Vol. VIII No. 175. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



The late Hon. T. D. Foote, of Antigua. 



Thr Hon T. D. F.iote, who for many years has 

 been recognized a.s the senior planting Attorney in 

 Antigua, died on December 9 last, at the age of 

 85 years. He had been connected with the'Tudway' 

 estates tor si.'ity-nine year.s and last July completed 

 fifty years a? iheir attorney. 



Mr. Foote during his life-time occupied many 

 prominent positions with cons))iciious ability and credit. 

 He w.is a member of the F.-deral Councils of the Lee- 

 ward Islands and of Antigua and was formerly 

 President both of the Anrigua and the Federal Legisla- 

 tive Councils. He was also President of the Antigua 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society from its forina- 

 tion UD to the tinie of his death. 



Dominica Agricultural School. 



Prizes are awarded annually at the Dominica 

 Agricultural School to the boy who is adjudged to have 

 had Lhe best kept private garden during the year, and 

 to the boy who has done best in the field work in the 

 same period. These awards are a stimulus to the boys, 

 and promote a spirit of healthy rivalry, which undoubt- 

 edly has good results on the quality of the work. 

 Mr. A. J. Brooks the Master-in-charge of the school, 

 reports that in the past year the marks gained by 

 each individual boy were much higher than on lonner 

 occasions. The coinperition was so keen in the field 

 work that it was ditficnlt to allot the prize. The boy 

 (George de Lachevotierre) to whom it was awarded, 

 gained the whole 100 per cent, of the possible marks, 

 while the four boys ne.xt in order of merit gained 99'S 

 per cent, of the total. Li the competition for the 

 private garden prize, F. Francis came first with 9N-6 per 

 cent, of the total marks possible. 



Bath Springs at Nevis. 



An analytical report on a sample of water from 

 the Bath Springs, Nevis, supplied by Dr. John C. 

 Thresh to Messrs. fiillespie, Bros. & Co., appeared in 

 the ]Vcsf India Commitfcc Circalar of December 

 8 last Dr. Thresh states that the w.iter closely resem- 

 bles that from the Wildbad thermal springs of 

 Wurtemburg, which aie p.xterisively used for chronic 

 rheumatism and yout. There is no constituent present 

 which would render tlie water deleterious for drinking 

 purpose.". It, is flee from any signs of pollution. As 

 the result of physical examination, it is meiitiontd that 

 the wnter is clear and bright, and free from odour of 

 any sort. A slight se'liment of sand was deposited on 

 standing. The total solids dis.solved in the water 

 amount to 03 7 parts per 100.000. These include 

 a number of valuable saline constituents. 



As pointed out by the Circular, these mineral 

 springs are a valuable asset, and, if belter known in 

 Europe and America, should prove an additional 

 source of attraction for invalids and their friends to the 

 healthy and interesting island in which they exist. 



Millions and Mosquitos. 



The good work done by the small Barbados fish 

 known as 'millions' in feeding upon mosquito larvae, as 

 Well as on the eggs and pupae of those insects, has 

 frequently been referred to in the Agru-idtaral Nriv--' 

 (see Vol. VI, page 138), and shipments of these fish 

 have been made by the Imperial Department, of Agri- 

 culture to Several other of the West Indi.-in islands, 

 and also to more distant parts of the world. 



While the two species of mosquito, Calt'.f 

 fatiijiins and Sffj/cni i/in /•iscinfn are well known in 

 Barbados, the AnaplH'Icx spi'cies, which are res))onsible 

 for the transmission of malaria, are not found in the 

 island, and the theory has been put forward tli.it their 

 absence is due to the presence of the " millions ' in the 

 shallow streams and pools where these mosquitos 

 would naturally breed. The Cider and Sfej/omj/in 

 moscpiitos breed in small temporary collections of 

 water such as those found on house-tops, and in rain- 

 water tubs, etc. 



In view of the interesting nature of this subject, 

 a pamphlet entitled " Millions and Mosipiitos ' has 

 lately b'-en prepared by Mr. H. A. Ballou, M. So, 

 Entomologist on the staff of the Imperial Department 

 of Agriculture, and issued by the Department. This 

 jianqihlet gives a brief account of these fi-h, their 

 habits, their relation to the mosquitos, and a de-crqi- 

 rionofthe manner in which they have been success- 

 fully tran.^ported. The price is '.VI . po?t free for oi'/. 



Analysis of Cotton Plnnt. 



A sample cotton plant from which the cotton had 

 already been removed, vvas lately submitted fur analysis 

 to the Government Laboratory. Barbados, by a jilanter 

 of the island. 



From Professor d'Albuquerque's statement of 

 analysis, it appears that the total weight ol the plants 

 grown on an acre (l..').T(i hole.s) .unoiinted to 6,22-l lb., 

 containing 4,207 H). ( ()7"6 per cent. ) of organic or humus- 

 forming material. The actual quantity of nitrogen in 

 this weight of plants amounted to 118 9 Hi., — of phos- 

 phoric anhydride 2(i'l Hi., and of potash •'il lb. 

 When the quantities of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and 

 potash contained in the cotton seed are taken into 

 consideration, it will be seen that the cotton crop 

 makes fairly extensive demands on the fertility of 

 the soil, the amount of nitnigen withdrawn being 

 es[)ecially noteworthj', in comparison with many crops. 



It will be seen that the old cotton plants contain 

 a very large proportion of organic matter, and although 

 this is chiefly in the form of hard wood which takes 

 some time to decay, the plants are undoubtedly well 

 utilized if applied to the land for maniirial purposes. 

 When turned into the ground the incorporation of such 

 a large bulk of material of this nature loosens the soil, 

 and probably results at first in the loss of a certain 

 amount of soil moisture, but deca}' rapidly proceeds, 

 and the humus thus formed ultimately increases the 

 water-holding capacity of the land. 



