Vol. XIV. No. 354. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NKWS 





DOWN THE ISLANDS. 



ITEMS OF LOCAL INTEREST. 



-i nxcExx. Mr. W. V - onus us th i 



( ictober kiln dried coi 



1 roveri : ' l,,t §2-35 



(duty ]'■ « . udition o( 



crop, il is stated is fair in >ut poor in 



others. The eapii t 



started durii ntion 

 is b i oul method 

 control foi ants w hich visit 

 onion si rning whi< nforn 

 under Insect Notes in .; il S, wt. 

 mltural Superintendenl and the Assistant Super- 

 intendent, when "ii a visit to i estate, in 



connexion, with the control of the; a \ n viridula), 



which :. ibacco severely, c me by chance on a I 



number of specimens i 



"been h i I the parasite has 



the fields in the hope that it maj exercise 

 incn i trol. 



st. i.i • i v. The cacao Mr. A. J. Brooks, 



of sugar cane is to 

 be seen everywhere. At the time of writing, at the 



beginning of November, the lime still ing in and 



large returns were being Special work of the 



ifficers of the Department has consistedin the checking of 



accounts al G I nice Factory and the 



paying o 3. The Agricultural Superintend lit, 



iionth of October, visited Crown Lands in the 



heights of Vieux Kurt in >n with the proposed planting 



in that p indlimes. Mr. Brooks states that it 



is intended to coi laying out a permanent drainage 



~vm.mii at Reunion: large i m e pipes will be used for 

 passing the ilow the \ iads. An appended 



list of the plants distributed from the nurseries shows that 

 thesi d 1,749, of which 1,720 were lime plants, 



twenty-four budded oranges, three nutmegs, and two 

 Leci irative. 



montserrat. The weather in this island has continued to 



lie satisfactory, being suffi iently wet to maintain growth, and 



it the same time dry enough to allow the picking of the cotton 



p. At the time of writing, Mr. Robson, Curator at the 



Bot ■ ic iys ginning wasin fullswing and that the 



dity of the cotton seemed to be g I. Mr. Robson provides 



pious notes on the success and otherwise that has 

 attended the various trials made with beans and peas. At 

 Minis' Station the black eye pea occupying Uacre 

 yielded 136 ft>. of dry peas equal to about 9 bushels per 

 The first generation of the six kinds of imported 

 Lima beans has been a failure. Seeds, however, have been 

 saved of each kind. It is reported tHat two planters have 

 ■become interested in the cultii i ol the cowpea for 

 shipment to Ba or elsewhere, rid that the cultiva 



I bean crops generally is likely to find favour in this 

 island. In n I ial work with cotton, it may lie 



mentioned that samples of seven een strains oi c itton were 

 seni to the British Cotton Growii ition last mail for 



report and valuation. Considerable in', rest attaches to this 



sot f the samples have lint as long as the 



Kitts long cottons, the in rease in length being due 



'"'[.:!> to a 1 'e favour '. : A .nnexion 



with the Onion Growers Association singas well 



.n l.e e\|i. . | most of intelligent of the 



3mall growers bavi members. The first shipment 



of ground nuts p r0 Trinidad 



by last mail. \\ i, 



vt.\ bright, the i of the Virginia Runnii > 



i' ir tl i 



\ N ' ' the fl ind i 



In tin 

 .id, writes Mr. Jacl te crop 1 



during the 1 1 [no 



lines to improve. M 



with maize, one mnd 



i in ait granary wa 



experiments in the 



conducted. At . arti \ 



Society, I Ir. 1 ,,1^ 



oi tl I ward [slantl 



191 I 15. According to figu ided, the plants di 



buted from the Botan [00 



i ants. As reg irds rainfall, it i [ 



B . anic Station 3-89 inches fell during the month. !'■ 



tired. 

 st. kitts. Mr. K. R. Shepherd, the ! tural 



Superinti ndent, writes to say that the end 



of < Ictober was well advanced and he ilthy all over the island. 

 With a continuance of the present weather conditions tl 

 is prospe cord crop next season, i in i a 



the young ci i . 3 planted, and grea 



en with the selection ol the cuttings. < In one 

 particularly, all th _■ irocured 



from good plant canes with excellent results as regards 

 germination. The cotton crop is being reaped rapidly, and 



ou some estates the hushes are being turned under with 



ect of getting the land ready for planting canes. The 

 returns of lint generally are moderate, except in a 



eptional cases. At a n ting of i ral and 



Commercial Society, a paper l.\ Mr. Waterland the 

 Chemical Assistant, and Dr J. I.. Shannon the Vi 

 Surgeon, was read on the Feeding of Stock. Mr. Shepherd 



that work. tempi. .ted consists principally at present 



in the laying out of the experimental plots on est 



varieties and their niaiiurial treatment. 



nevis. According to Mr. W. [. Howell, the cane crop 



throughout the island is looking very promising. S 



being nude on a Ten estates and lair prices have been obt lined 

 in the local markets. The cotton crop, on the whole, is 

 promising, and a good econd picking is expected from nany 

 of the fields. Provision crops, on the whole, are doing wadl, 



and planting is slid in progress. Small plots of Indian 



corn were also established during the month. Regular vi 



to plantations in different parts of the island have Keen 111 ide, 

 and in this connexion it may be noted that I'iuneys estate 



shipped during October 2,000 coconuts to Demerara E 



planting purpi Che manures lor the second year's trials 



with coco-nuts at Pinneys estate were applied during the 



early part ot the month. Rainfall for tl 



inches. Rainfall for the year to date: IO - 84 inches. 



The infusoria] earth of Barbados is well known, and 

 a note on the use of similar material 

 appearing in the Ag\ it Ga ettt of .V, 



for September 1915, is of interest, [i that when 



elded to soil it acts like a manure, the explanation 



it is supposed, tl,,,. il abs irbs moisture even in the 

 of dew. It is suggested that it might form a possible 

 in dry farming. I . . ,,. infusorial earth 



on grass land in New South Wales might make its trial 



worth while on pastures and lawns in tic 'A. i Indies. 



