Voh. XIV. No, 348. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



279 



distributing lime plants, sowing lim nd planting oul 



orange stocks for i i dding in 1910. \t the Botanic Gardens in 



-. t he n In i i lie month has 



• ■ ■ 1 1 i 1 1 i_r tl: i ting main 



nto a driving road. The radiating bedsinthe 

 have bi bed ol p.< i wide is being 



ii d up. This should greatly improve the gardens as 

 a whole. 



Reporting "ii the condition of the staple crops it is said 

 that the cacao crop is likely to berate, while as n 



i growth is being made. The lime crop 

 during July was coming in beavily. 



A special effort on the pari of the St. Lucia Department 

 is the preparation of leaflets dealing with local probli a 

 practical importance. Up to the present leaflets on the 



follow ing subjei > ■ ii The i lultivation of 



Peanuts, Notes on the Planting out and ^fter Treat 

 mem of Budded Oranges and Grape Fruit. The Use 

 of the Donkej as a Transport Animal for St. Lucia. 

 Lime Cultivation, Special notes dealing with Common 

 Errors in St. Lucia. Other educational work has includ 

 ed the examination < eachers foi the head teai 

 certificate at the Botanic Garden , in agriculture. Assist- 

 ance bas n given the Choiseul Boj Scl I in laying 



out their new garden adjoining the Experiment Station. The 

 rainfall at Reunion during July was 8*06 inches compared 

 with - I '71 at ( Castries. 



dominii \. The Curator (Mr. Joseph Jones) reports 

 a continuation of work in the nurseries and in the lime and 

 cacao i speriment stations during the month of July. There 

 were shipped 13 bags of cacao and 3 bags of kola 

 nuts. The local price paid fo fellow limes dropped 



during the month from 7s. to 6s. per barrel; there were 

 po cable quotations for concentrated juice. Continued 

 activity and further extensions in the planting of limes are 

 also recorded. Experiments carried out to determine the 



li h.n of lime juice on freezing, formed the subject of 



a special repon to the Commissioner of Agriculture. In 

 to Agricultural Education and Reading Courses, it is 



toned that thirteen candidates presented themselves for 

 examination, four of whom were selected for a two-yeai 



training. The halt-yearly examination of the 

 Agricultural Pupils was held on .Inly 9. The weather during 

 July was unusually wet, rain tailing on twenty-eight out of 

 fchirtj one 'lay-, making manj agricultural operations 



difficult to carry out. The rainfall foi the i th was I 1 s i 



inches. The plant distribution was as follows: limes 12,775, 

 cacao 250, nutmegs 25, budded i tt 7, grafted mangoes 3; 

 making a total of I 3,060. 



will. i \. Writing on the subject oi agricultural events 

 during July, Mr. J. Jackson (Curator of. the Botanic Station) 

 to the institution ol experiments with maize and sisal. 

 The last mentioned will be followed with special interest. 



The young cane crop on the estates is said to be 

 continually improving throughout the island. So far it has 

 had no serious set hack sin d. The harvesting of last 



year's crop was almost completed. During July there was 

 a comparatively small area of cotton planted 



Other items of interest invlm l< ■ the planting oi forest 

 trees around Waitings, and th< ■ lecture by Dr. 



Tempan\ to agricultural students. I hiring the month •"' 10 

 inches of rain fell. 



MONTSEREAT. In i communication received at this 

 Office from the < Ittrati i Mi -W. Robs 

 that in July the collection , iners was found 



necessary, and 7,000 were taken on a hall acre plot in 



i Jrove station « ithi orl night . < lontinued atta< 



cotton worm ha ted which re nstaut 



dustinj rphides wer 



and severe. Experiment • liave 



investigate the damage done to d 



A successful meeting ol Onion Growers' was held on th 



in discuss the question of an Onion Growers' Association, the 



Government having approved of an adva i _■ a ide to 



finance the scheme. The rainfall for the month 



follows: Grove Station, 8 - 72; II irri - >n, 7'37 incl 



st. kitts. Mr. V. I:. Shepherd, Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent, says that the reaping of the old cam i | 

 mu covado e I ontinued dining July, but 



difficulties wen- great owing to the neavj rains. On the 

 night of .inly 15, an average of about 6 inches fell all 

 the island and this was followed next night bj a general pre 



cipitation of 2 inches. This al rmal fall caused gp 



in t he fields and roads and did much i i 



hi young cane crop is in a very healthy condition 



growing rapidly. The prospects at the present tin 



a record cropare very promising. 



The cotton crop is in an equally satisfactory condition 

 and at this period is the most regular and promising crop 

 thai has been seen in Si. Kitts. Ii the boiling is on a par 

 with the growth of the plants there will be an excellent 

 return of lint. 



NEVIS. Mr. W. t. Howell, the Agricultural [nstn 

 at Nevis reports the following plant distribution during the 

 month of July: sweet po i >< ittings 2,800, Lima beans lull', 

 selected cotton seed H7 lb. The young canes throughout the 

 island were quite healthy and vigorous, and making rapid 



progress in growth, the condition of the crop on the whole 

 being satisfactory \ o i s cotton is said also to be 

 promising; the more advanced fields are blossoming freely 



and the later ones have made a g 1 stand. Preparation and 



planting are still in progress. Cotton WO] d m 



a little damage to some fields. The rainfall for the month 



was 8T I inches; for the year to dale, 25'91 inches. 



virgin islands. Mr. ( '. A. (ionics, acting Curator, 

 reports from Tortola that very hot days with high winds 

 were experienced 'luring the month and the weather condi 

 tions were adverse to agricultural operations. It was 

 accordingly a very unfavourable month for pla 

 cotton ami manj growers were still awaiting seas 

 weather. At tin- same time the condition of the 



cotton fields planted Is said to he surprising!} 



in view of the unfavourable weather, but immediate 



rains .ii" necessarj to maintain the vigour of the plants. 

 During the month of -Inly the establishment of the cotton 

 seed farm was successfully carried through. The acting 

 Curator visited the island of Jost van Dykes and inspected 

 the cotton growing areas there. The area under this crop 

 is less than in previous years, food crops having been p 

 in some of the fields which in previous yen- were esta dished 

 in cotti hi. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial ( ' lissionor of Agriculture an ived 



in Barbados from an official visit to Grenada by the 

 C.R.M.S 'Chignecto' on August 24. 



Mr. H. A. Ballon, M.Sc. Entomologist on the Staff 

 of the Imperial Department ol Agriculture, left 

 Barbados on Augusl 23 bj the S.S. 'Denis for New 

 Yoik on three months leave of absence 



