Vol. XIV. No. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



1 t3 



THE GROUND WATERS OF ANTIGUA. 



Twi i ] be Fl U i ■ B ''■ '' » of I his 



rtment (Vol. XIV, No. It, n be 'water-supply of the 

 island of Antigua. The firsl - thi - ologj 



island's i nd waters and discusses the possibili 

 >btaining an artesian supply. [i d U no supply 



of artesian wain- ^ Lntigua, and the 



pment of an adequate supply qusI h d from 



differei These i d as (1) shallow 



in the limestone district wells in the alluvial 



fillings all 'i . and al i In foot of talus si • 



the south-west volcanic district; and 3) impounding i 



illy in thi district n here it a] | re are 



valleys adapted for datum 



Thi paper, dealing witl i > of 



the i-l md, idi pt 3 a chi ii d rather I ban a geological 

 ncluded in this i, , per that in the lime 



-i : districts there are g I pi A obtaining su] 



of underground water at suitable points. The various 



that must be taken int isid on in the 



jinking of wells are ajii it, and it is pointed out that 



additional care must be exercised en i inducting boring 



ions, to avoid passing through the limestone 



strata and penetrating the underlying rock which 



,- saliniferous deposits. In sinking wells in the 



alluvial fillings of the southern district of the island 



care must be taken not to approach top close to the 



of the surrounding hills. In the central plain, the saline 



deposits appear to render a water supply impracticable, but 



to the south ol tins region the erection of dams should 



serve a useful purpose. It is stated that the locality in 



iirs special advantages for the erection of dams, 



inasmuch as the close-textured character of the soil and 



subsoil renders it difficult for water to penetrate through it. 



On this account, reservoirs constructed by erecting dams at 



suitable points in the south of the central plain will not be 



Bubject to loss of water li\ seepagi . and in consequence, the 



tj for puddling the interior with clay in order to 



ensure retention of water, will lie removed. 



The importance of the question of water-supply in 



Antigua and in similar geological areas gives to the two 



briefly dealt with in this abstract a particular interest, 



which no doubt will be appreciated throughout the West 



Indies. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES IN THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



Mr. J. El. Jackson, A.L.S.. has forwarded the follow- 

 dng report on fche London drug and spice markets for 

 tin month of January : 



Notwithstanding the German threat of a general 

 'blockade' of the British Coast to date from February 18 



last, the month passed through without any serious losses 



either to Shipping or Commerce. Tic genera] condition of 



trade has been satisfactory througl |! February, both with 

 I to the quantities that havi triged hands and the 



prices realized. The 2 bl tng in an upward 



direction as far as tin- means of transit has been concerned, 

 especially by shipping, there has bi -cry little disturbance, 

 aid the same may almost be said with regard to railway 



isit, considei inj aount of pn are oi all kinds of 



traffic to which the rail '■ ubmit. The following 



be chief items ol during the 



olV 



This article [] pice 



d o mi ,;, i: when ■ ■ '' 



offered and all I gh he followii ; rashed i ough 



Cochin at 23s., worm}- L'ls. to 22s., and bro i licut 



m the 16th, 

 prices bad bing from 25s. to 



L'os. 6tf., and at the end i a 



paid, while common to good Jama 

 t5s. and even up to 50s. 



UTMEi CI [> PIMENTO. 



At auction in the middle of the month West Ind 



be followin 



70 Hd, to I I \d., 71 , -I , :■'■' to <■','.. 82's to 92's I 

 to :,iJ., 93's tol02's l|d to bd.\ 105's to 1 15 i i\d. to l|d, 

 Il'7's to I30's A\d. to \ ';■/. \< : fndi 10 



mace sold at Is. ki. to 2s. 2t/. per ft>., being an advanci 



\t i be i lose of the month pimento took 

 me, and was quoted at -|</. per H>. 

 At the drug auction on the 1 1 th of the month, then 

 quite a fair quantity of goods offered but with a mode 

 number of purchasers. 



- I.- \l\l:ll 1 \. 



This article was represented at the above sail bj I 

 bales of grey Jamaica. 19 of native Jamaica, and 21 

 of Lima-Jamaica The whole of the first was disposed of, 

 fair to part rough fetching I*. l\d. per th.; one b 

 only of the native Jamaii i sold, fetching lOrf. per lb., an I 

 i hales of the Lima i ealized Is. Gd. per th. for 



rdinary, and Is. 8rf. for fair. 



LIME OIL, I.I MIC .Till K, AM) CITKIC \< TO. 



At the beginning of the month West Indian distilled 

 lime oil was to be obtained at 2*. 5c?. per th., but at the close 

 2s. Qd. was being paid freely. \t the drug auction on the 

 11th, 4 cases of hand pressed oil from Dominica and 

 Grenada were offered, and bought in at 8s, Qd. per lb. Lime 

 juice has been getting scarce, and threatens to be more so, in 

 consequence of the increa ing demand hj thi Government for 

 supplying the Navy and Army: 2s. 9d. to 3s. per gallon is the 

 lowest current price, at the time of writing, for good W 

 Indian raw juice. Citric acid has been steady through the 

 month at 2s. bid. to 2s. 6d per lb. 



Amongst other products brought forward at the aucti< i 



of the month, but which found no buyers, were Canella alba 

 bark, 4 packages; cashew nuts, ol packages; tamarinds. :17 



packages; and kola nut-. 5 packages. 



A copy of the circular containing a summary of in\ 

 gations made by the Mauritius Department of Agriculture, 

 July 1 to November 30, 1914, has been eived. Informa- 

 tion is given under the three headings of Division 

 Phytopathology by F. A Stockdale, Division of Chemistry 

 b\ G. G. Auchinleck, and Division of Entomology by I >. d'K. 

 de Charmoy. In Chemistry a large number of cane juices, 

 manures, and milks havi been analysed. Entomological 

 work has had relation principally to cane bo ; ticks, 



and other parasites of animals. Phytopatholo ! con- 



cerned diseased conditions of the sugar-can' dly. 



