Vol. XIV. No. 340. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 





DOWN THE ISLANDS. 



ITEMS OF LOCAL INTEREST. 



exada. Th ■ Supei int o Agriculture (Mr. J. i '. 



\I vj in a recent letter informs this Office thai the cacao 



d throughout the island are in plendid condition for the 



season, compared with that for I past three years. The 



ro p jreatlj improved during the month of March and the 



foi a g 1 finish are iparenl Nutmegs were 



showing a good crop. Routine worlj in the Botanic Gardens 



included the clearing up of bush infested with Love \ 



,n uncultivated land, spraying lime seedlings with 'Scab' 



lime beds with lea) 



sweepings, which has proved verj effective in helping the 



plants through the dry season. The Superintendent states 



further that he has associated himseli to a considerable 



,,t with educational work: 'Notes on the Teaching of 



riculture in the Primarj Schools of St. Lucia has been 



prepared for the Board if Education; and the Superintendent 



' in response to the Governor's wishes, offered to give 



ourse of lectures to teachers next August. In regard to 



,1 Settlement, applications for lots at St. Cyr were 



received and considered, and selected allottees were soon to 



given occupation. Meetings i ml proprietors were 



d during the month at which short addresses were delivered 



tltural Instructor. The weather during March 



sas way dry with very high winds during the last ten days. 



The weather during April in this island, as in others, 



underwent a sudden change and extremely heavy rains were 



experienced. 



The report of the Acting Land Officer, < Irenada, for the 

 month of March 1915, states that the improvement of the 

 by-way which passes through the St. Cyr Settlement was 

 carried on during the month. The Land Officer visited 

 section oi the Crown Lands forest and inspected the 

 condition of the boundary lines and the huts. Another visit 

 was paid in company with the Superintendent of Agriculture 

 to the experimental plots of rubber. Ippi-appa, and camphor in 

 the Grand Etang section. An account of the condition of 

 plots is not included in the report. 

 ST. \ imext. The Agricultural Superintendent (Mr. W. N. 

 Sands) reports that the trials with Bermuda onions at the 

 Experiment Station have given useful results. Planting on 

 the flat and on banks showed that far heavier returns can be 

 obtained on the banks. A large order for seed for next 

 season has gone forward. It is stated further that many lots 

 of cotton seed reserved for planting have shown poor 

 germinating power, due no doubt to the bad weather in the 

 picking season. Two lots of seed have been ordered from 

 St. Kitts for a local planter for trial on a large scale. 



Work in the Experimen : >n and Botanic Gardens 

 has included the inspection of several thousand coco-nuts, 

 the reaping of arrowroot and extraction of starch, and the 



pruning of - Is and shrubs. In the Gardens, a 30-foot 



basin was being excavated for aquatic plants. This basin 

 when completed will be the largest of its kind in the smaller 

 islands and will add considerably to the attractiveness of the 

 Gardens, besides providing a permanent breeding place for 

 'millions' for distribution. 



The rainfall during March was very small, intact the 

 lowest precipitation since the records have been taken by the 

 Department. 



8Ti Lucia. Observations relating to the staple cropt 

 in this Colony, forwarded by the Agricultural Superintenden 



(Mr. A. J. Brooks), shov condil 



lime crops were norm I and that sug n reaped 



under favourable conditions. During March, Mi Bn 



prepared and submitted the annual report on thi 



of elementary schools in a |; 



day- at the northern i nd of the island de ilii g vith 



ultural matters relating to the linn 

 Botanic < lardens. I f i tati d that the lasl 3 

 lime juice wen hipped 'e. 6i making 



total crop for the yeai jainst 6 



previous year. 



Work in the I nt Stations and Gardens 



included mulching, weeding, re iping of cai 



for further planting of cane, and the budding ol ci 



fruits. 



The rainfall during the month is very low; at the 

 Botanic Station, ' Ihoiseul, it was nil. 



ptevis. Some interesting figures are included in 

 a quarterlj report from the Agricultural Instruct 

 (Mr. W. 1. Eowell) in connexion i\ b the manuring of 

 Indian corn. These results will be found on another page in 

 this or the succeeding i ae ! cotton, the second 



growth in many of the fields was damagedby worm; but in 

 other fields chiefly to the windward part of the island, the 

 second picking was very good. Leaf-blister mite was 

 observed to a fairlj lai At the time of writing tin; 



cane crop was almost reaped and the greater part had ; n 



sold to the St. Kitts factory. Sugar was made on a I 

 Ltes and this realized good prices in the local mar] 

 The young canes were very promising and the fields had 

 nearly all made a good stand, but in many cases 

 preparation had been wry indifferent. 



During the mouth of March the rainfall was very low, 

 and the crops suffered considerably, especially the more 

 advanced fields. I hiring the quarter, provision crops did 

 fairly well and the limes at Maddens estate have considerably 

 improved as the result of a fairly heavy application of pen 

 manure. Live-stock is stated to be in good condition. The 

 Mysore bull is stated to be in good condition and there are 

 a fair number of young half-bred calves coining on. The 

 Eackney stallion 'Major' is stated to be in very fine order, 

 and is open to service to all mares in the island at a very 

 moderate fee. 



Regular visits to the plantations in the different parts of 

 the island were paid by the Agricultural Instructor and 

 advice given as to the work in progress. Mr. Shepherd, the 

 Agricultural Superintendent, and Mr. Waterland, the A 

 ant Chemist, visited the island towards the latter part ol 

 present quarter. 



VIRGIN islands. The drought experienced during the 

 two previous months continued throughout March, and 

 agricultural operations in the Gardens and experiment plot* 

 were seriously hampered. The Acting Curator (Mr. C. A. 

 Gomes) states that the reaping, drying, grading and packing 

 of onions for shipment formed work of sonic importance. 

 Some 2,000 ft>. of onions were reaped and handled at the 

 Experiment Station. The cotton factory ginned and shipped 

 60 bales of cotton during the month, and 24 barrels of local 

 sugar were produced for the use of the peasantry. A second 

 picking of cotton was not expected owing to unfavourable 

 weather, and a limited number of lime- '. is been received at 

 the factory owing to the same cause. The young coco-nut 

 fields are, however, making fair progress. There has I.e. ,, 



an extensive plantii i mi, and interest in the i perative 



side of corn production as <well as of onion production was 

 stimulated by a visit from l>r. Tempany. 



