•28 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 23, 1909, 



GLEANINGS. 



Coftee growers and iiierclumt.s in I'orto Rico have 

 combined to reque.st the United States Oovernmeiit to impose 

 an import duty of 6c. per It), on foreign coH'ee. 



The sugar exports from Demerara in 1908 amounted to 

 110,6-57 tons, as against 99.L'07 tons in 1907. Rum was 

 shipped last j'ear to the extent of 2, 188, 3;:)6 gallons, com- 

 pared with 2.107,129 gallons in 1907. 



Increasing areas of Cniwn lands in Trinidad and Tobago 

 were taken up in 1907-8. While in 190(1-7. the total grants 

 isjued were 991, amounting to 8,004 acres : in the following 

 year, grants to the nundwr of 1,157 were made, the total 

 area taken up being 9,494 acres, (Annunl Ri-ptirt.) 



It will be seen frcmi the advertisement which ajipears r)n 

 the last page of the cover c)f this i.ssue, tliat the English 

 thorough-bred stallion ' Bean II,' now stationed at St. A'incent, 

 is differed for sale. The price (if the aniin;d is £80, or next 

 best otter. 



The Jamaica Agi-icultuial Society have come to the 

 conclusion that the results obtained in cotton growing in 

 that island have not yet justified the appointment of an 

 expert as Instructor, but they recommend that experiments be 

 carried out under the supervision of the present Instructors. 



From the latest An dim/ Rijiort on P>arbados, it is seen 

 that in the year 1907-8, the total exports from the island to 

 t'anada increased by 31 percent., compared with the previous 

 year, while the exports to the United States decreased by 

 ()().', percent, in the .same period. 



The Secretary of the P.ritish Guiana lioard of Agri- 

 culture is inviting orders for the i)urchase of 2.5,000 Para 

 rubber ])lants (lltve<i /uvui/irnxis) at present in the nursery 

 of the Botanic Clardens. The plants will be n;ady for deliv- 

 ery from Fiibruary 1 next. {Dinu rdra Ari/<ixi/.) 



Ca.s.sava i.s mentioned by the Superintendent nf the 

 British Honduras Botanic Station as a crop which might 

 profitably be cultivated on a fairly large scale in the colony. 

 The tuber forms the chief food of the Caribs in the Stan 

 Creek districts, while cassava starch is sold at from 12c. to 

 1.5c. per (juart in Belize. 



Iteports from Jamaica state that cane reaping com- 

 menced in the earliest districts towards the end of November, 

 iind in the beginning of December. The sugar industry 

 api)ears to be in a very satisfactory condition at present ; 

 a good crop is anticipated on all hands, and in the past year 

 a good deal of money has been spent on imiirovements, 

 especially in the purchase of better machinery. 



In the last five years the importation of molasses into 

 Great Britain has increased by 164 per cent., reaching 84,000 

 tons in 1908. The greater portion of this quantity is used 

 for distillation, but the demand for molasses as a cattle food 

 in England has also shown a large increase in recent years. 



Banana and ])lantain flours appear to be increasingly 

 utilized in the preparation of various food-stutt's in England. 

 It may lie mentioned that Messrs. Huntley A Palmer, the well- 

 known bi.scuit makers of Reading, are now including ' banana 

 biscuits ' (pirepared from dried and powdered bananas) in 

 their list of products. 



Bee keeping is very generally carried on in the country 

 districts of Cuba, although the hiving and other arrangements 

 are of a very primitive character. The Italian bees thrive 

 especially well in the island. In 1906, there were exported 

 from Cuba no less than 6,712,533 ft), of honey, together with 

 1,383.464 ft), of bee'.s-wax. Of this, about 50 per cent, was 

 .ship]ied to (iermany. {Louisiana Flaiifer.) 



The Permanent E.xhibition Committee of Dominica is 

 continuing its efforts to popularize West Indian limes in 

 England. Every mail a crate of the fruit is sent to the 

 Secretary of the West India Committee for free distribution, 

 and many hundreds of boxes have been given away, together 

 with suitable literature. The awards that have regularly been 

 made to Dominica limes at the Colonial Fruit Shows should 

 also go far to make the merits of the friut known in (ireat 

 Britain. 



The rubber industry attracted a good deal of attention 

 in Madagascar a few years ago, l)Ut owing to the late fall in 

 price.s, little or no planting is now being done, according to 

 the latest British Cunsii/ar Ri-purt. In 1906, the export of 

 rul>ljer fmni Madagascar was valued at £301,518, but in 

 1907 it fell to £209,705. Plantations of from 700,000 to 

 800,000 trees in the northern part of the island have practi- 

 cally been abandoned. 



An experiment in the culture of maize was started at 

 the Antigua Botanic Station in 1907-8, with the object of 

 improving the grade of corn grown in the island. A return 

 of 112 B). of unshelled corn was obtained from a plot 

 yI; acre in area. From this, seed selection, on the 

 lines laid down by the U. S. Dejjartment of Agricidture, will 

 be carried on, and it is hoped a higher grade of corn will be 

 evolved. 



The varieties of cotton grown last year at the Botanic 

 Station, British Hondura.s, comprised Sea Island, King's 

 Improved, Ru.ssell Big Boll, and Peterkin. Owing to 

 lack of labour, it was found difficult to give full attention Ut 

 the cultivation, and the Curator mentions that of the four 

 varieties. Sea Island cotton sutferetl most from want of 

 attention. King's Improved and Russell Big Boll appeared 

 to be UKire hanly, and yielded a good crop. 



White ant.s arc proving such a pest in the Federated 

 Malay States, that the States Government and the Malay 

 Planters' Association have jointd to ort'er a reward of £5,000 

 to any per.son who can devise 'a simple method of extermina- 

 tion. ' It has also been arranged that the Government 

 Entomologist shall give special attention for .several yean-r 

 to till' question of white ants and various methods for their 

 destruction. 



