THE ! LTURAL NEWS 



• I I LY 1" 



1915. 



MINOR CROPS. 



ONION GROWERS' ASSOCIATION 

 FOR MONTSERRAT. 



Principally as a result of two i s isits, on 



the Curator, Montserrat, to the Antigua Onion Growers' 

 premises, the other by the Superintendent of Agriculture for 

 the Leeward Islands to Montserral where h m address 



on the subject of the co-operative sale of onions in Antigua, 

 it ha- been practically decided by planters in Montserrat to 

 establish an Onion Growers' Association in thai island. 

 A Committee has i 1 en formed, and has drafted rules 



based upi ia, and the same Committee 



has approached the Government with a view to obtaining 



stance in regard to the provision of suitable premises for 

 carrying on the business operations of the society. The 



( lommittee has also applied to the Government for assist 



in raising capital required in the first year for making advam 



meats to growers at the rate of Lc. per lb. of onions. As 

 in Antigua, it is intended that subsequent profits shall be 

 distributed pro rata among contributing growers, after deduct- 

 ing necessary working expenses and a small percentage as the 

 profit of the Association. A.s in Antigua also, the Associa- 

 tion, which is in process of formation, will be provided with 

 an official brand or stamp, and thi this brand or 



stamp to any package shall be deemed i guarantee that the 

 nts have been properly cured, graded and packed. 



It would seem that the present time is a good one for 

 the establishment of the Association referred to, especially since 

 the Montserrat orders for onion seeds this year have b 



eptionally large. There is little doubt thai if due 



advantage is taken of the experience in Antigua, and due 



ideration is given to local conditions in Montserrat, 



the proposed Association will serve a useful purpose and 



meet with gratfiying success. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE LIMA BEAN. 



In the West Indian Bulletin (Vol. XV, No. I) just 

 i by this Department, there appears a review of our 



' knowledge concerning the poisonous forms oi 

 tin- Lima bean {Phmeolus tunatus). There is n ,, evi 

 dence to show that I this occur to any largi 



in the West [ndies, and there are no recorded cases ol 



iie_ r . Brieflj it would seem that while many of the 

 numerous coloured strains may contain mall quantities of 

 t],,. cyanogenetic gluco ide, it is only the so-called purple 

 Java or Mauritius beans that have produced fatalities. The 

 white Lima, extensively cultivated in America and elsewhere, 

 is harm is a well recognized article of diet. This is 



an which is being increasing grown at present in some 

 of the West Endian islands. 



\. faras one can tell, the white Lima as well as the 

 Barbud nd the Suj West indie i 



from a coloured form, the impiovemenl being effected by 

 selection. The re pon h i ol these beans 



is indicated by Borne specimens recently forwarded I 

 i; e Botanic Station, \ 



i es consisted ol three sorts -mall, ordinarj I 

 large Barbudas. The following table shows that bj 



the -mall has been so improved as to exceed in size the 

 imported I . own in ( California: — 



Average length 

 in inches. 



Small Barbuda "l 



Ordinarj 0'6 



Lai la i 



Imported Dim i 0'8 



These figures are very - 1 1 ■ i : i i f — . and indicate what might 

 be expected it selection work were systematically carried on. 



The Raising of Sugar-cane Varieties.— In 

 reviewing the recent report on seedlit in Barbados, the 



West India Committed Git vilai (June 15) reproduces the 

 following account ofthesysteu d: 'The m j 



seedlings are raised from seed planted early in the year in 



Hid afterwards potted. The better specimens 

 rally some thousands in number,) are planted in May in 



a field arranged for irrigation, so that during their more 

 tender period thej an be protected from drought, if neces- 

 sary. They aw kept under careful observation during their 



growth, and when they r to maturity in the March OI 



Maj of the following year, th< e varieties whose agricultural 

 qualities are good enough ar - aped and analysed. The whole 

 stool is cut, weighed and crushed, and if the chemii 

 shows that tin- juice is rich and pure, the stools are dug up, 

 cut in half, and planted where they can be irrigated to induce 

 a spring of ratoon canes to provide plants for multiplying 

 the variety the following December. From that time tin; 

 variety is annually propagated and multiplied in the usual 

 manner, anil if the results warrant, it is grown in an i. 



ing number of plots indifferent districts both as plants and 

 ratoons. Each year these plots air reaped and weighed, 

 samples ol the < rushed in a small estate mill at the 



Laboratory, and the juice i- innly-ed, ami this goes On until 



the cane is either ultimatelj rejected, or plat pplied 



to the planters witli the recommendation to try thei 

 a -mall estati scale 



It might be pointed cut that the practice of raising 

 - IHng canes has of recent years rapidly extended; tor 



instance, in Porto Rico, the plantei - themseh anally 



some 2,000. While Barbados and Demerara are the pit 



good work in the present connexion is being carp j 

 i broughout the tropics. 



IMPROVEMENT OF INDIGO. 



The present -In n t pnthetic dyes has created an 



unusual demand Foi natural indigo. Tin Government of 

 India, who are giving special attention to the improvement of 



indigo at the present time, no doubt appreciate this fact, 



p . able that it i- on,- of the reasons foi the work of indigo 

 improvement described in the Agricultural Journal oj India 

 to, April 1915. 



The paper in question, bj Albert Howard. CLE., M.A., 



Imperial Econ ic Botanist, and Gabrielle L. ('. Howard, 



M.A., Personal Assistant, deals with ti, made in 



establishing the seed supply, in improving the .. Id ol indigo, 



ami dso in indinga mon aluable covi or 1 he Java 



plant Tin- ai.lli.ii- state that nothing ha- been attempted 



in the direction of studying the manufacturing process with 



a view to discovering the best way of producing pure indigo 



direct from the plant. This is not necessary for thi 



