Vol. XIV. No. 341. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Agricultural Bank Legislation. 



\i a meeting of thi Legislative Council, 

 St. Vincent, on December 22, 1914, the Administrator 

 moved for leave to introduce i Bill for 'An Ordinance 



nend The Agricultural Credit Societies Ordi- 

 nance L913, 



Since the principal Ordinance had been passed in 

 1913, His Honour informed bhe Council, nine societies 

 had been formed md the £500 set aside for the put 

 had been loaned out to them In addition to 'his one 

 or two private individuals had lent monej to the 

 Societies, and the Colonial Bank, as a resull of an 

 interview he had with the Chairman recently when in 

 London, had now also agreed I > make loans bo them to 



stent ol 61,000. 



He had while on leave also taken advantage of the 

 opportunity to, consult with Sir James Douie who was 

 a recognized authority on the subject of Agricultural 

 Credit So and was now connected with the 



movement in England and Ireland. Sir James Douie 

 had verj kindl) gone through our legislation in regard 

 to these Societies, and had made certain suggestions 

 for its improvement. These suggestions wore i'iiilnuli«'tl 

 in the Bill lii fore the Council. 



The Colonial Bank had also put forward sugges- 

 tions for the amendment of the Ordinance and Rules, 

 and most of thi se had been adopted. The main effect 

 of these amendments was to pla :e the private lender in 

 the same position as the Government in regard to 

 safeguards, and to strengthen his position, and the 

 amendments should have thi i ffect of removing any 

 lingering doubts which private lenders might still 



j i n ling the soundness of the investment,. 



The motion was seconded by the Treasurer and leave 

 was granted. 



] 69 



A Cheap Form of Radium. 



In discussing the possibilities before the applica- 

 tion ofradiumin Agriculture, in a recent article in this 

 journal, attention was called to the importance of the 

 initial cost of the radio-active material. 'No little 

 interest, therefore,' says the Colonial Jowrnal (April 

 1915) 'attaches to the discovery of two distinguished 

 I ch chemists that radium is present in coal, and 

 a substance has been prepared consisting of coal dust 

 in fine powder mixed with a solution of radio-phosforate 

 -of potash One mince of the radio-phosforate is 

 dissolved in three or four gallons of water and mixed 

 with I I '2 lb. of coal dust: it is claimed that the radio- 

 phosforate acts on the coal dust anil causes it to 

 amalgamate with the soil. The radio-phosforate is sold 

 at 2s 6d. per oz., or 'lignaite', the compound of the 

 radio-phosforate ami coal dust can he supplied. At 

 a time like this when it, is so important to grow 

 vegetables i|iiickly ami abundantly, the discovery mas- 

 be extreme!) beneficial, though whither it will I 



expectations remains to be seen.' 



In connexion with tin; above, an interesting paper 

 •on the industrial uses of radium appears in the 

 Journal of H' Royal Society of Arts for April Hi, 

 L915. This will be dealt with in the next issue of l he 

 Agricultural News. 



Antigua Corn Granary. 



\ copy "i^ a circular r© By Dr.Tei ipany, 



Superintendent of Agi ird I slam 



under direct ion ol His E icllencj he < lovernor, has 

 bei irei i hkl i he \ 



( rovernmenl ' I i ■, u ill be opem d for the handling 

 of maizi i Ma) 3, 1915, frapn which date 



n will be accepted for deliver) on the terms specified 

 in His Excellency's Proclamation of January 16 I 

 (see Agricultural News, Vol. XIV. No. 334, p. 53) 



The follow LI lei s 



will be accepted: i I i The - iperati plan whereby 

 .i lirst payment of 2s. Qd. per bush I lied -rain 

 i- made t,, grower , to be foil ed i distribution of 

 bhe surplus profits ol the undertaking aftei paying all 

 expenses and deducting 25 per cent, as the profit of 



the granary. (2) The purchase ot c for cash at the 



rate of 3s. 6d. per bushel of -lulled grain. The 

 quantity which will be purchased in this way i-s 

 limited to 5,000 bushels, and in the first instance the 

 time during which this offer remains open terminates 

 on June M0 next. (3) The kiln/drying of com, for 

 which a charge n ding Qd; per bushel will be 



made: the actual price charged foi] kiln-drying will be 

 decided on the results of working, and ma; be modified 



... o 



from time to time as circumstances dictate. 



Further it is insisted that corn for purchase by 

 the granary must be clean, sound and sun-dried, and 

 corn on the cob must have the husk removed; not less 

 than 100 lb. of corn on the cob or 80 lb. of shelled 

 grain will be purchased; corn on the cob for delivery 

 should for convenience be put up in bags weighing 

 KM) lb. each — bags to be returnable: corn sent to the 

 granary for drying must be packed in bags, in which 

 the kiln-dried grain will be returned; corn will not be 

 stored after drying for more than two days, and 

 intention to deliver corn at the granary should be 

 notified to the Manager two day- before delivery is 

 effected, and at the same time information furnished 

 as to the manner in which the corn is to be handled. 



It is mentioned that arrangements are also being 

 made for the erection of a meal-making machine at the 

 granary, and in addition to the operations of kiln-drying, 

 it is anticipated that facilities will shortly exist for the 

 conversion of corn into corn meal, for persons so 

 desiring. Particulars concerning this are promised 

 shortly. The management of the granary is vested in 

 a Board appointed b) the Government, and, it is added, 

 the Government of Antigua reserves to itself the right, 

 of selling corn under the title of Antigua Granary, 

 Kiln-dried ( lorn', 



Finally it is pointed out that kiln-dried coin 

 requires to be stored under proper conditions in order 



to insure its keeping in good condition. Neglect ot 

 this precaution can onl) result in disappointment and 

 loss. It is Imped that abundant success will attend 

 this new departure in the Leeward Islands. 



