54 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



February 13, 1915. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, ol Liver] I 



as follows, under date Januarj _■">. with reference 

 to the sales ol Wesl Indian s a Island cotton: 



Since our last report aboul 80 bales of Westlndian Sea 

 Island cotton have b Id, chiefly Nevis 13d. to I ".'.•/. 



8 few St. Kitts at I5rf., and Jamaica at 13d. 



[•rices remain stead} - , I owing to the war, spi ;rs 



who mostlj hi % i disposed to add to 



them until times are better. 



The report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Sea Islam! cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ended January 16, is as follows: — 



There was a demand tlii- week for the Fine, and Fine off 

 in colour, for which Factors were willing to make some con 

 cession, but the remaining offerings of the odd bags in stock 

 are still being held al our quotations. As the ml, I bags of 

 the crop are thought t<> be nearly all marketed, and with 

 only a moderate quantity of Fine, Fully Fine, and Extra 

 Fine remaining in stock, Factors are in hopes they will be 

 led in time, enabling them to get their asking prici 



The crop tots continue to be held above the views of 

 buyers. 



\\ e quote, viz: — 



Extra Fine 23c. = I3|d., c.i.f. & 5 per cent. 



Fully Fine 20c. to 21c. = 1 2d, to 12id., , 



Tine 18c. = lid. 



Fine off in colour 16c. = 10d. „ ., „ „ 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool, 

 Manchester, and Havre, up to January 1(>. 1915, were 

 50, 1,012, and nil bales, respectively. 



VEGETABLE GROWING IN ANTIGUA. 



The report on the Botanic Station and Experiment 



Plots, Antigua. 1913-4, was reviewed in a recent number of 



the Agricultural News, but in the space of that article it 



ii.i found possible to include a detailed account 



ol any one series of experiments. In view of the importance 



ol the local cultivation of foodstuffs at the present time, it has 



been thought desirable to reproduce from the report an 



account of the work done in regard to the growing of 



ibl is, 



Mention has frequently beeii made in this journal 



ot the important growing industry that exists in 



called to an expet iment 

 made by the I an tor, which showed that onion seeds, planted 

 in situ, give a greati 1 1 ransplanted 



according to local custom. The obtained from a l-acre 



p "i v 96 ons; ordit ing, 268 lb. 



1 mions planted in situ do m 



. transplanted It would be well for the 



local onion grower, however, to consider in future the advi 

 bility of sowing a small proportion, at least, of his seed in this 

 manner. Partoftln crop would then be ready for the very 

 early markets. His main crop could be grown according to 

 the recognized local rust o 



The question ol the keeping qualities of onion seed 



has been I ighl up from tiim to time by local grower-. 



and another expet enl le by the Curator showed thai 



onion see,l- can be kept with a fair amount ol safety, in 

 properly sealed receptacles, for al, out six months, after which 

 the power of germination rapidh decreases. 



The above result^ have been referred to arlreadj in the 

 publications ol this Department, bul there is no harm in 

 bringing such important practical p be! i the 



public. 



Useful trials have been made with varieties of tomal 

 The plants were pruned, so thai each possessed one stalk only. 

 A cheap medium on which to train them was found in old 

 telephone wires nailed to posts, which were sunk in various 



parts of the beds. The- I- were sown towards the end 



of September 1913. The poorest yielding variety was 

 Crimson Cushion, which gave 27^ fo. of fruit from 

 ..!,,a,re. The best yielding variety appears to be Acme, 

 which from the same are., gave 55| ft)., though in 

 this case the percentage of bad fruit was rather high. 

 Headers interested in tomatoes should follow these experi- 

 ments in the Annual Reports themselves. It is interesting 

 to add, that there i- every possibility of exporting tomatoes 

 to Canada. 



Varietal experiments with yam- were again conducted 

 during the year. The varieties grown at the Experiment 

 Station are popular with planters, and there is as a rule, 

 a brisk demand for sets for planting purposes. In these 

 trials, which were designed to test the value of manuring as 

 well as purely varietal characteristics, the produce from the 

 manured plot was, ill most cases, less than that from the 

 unmanured. The most remarkable exception in regard to 

 increased yield through manuring is afforded by the variety 

 crop, which, unmanured, gave K>1 lb. from ,',,-aci e, and L'-'ll' lb. 

 from the same area, manured. From the result- of varict\ 

 trials conducted during the last fourteen years, a variety 

 called Light lied heads the list, with an average yield of So lb. 

 per plot. The lowest position is occupied by a variety 

 Called Cush, which gave an average figure of 40 lb. per plot. 

 An examination of the figure- presented leads one to the 

 conclusion, that not a great deal of reliance can be placed on 

 these average figure-, because the variation from year to year 

 is so considerable. For instance, in 1906-7, Light Red 

 yielded 161 IF per plot, whereas in 1911-12, it yielded only 

 .'iii It), per plot. The-e fluctuation- in yield are probably due 

 to climatic change- rather than to positive characteristics ot 

 the plant itself. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial ( 'oimnissioner of Agriculture for the 

 Wesl Indies returned to Barbados on February 10, 

 1915, by the R.M.S. 'Trent', alter paying an official 

 \ isil to St. Vincent. 



In view ot the depj otton industry, the 



Fradt Index of New Orleans, for January 2, 1915, says that 

 tl may bi m to bring about greater diversification of 



i be I ." It i- i ited . hay. 



,n,l hogs can .,11 be produced in the Southern State- in 

 unlimited quantiti, it i be cotton ci ease to be luci 



