Vol. XIV. No. 351. 



i'HK AGRICULTURAL NFAVS. 



331 



1 1 present, upon cacao and spices, md the highly reinnn< 



prices obtained for these staples havi resulted in the i 



of other industries, Were the pri cao to i below 



remunerative production, the Colony would be in son 



and the necessity for adopting cy 61 broadening its 



productive capacity by the encouragemenl i or products, 



such as ground provisions, foi supph ing local demands, which 

 now depend on imported foodstuffs, more particularly on the 

 land settlements, is urgent and imperative.' 



[n connexion with the cotton industry in St. Vincent, 



ii is stated in the Report on thai colony that about 15 tons 



i| cotton seed oi the 1913-14 crop were crushed by the 



disintegrator at the Government Ginnery for manurial pur- 



The price oi lint during the year was for some 



: bales as high as tO'A per lb, The average sale price 



was, however, lid. to 20d. for Sea Island cotton; Marie 



( lalante sold from Gtd. to 10'/. 



The export oi whale oil was £340 iri 1912-13 and £-'517 

 during the year under review. Thi<, as was remarked in 

 last year's report, is a dying indus ov tb reduc- 



tion in the number of whales visiting these waters. 

 Numerous species ol sponges are to be found in the Grena 

 • lines, some of which are said to be oi commercial value, but 

 unfortunately it has nol yet been found feasible to tnvesti 

 gate the possibility of the establishment of u sponging 

 industry. 



The turtle industry showed an export value of £380, 

 as against £S5 in 1912-13, £302 ii L9J1-12, and £176 in 

 1910 11. 



The exports from the island of St. Lucia have in the 

 shown a gradual increase, culminating in 

 £274,460 for L913-14. It may 1"' noted that while the 

 exports of island produce have thus increased, the percentage 

 ind cacao exports has gradually fallen from 93*3 to 

 87T, indicating an extension in agrii Iture in other directions 

 than those of the two principal products. This increase is 

 seen principally in the case of limes, the exports of which 

 have steadily increased during the past ten years. 



A large proportion of the space in the Leeward Islands 

 Report is devoted to an account of agricultural pro 

 taken from the various department reports issued by this 

 Department, thereby indicating the value which is attached 

 to the information which they contain. 



In Jamaica it is noted in connexion with the work of 

 the Government Laboratory, that the public milk supply still 

 remains unsatisfactory in that island, 29 per cent, of the 

 samples tested having been found to be diluted with water. 

 Ajs regards education, the average school attendance has 

 increased by 122 percent . while the population has increased 

 .")5 per cent. Literary education has improved greatly 

 in quality and wider scope has been given to teaching in the 

 elementary schools, embracing preparation for industrial 

 pursuits. 



According to the Report on the Cayman Islands, 

 general prosperity depends to a veiy large extent in thi i 



of Grand Cayman on the pri ned from the sale of 



Contracts which hitherto have been entered into for 



one year with foreigi ive be£,n superseded during the 



last year by contracts in the majority of cases of five years' 



ion to take effect from the Lsl of January next, The 

 i i by a repi ■ atal i> e of a company 

 that contemplates establishing a turtle ory in 



Grand Cayman, 



In the Lesser Isla I co nuts form the staple indus 

 try, but, unforl in spite of the most strenuous 



ires, the dreaded bud r i i still continues to 



make headway, a circumstance that gives rise to grave 

 anxiety for the future of these islands. 



AGRICULTURE IN 

 MALAY 



THE FEDERATED 

 STATES. 



It appears from tl: ., Administration Report for 



1914 that the approxin under different kinds of 



cultivation in that Stati last year were as follows: — 



Rubber 



1 nuts 



i offee 

 Padi 

 Various 



Rubber 



245,503 



35,092 



9,953 



9,448 



22,000 



shows a substantial increase over the previous 

 year's figures, but there i- a decrease under the head of coco- 

 nuts. The latter is inexplicable, as the cultivation of coco- 

 nuts is steadily extending. The area under padi has increas- 

 ed by nearly 3,000 acres, and the development of this form 

 of cultivation is most satisfactory. 



As regards Negri Sembilang, the State Administration 

 Report for 1914 gives the following figure as showing 

 approximately the areas devoted to the principal products 

 cultivated in that State last year: — 



Ac i 



117, don 



28,000 



20,000 



1,500 



1,3' 



L2,( 



other products. 



Rubber 



Padi 



( loci -nuts 



• rambier — 



Tapioca 



Fruit tn es 



About 3,300 acn - are under \ i 

 (Journal of the Royal Society of At ts. 



MANJACK DEPOSITS IN THE BRITISH 

 WEST INDIES. 



There are in the island'of Trinidad large deposits of 

 manjack, especially in San Fernando section, where are situated 



the Vistabella and the Marabella properties. During the past 

 decade approximately 18,000 tons were exported in a crude 

 state. 



[n outward form and general appearance manjack is not 

 unlike fine coal, and is essentially a bituminous substance. 

 It is an oil residuum occurring in lenticular seams between 

 walls of peculiar clay, which appear to have absorbed the oil 

 under very heavy pressure. It is jet black in colour and 

 resinous in its nature, and has long been known tor its 

 insulating properties in the manufacture of electric coils, 

 dynamos and generators. 



From a recent report by the United States Consul in 

 Trinidad, it appears that the Vistabella manjack properties 



are worked under a long lease by an American ,■ tmpany, 



which, besides exploiting and exporting manjack in its 

 natural state, has undertaken the manufacture of certain 



well-defined compounds. One of these is a high grade black 

 manjack paint for use on smoke-tacks and on boilers, both 

 inside and out; another is a preparation suitable for greasing 

 pipe threads, dressing wire rope, etc. 



Barbados manjack is of two varieties th ddal 



and the columnar. The first is the more valuable, and 

 a newly-fractured specimen cannot be distinguished from jet, 

 so far as outward ap is concerned. At the present 



time the exportation are mainly to the United States, where 

 Barbados manjack is used in the manufacture of high-grade 

 insulating black varnish. (Journal ot the Royal Society of 

 Arts.) 



