

A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



UHKAi 



NBW V 



MTAM( 



•AUU 



V XIV. No. 3 18 



BARBADOS, APRIL 10, 1915. 



Price Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Pa :e. 



I. Factorj for the 



\\ esl Indies, Suggested 1 18 

 I; n Factoi \ in Rhodesia 1 18 

 Bacon, Method of Curing... 119 



B ' 'ellulose from... 1-7 



Carbon Dioxide and Ger- 

 minal i Seeds 1-1 



\. v. Method of 



Glowing II"' 



i Notes 

 Exports of Sea Island 



Cotton 11!» 



\"i est Indian Cotton ... 119 

 Duti ii Colour si mdard ... li'l 

 Fungus Notes: 

 The Efficiency of Fun- 

 goid Parasites of Scale 



Insects 12G 



< . n ngs 124 



(io\ ernor Plum as a Hed ji 



Making Plant 117 



ii Corn 11") 



Insecl Noti - 



- 1 Inhabiting Grubs... 122 



International Institute o( 

 Agriculture and the 

 Tropics 120 



Lima Bean and Corn. In 

 formation Concerning... 120 



Market Hup. .its 128 



N and Comments ... 120 



Oil Content of Seeds ... 121 



I Irigin of West Indian 



Ei mic Plants and 



Animals, II 113 



Rubbei Cultivation in 

 Malaya 125 



Students' Corner 1-'"' 



Sugar Industry 



i ; Sugar Manufact ure 



in Hawaii 116 



The Molasses Problem... 1 16 

 The Rational Maceration 

 i Megass 116 



Veterinary Notes: 



Live Stock in St. Vincent 123 

 Skin I disease of ( !att le in 

 Antigua 123 



Origin of West Indian Economic Plants 

 and Animals. 



ii. 



T \\a> shown in the lasl editorial thai most 



of the importanl econ »mic forms of life in 



ithese islands are of exotic origin, thai is. they 



been inl reduced more or Ii ssby human agencies. 



our objeel now to consider igi acies, no! 



of the past, but also of thepresent. For the essential 



to bear in mind is thai introductions are still 



continuing, none perhaps beins so revolutionary in 



their effects as the ones enumerated in the firsl part 

 of this article, bul all just as important as reg 

 their cumulative influence upon local agriculture, 

 the present policy of which is diversification. 



The early iiitri.iliirti.iiis of greal note, like the 



i ling of the sugar-cane, the cacao tree, and some 



of the domesi icated animals were characterized I >\ their 

 being essentially the outcome of individual efforts. 

 There was no organizal ion underlying the introductions. 



In many cases tiny were theac( ipaniments of pioneer 



immigrants, who brought them to the islands because 

 they had proved economically valuable elsewhere. An 

 interesting case of this is the origin of pigs in Barbados, 

 which were broughl over bj the Portuguese when they 

 firsl discovi red the island some three hundred years 

 Oldmixon records in 1708 that Barbados was almost 

 overrun with wild pigs. That these animals found in 

 the West Indies a congenial and natural environment 

 i- a tact worth remembering in connexion with the 

 proposed extension of pig raising at the present time, 

 which in itself will necessitate further introductioi 

 special breeds. 



In manj instances early introductions b) enter- 

 prizing individuals turned out to be of far gr< 



ec ic importance than was ever imagined at the 



time. In fact, in icase the discover} of the economic 



value of a plant was quite accidental. About the year 

 174-1, the then Chief Justice of Jamaica introi 

 some seed of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) as 

 toed t..r some extraneous birds. The birds died and 

 the seeds were thrown away. The\ germinated, and 

 the avidity with which the cattle consumed the resulting 

 grass suggested the idea of cultivating it. Guinea grass 

 is now found everywhere as the principal fodder for 

 Wesl Indian live stock. 



