 recent determination of a coniferous tree found growing on 

 the Petit Piton as Juniperus barbadensi*. It is of interest 



Mid that a large number of plants of this tree have 

 been planted at the Reunion Experiment Station, as well as 

 specimens of J. btrmuditwa and J. pacliyphlota. As well as 

 these trees, a large number of Cusuarina equisetifolia have 

 been introduced and planted to serve as a supply 'if cordwood. 

 Considerable quantities of mahogany have' also been estab 

 lished at Reunion. 



The section dealing with the work at Reunion itself 

 shows that the distribution of plants has rapidly increased 

 during the past four years from ■ 28,000 to neatly 70,000. 

 As well as the raising of seedlings, the experimental plots 

 represent useful work carried on at this station. Fifteen 

 acres of coco-nuts have been established for experimental 

 purposes and two '.aire plots of Sea Island cotton were 

 sown as a catch crop between cane banks. It is concluded 

 that June and July are the best months for sowing cotton 

 in the Choiseul district. Other experiments have included 

 those with cassava and vanilla. 



Inforinati'Hi on progress in the rhief industries shows 

 that while the exports of sugar ami eaeao have somewhat 



decreased, the shipment of lime products has again this year 

 undergone a marked extension. Beginning with shipments 

 i at onlj £127 in 1906, the exports of lime products 

 from St. Lucia have risen to a value ol £6,451 in 1914. 

 As a general rule the condition ol lime plantations is 



reported to be g I, but some ol the earlier plantations 



are now showin ill effects of t 'lose planting. 



with lime cultivation that of coco-nuts has al 



shown progress. It is stated that ion under 



this crop h at such a rate tBfcl coco-nut planting 



arded as a i < in St. Lucia. 



ndei re\ iew shows 



a reduct pi lined by th 



large inn ba 



for planting In future it is likely that there 



■ "lira. 

 of the rep 



1914. Sugar prodi "1 the list 



next valued at 



£6,44! 



valui ■'. .it v I 



T 



illy with the the 



the 



I i report sh 



od work L 



i on the 

 Further educational i 



connected with the isl: ions, 



notably at the Interna ional Rub I Allied Prod 



Exhibition held in London in June 1914. The display oi 

 St. Lucia produi rablj reported on by thi 



tary of the West India < lommittee. 



A special line of investigation started dut 

 has been the collection and identification of the St Lu 

 grasses. The Agricultural Superintendent has received 

 valuable assistance in this work From Mr. A. S. Hitchcock, 

 Systematic Agrostologist of the United states Department ol 

 Agriculture, who kindly undertook to identify any speci 



unknown locally. A provisional list of the grasses appi 



in this report, and general notes are furnished on the economic 



importance of the e valuable "m^. Thus Paspalum 



dilatatum (water grass) is described as a coarse grass which 

 is relished by cattle. Crazing stock also relish Axonnpus 

 compressun, which is frequently found occurring in patches on 



lawns and pastures. It makes a g I springy turf if kept 



out. Concerning Andropur/on pertusus (Barbados sour gra- 

 it is stated that this is most suited for dry regions and is 

 more valuable as a hay grass than as a green fodder. 

 Cenchrus echinatus (burr grass), although troublesome to 

 pedestrians at its fruiting period is nevertheless a most 

 valuable pasture grass in its young stage. It constitutes 

 one of the hardiest grasses found in pastures along the dry 

 coast lands. It will withstand the severest drought and the 

 hardest grazing, and thrives in the poorest soils. 



( )ne of the most important subjects dealt with in the 

 report is the working of the Government Lime Juice Factory. 

 Notes are given concerning milling, concentration, and 

 distilling. It is shown that a high standard juice with 

 a sediment test not exceeding 5 per cent, can be regularly 

 turned out by any of the steam boiling plants in St. Lucia, as 

 against the usual juice with 20 to 30 per cent, of sediment 

 characteristic of the open vat method of concentration. 

 Interesting figures are given concerning the cost of manufac- 

 turing concentrated lime juice. It appears that about £2 10s. 

 may be taken as a representative estimate, though undei 

 war conditions an increase of some 12s. to 14s. has to 

 added. It may be mentioned that in connexion with tin. 

 Government Lime Juice factory, planters are provided with 

 facilities for having their concentrated juice te of 



Is. being charged for each examination of raw juice and 

 Is. M. for concentrated juice. 



The highest recorded rainfall forth year was L20T5 

 inches at Uplyme and the lowest at Vieuxfort, which w 

 L'T'Ts inches. The rainfall at Reunion for the year 1914 

 was 50 - 45and rain fell 197 days out of the 365. 



Appended to the major portion of this publicati 

 is a report by the Agricultural Superintendent and 

 ( tfficer on the working o 

 on. The total 

 is 1 I nine lots ha\ 



comprising 1 < > 1 acres i 



remaining bavi and the 



. ., . ly, Both the agri- 



and financial c 



in every way satisfactory. 



