Vol. XIV. No. 355. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



197 



MONTSERRAT: REPORT OX THE AGR1 

 CULTURAL DEPARTMENT, 7914-15. 



This report has just been issued. Amongst its most 

 important features is the valuable work on the selection of 

 cotton at the Experiment Station which is being continued, 

 and an extension of which has been rendered possible by the 

 action of the Montserrat Company, Limited, in placing one 

 of their fields at the disposal of the Department for the purpose 

 of raising pedigree seed for distribution to estate-. The 



principal line of work in the year ler review consisted in 



testing recognized good types of cotton from both St. Kitts and 

 St. Vincent, alongside the best oi tic types in cultivation in 

 Montserrat. The usual progeny row method of testing the 

 yield was adopted, on land again loaned from 1 tagenham 

 estate. The yields of eaeli type grown, all the rows of which 

 were duplicated excepting St. Kitts 205, and the report and 

 valuation of the samples of lint given by the British Cotton 

 Growing Association are recorded in a table contained in this 

 section of the report. From this it appears that Dagenham 

 Stirling No. 1, Douglass, St. Kitts new seed, and Heaton 9, 

 represent the best cottons. In the opinion of the British 

 Cotton Growing Association, these are better than average 

 Nevis, but are not equal to average St. Kitts. In 

 addition to finger tests, seven of the types grown were 

 also submitted to spinning tests, which were carried out 

 under the auspices of the Line Cotton Spinners' and 

 1 1. mblers' Association of Manchester. From the report 

 it would appear that, while the reports on the finger and 

 spinning tests are not in absolute agreement, they permit the 

 generalization to be made, that when the seeds of high priced 

 cotton from St. Vincent and St. Kitts are grown in Mont- 

 serrat, they regress to the mean of the values of the cotton 

 already in cultivation there. In this connexion it might be 

 added that, in view of the war, stability has been given to the 

 cultivation of cotton by the guarantee of a minimum price by 

 the Fine Spinners' and Doubters' Association of Manchester. 



The general situation with regard to lime cultivation 

 receives attention in a section specially devoted to tins 

 subject. 



With regard to minor industries, attention may be 

 directs d to the production of bay oil, onions, ground nuts and 

 Indian corn, all of which show signs of great development. 

 In connexion with bay oil it is noteworthy that during the 

 year this product has engaged tin- attention of experts in 

 England. With the prospect of a Canadian market for part 

 of the onion crop, the development of the cultivation on some 

 of the estates in the centre of tin- island where subsidary crops 

 are much needed, received attention. It was reported, 

 however, that onions had been tried under these conditions, 

 and that while they had given good returns, they quickly 

 rotted. The experiments conducted at Barris' Station in the 

 present season substantiated this conclusion, the results 

 showing that it is inadvisable to attempt onion cultivation 

 under conditions similar to tho t tic Experiment Station. 



In view of the pn a i ttei I I cultivation with 



ground nuts in 1915, Mr. llobson suggests our oi t\\ ■ 



in connexion with the cultivation which di ntion. 



Firstly, only a limited number of weedings can bi 



the nuts before the haulms cover the ground, hen e clean 



cultivation is n a at i ndjy, where the area in culti 



, tin- curing of the nuts will need to be done in the 

 field; after digging, tic- haulms with the nuts attached should 

 bespread for a couple of days and exposed to the sun, then 

 they should be stacked for another ten days before being 

 picked oil' either by hand or by means of threshing machines. 

 Wlcii the nuts are reaped by mem- oi forks or pulled 



hand, a proportion of them becoi I from the 



haulm and remain in tic ground. 



In view of possible development of pine apple cultivation 

 two shipments of this fruit, were sent to Canada in P.! I I. 

 On both shipments it was reported that the pines si I 



green and carried in ordinary hold space arrived in rery good 

 condition, while those in the refrigerator did nol turn 

 well, being spotted anil 'touched'. The report of tin • eon 

 in regard to future trade with Canada was to tic effect that 

 these Montserrat pines were not very symmetrical, and 

 pleasing to the eye as the pines imported from Florid I 

 California, though the flavour is excellent. It was advised 

 that before shipping in large quantities, it would be as well 

 to make another trial shipment of 20 crates, which should be 

 large pine-. 



Owing to the altered position on the English market on 

 account of the war of Sea Island cotton, which is tic staple 

 crop of the island, it appeared necessary for planters to turn 

 their attention to new crops in view of the curtailment of the 

 area in cotton. At a well attended meeting of planters held 

 on September 19, 1914, the Imperial Commission* 

 Agriculture summarized the position and mentioned the 

 particular crops, the temporary substitution of which in place 

 of cotton, might prove profitable. Foremost amongst these 

 was corn (maize). This crop, it was pointed out, had several 

 advantages. Amongst pea and bean crops, attention was 

 drawn to the possibilities of the pigeon pea and the Lima 

 bean, or as it is known locally, Jamaica bea ( I'/tiseolus 

 lunatriis), both of which would find a market in England or 

 elsewhere. There seems to be an opening also for a trade in 

 Bengal beans, and enquiries have already been in ide for these 

 at £7 per ton. 



l'erusal of the Report will make it evident that useful 

 work continues to be done to advance agricultural matters in 

 Montserrat, and, considering the unsettled state of affairs 



externally, the island's present position and future pros] t 



would seem, on the whole, satisfactory. 



Effect of Detasselling on Maize. At a meeting 

 of the Academy of Science at Paris in September, -ays A 

 a paper was read on the transmission, bj tin' i fleets 



of emasculation in maize stems. It has been sh iwn that one 

 effect of male castration in maize is to increase the amount of 

 sugar in the stems. This has been carried out for four 

 successive years, and it lias now been proved that this 

 increased proportion of sugar in the stem- can be transmitted 



by the seed. It is interesting to Speculate whether 

 a similar treatment of the infion I m Jit induce 

 a similar change in the stem of the sugar cane, which change, 

 according to the principle established by the experiments of 

 maize, one would expect to be transmitted. 



