17S 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Junb 5, 1915. 



the Governments have attempted to encourage. As 

 regards possible marine industries which have not 

 yet become established, we may mention the culti- 

 vation of sponges and pearl oysters. It. is probable 

 that many of the lagoons around islands like Barbuda 

 and Antigua, which are at present yielding nothing, 

 could eventually be made important sources of profit 

 and revenue by the introduction of these new 

 industries. It may be mentioned at this juncture 

 that the Imperial Department of Agriculture is 

 collecting available information of local bearing on 

 this subject, and an article dealing with the matter in 

 detail will appear shortly in the West Indian BiUletin. 



In endeavouring to develop West, Indian fisheries 

 there are two main lines of effort which might be 

 followed up: First the establishment of central 

 organizing bodies to deal with practical matters such 

 as the best methods of capturing and curing tropical 

 fish, marketing, and the encouragement of enterprise in 

 fishing generally: these would correspondent to agricul- 

 tural societies; and secondly, a marine biological 

 laboratory, or a Department of Fisheries for the inves- 

 tigation of life-histories, artificial curing, re-stocking 

 of exhausted grounds, surveys -all parallel lines of 



31 igation to those carried on in Agricultural I >eparl 

 mills. As the combined result of these two lines of 

 ai ivity, West. Indian fishing would be raised from 

 a desultory occupation to an organized industry. The 

 educational influence of societies, and a research 

 institute would be important features of the move- 

 ment. In this connexion lectures and demonstra- 

 tions would In- of value, and the distribution of printed 

 information might also serve a useful purpose. 

 Furthermore, a marine bias might be given to the 

 teaching in the elementary schools in certain districts. 

 for instance, on the Windward side of Barbados, 

 where ma n \ of the population are dependent on the 

 sea rather than on the land for their livelihood. 



A good example of what marine investigation can 

 afforded bj the case of Porto Rico. Scarce!} had 

 this neighbouring island passed under American control 

 before the UnitedStates Fishery Commission despatched 

 the steamer 'Fish Bawk' to investigate the possibilities 

 of the Surrounding waters, and the elaborate memoir 



which was published c attains exact descriptions of the 

 different specii - Dotes on life histories, and otherinfor- 

 mation of great importance. The Danish Government 

 has also displayed interesl in West Indian fisheries 

 and an investigation into the habits of turtles is nov» 



being i lucted at considcrabli i ipense. In the 



British islands other than Jamaica, Goveri nl 



action has been confined almost entirely to the 

 passing of legislation in regard to close seasons, 

 etc., and notwithstanding the usefulness of this action, 

 it cannot be regarded as sufficiently adequate. 



In concluding this article it is perhaps well to 

 emphasize the fact t hut it is our present policy to 

 advocate fishery development more especially in islands 

 which are unsuitable for agricultural pursuits. It is 

 desirable as well, however, to utilize to the full such 

 resources as exist even in places where agriculture 

 nourishes, and there is no doubt that the application 

 of science and co-operative methods would lead to 



important ec mic developments. The export of 



turtle, canned fish, and sponges might constitute 

 a source of revenue, and the increased production of 

 fresh fish would tend to lessen the large quantity of 

 salt fish annually imported from North America. 

 Ceylon has its pearl oyster beds: this \aluable industry 

 which yields millions of dollars of pearls annuallj has 

 on several occasions been suggested and, in theory, 

 shown to be suitable for certain parts of the West 

 Indies: but a beginning has not been made because 

 there is no central institution which litis the requisite 

 information and experience to show how to make 

 start. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



WATER-SUPPLY IN TROPICAL SUGAR 



FACTORIES. 



Many sugar factories have an adequate supply of cleaii 

 water from rivers and other convenient sources, bp.1 a larger 

 number are at times, if not always, short of this necessary 

 elctnent and are driven to expensive expe lients in the way of 

 wells and pumping plants to secure it. Many factories have 



no doubt found the way out on plans similar to the one 



outlined in the present article, but there is still a larce 

 number of Ingenios which are needlessly troubled for la ■!% of 

 enough water by failure to realize that each day's cane brings 



a COpioUS intake of water, alien 1 \ bought, paid fi r anil 



delivered. 



This source of water is generally neglected because it is 



allowed to trickle to waste from so many places that its 

 actual quantity is not realized: or, it appreciated, i' 



often contaminated with cylinder oil and sugar that it is 

 unfit for use: but with reasonable care to keep ii clean and to 

 save it systematically, it can be made a highly valuable asset 

 and an important economj . 



It is impossible to arrive at an accurate estimate of 



» . i et water in any factorj . because the leal 

 variable and of verj many sorts, ami the figures given ire to 

 jarded men l\ as rough approximations, which will differ 



-•ii the same factory .it different ti s, but most. 



of them an be reduced to a minimum by prevention of leaky 



joints and water piping, and remedy of the causes 



leading to I irrying over ol sugar in condensat i 



