-200 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Ii n-e 19, 1915. 



EDITORIAL 

 Bead Oi 



NOTICES. 



B Mi: IDOS. 



1. tters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the ' Agricultural 

 News' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list oi Agents, and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page 3 of 

 the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner nf Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc. 

 Agrieuttnn fm ">• West Indies F.LC, F.C.S. 



SI II. VI II If STAFF. 



■Scientific Assistant 

 Assistant Bditoi 

 Entomologist 

 Mycologist 



W. K. Dunlop. 



II. A. BaUou, M.Sc. 



VV. STowell, D.I.C. 



II III' 11 STAFF. 



■Ctiief Clerk 



Assiit "III < 



Jwnim I 



^Assistant Junioi Cli i 7. 



typist 



A. <;. Bowell. 

 \I. B. Connell. 

 VV. \>. Bovell. 

 P. Taylor. 

 Miss B. Robinson. 

 Assistants for Publications (A. ?. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



(Ll. A. (nil 1111. 



Agricultural Jjfaujs 



Vol. XIV. SAT1 RDAY, JUNE L9, 1915. No. 343. 



— ■ 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



in the editorial in this number the scope of agri- 

 cultural engineering is explained by means of a review 

 pi the Transactions of the American Societj of Agricul- 

 tural Engineers. 



On page 194 will be founiJ-Teviewed the recently 

 issued Reporl on sugar-cane experiments in the Leeward 

 [slands, L013-14. 



Thn i an icli - in i his issue deal w ith various 

 aspects of soil chemistry. The most important article 

 is that which describes recenl work in this subject, on 

 page 205. 



[nseci Notes deal principally with locusts in 

 Trinidad and Venezuela; while Fungus Notes com- 

 prise an account oi the cause of citrus canker. 



Fine Cotton Spinners' Dividend, 1914-15. 



According bo the Manchester Guardian 

 May 12. 1915, the dividend statement of the Fine 

 Cotton Spinners ami Doubters' Association for the 

 1914-15, shows thai there has been an appreciable 

 decline in the profits. This is said to have been 

 anticipated by everybody. The company, however, 

 lias ,i reserve fund of £1,175,459, and the directors 

 feel justified in the circumstances in repeating the 

 dividend of 8 per cent, which thej paid for each of 



the last six years, although their doing s icessitates 



the reduction of the balance forward from £256,311 to 

 £134,868. 



Particulars as to the French mill and the results 

 of the working of the Mississippi cotton estat 

 likely to be given later, either in the directors' i 

 or in the Chairman's speech at the meeting. 



As td the financial stability of the Association, it 

 might be mentioned thai the gross profit in 1911-12 

 was £637,967, in L910-11 £641,845, in 1909-10 

 £673,220, and in 1908-9 £493,317. 



The Nature of West Indian Patois. 



The interesting description by Mr. C. F. Condelle 

 of St. Lucia patois referred to in a gleaning on another 

 page of tins issue, begins b) noting that this 

 language in St. Lucia is nearly identical with that 

 spoken in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, Dominica, 

 and the country districts of Grenada and, which is 

 more curious, the far distant island oi Mauritius. The 

 writer points nut, however, thai Wesl Indian patois 

 differs much more from good French thai the English 

 of the lower classes in such places as Barbados or 

 Antigua does from good English. In the latter case 

 the difference is not greater than, if as great as, the 

 difference between good English and the various 

 county dialects. The essential point is that a French- 

 man could not understand a patois-speaking St. Luci in, 

 whereas, of course, an Englishman could readily 

 understand a non-patois speaking individ al. 



The article goes on to compare the French and 

 the patois equivalents of different English sent 

 The follow ing is an example: Oti. alU z-vojjts . < Whi 

 you going?) i- Coti ou ka altt .'. in patois. 



Patois, it is pointed put | ses a pi culiar I- i I 



of conjugation with ktfi (futurit} or prospective tim i 

 and various other words of a similar i iture. It is 

 interesting to note that the sound of : is generally 

 placid before a French noun beginning with a vowel, 

 due to the French liasion. For the definite article is 

 i . > 1 1 1 1 1 1 . . 1 1 1 \ substituted an 'd (French) aftei the noun, 



probably fr the French Several 



English words have been adopted into ] ?->boy, 



slate. 'Little boy come here is 'Ti In vien 



The origin of soi »fthe words used is doubtful, but 



are thought to be of Spanish or mon oi oi Africa 

 origin. 



