Vol. Ylir. No. i; 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



37 



DR. FRANCIS WATTS, O.MG., AND 



HIS WORK IN THE LEEWARD 

 ISLANDS. ■ 



The departure of Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G., t'roia 

 Antigua, in order to take up tlie* work of. Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies, has 

 been the occasion of a number of resolutions of a 

 complimentary nature from Agricultural bodies in the 

 Leeward Islands. 



At a meeting of the Antigua Agricultural and Commer- 

 cial Society, held on January 15 last, it wa.s resolved by the 

 members present ' That this Society tenders to Br. Watts its 

 heartiest congratulations on his well deserved promotion to 

 the important and responsible post of Imperial Comnussioiier.' 

 The resolution went on to express the regret of the Society 

 at the departure of Dr. Watts from the colony in wluch he 

 Lad worked for the [last twenty years with great benefit to the 

 community at large, as well as its satisfaction that in his new 

 position the Commissioner would still be able to give to 

 Antigua, in common with other West Indian Islands, the 

 benefit of his experience and advice in agricultural matters. 



This resolution was proposed by Mr. A. P. Cowley and 

 seconded by Mr. A. Spooner, both of whom referred in the 

 higbest terms to the value of Dr. Watts' services to the 

 Leeward Islands during the past t'\\-enty years. 



After Mr. J. D. Harper and the Hon. D. .McDonald had 

 spoken in supiiort of the resfilution, his E.xcellency Sir 

 Bickham Sweet-Escott, K.C.M.G., Governor of the Leeward 

 Islands, who presided at the meeting, made a brief speech. 

 He wished to express his entire agreement with all that had 

 been said bj' the preceding speakers. The services which 

 Dr. Watts had given to Antigua had been of the highest 

 value. They all regretted his departure, but hoped that the 

 new Comnrissioner would be able to make frequent visits to 

 Antigua, where his old friends would always be glad to see 

 him. Tlie resolution was then carried unanimously. 



In reply, Dr. Watts thanked the members present for all 

 the good things they had said about him, and he then refer- 

 red to the work which he had been able to do at Antigua. 

 His labours in the Leeward Islands had been attended with 

 .success, but he could not lay claim tn more than a partial 

 .share in that success, inasmuch as it had been .so largely 

 brought about by the co-operation and assistance given by 

 planters and others. He had realized that in order to 

 advance agriculture it was necessary for him to associate 

 with the planters, and to work with them. He trusted his 

 successor would do the same. 



Dr. Watts referred to the advances that had been made 

 in the Leeward Islands during recent years. In addition to 

 .sugar — which was still the special proiluct — they now had 

 another important crop in cotton. Proper attention must be 

 given to this crop and every effort made, by eni|iloying all up- 

 to-date methods, to reduce the cost of i)roduction. In this 

 way ])rosperity would be made more [lermanent. 



On Thursday evening, .lanuary 21, the menil)ers of the 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society gave a dinner to 

 Dr. Watts at the Globe Hotel, St. .John's, prior to his depart- 

 ure. About sixty members were present, his Excellencj' 

 Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott, K.C.M.G., his Honour the Chief 

 Justice (J. S. Udal, Esq.), and the Hon. E. St. John 

 Branch, Colonial Secretary of the Leeward Islands, being 

 among the guests. 



In this connexion, reference may also be made to an article 

 which appeared in the Antigua S>i» of January 21 last, which 

 placed on record the chief points in the work to which 

 Dr. Watts has given his attention sinee he first came to the 



West Indies. Exactly twenty years ago, i.e., in January 1889, 

 Dr. Watts was first appointed Chemist to the Government of 

 Antigua. After serving nine years in this position, he was ap- 

 pointed Analyst and .Agricultural Chemist to the Government 

 of Jamaica, but returned one year later (in 1899) to take up the 

 post of Analytical and Agricultural Chemist in the Leeward 

 Islands under the then newly appointed Imperial Department 

 f)f Agriculture. Four years later the duties of Superin- 

 tendent of Agriculture for the Leeward Islands were added 

 to this post. 



The work connected with experiments with sugar-canes, 

 begun in Antigua in 1891, and later greatly extended under 

 the auspices of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, has- 

 occupied a considerable part of the time of Dr. Watts and 

 his colleagues, and has been productive of very useful results. 



The conclusions arrived at from this work showed the- 

 benefit that would be likely to accrue through the introduction 

 of the Central Factory system, and it was largely due to 

 this that it was made possible to establish the Antigua 

 Central Factory in 1903. 



Among other important matters whicli have claimed 

 attention may be mentioned tlie cotton industry in Antigua, 

 Montserrat, St. Kitt's- Nevis, and the Virgin Islands; the lime 

 and cacao industries at Dominica and Montserrat, together 

 with much work relating to minor industries. 



Dr. Watts has always been closely associated with 

 educational matters : first in Antigua and later in the- 

 Leeward Islands generally. He has done much to promote 

 science teaching in connexion with secondary education, and 

 to develop the .systematic teaching of agriculture on broad lines, 



A large number of papers dealing chiefly with the lines 

 of work referred to, have been contributed in recent years to- 

 the !(>.«/ Indian Bidhtin l>y Dr. Watts. 



AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS FROM 



BRITISH GUIANA. 



The volume of agricultural produce exported from- 

 British Cluiaiia in 1908 indicates that the year was 

 a prosperous one for the colony. Sugar, rum, balata, 

 and rice form the chief agricultural exports, and all 

 these show increases in the tpiantities shipped abroad 

 last year. 



The total quantity of sugar exported was 110,6.57 tons. 

 Of thi.s, Canada took no less than 68,752 ton.s, or consider- 

 ably more than half ; 2.3,921 tons were shipped to the United- 

 Kingdom, and nearly 18,000 tons to the United States. 



Hum distilleries in British Guiana were very active in 

 1908, and the exports .show an increase of 75,000 gallons as 

 compared with the previous year. Probably this accounts for 

 the fact that the shipments of another sugar prockict — 

 molascuit — declined from 10,378 tons in 1907 to 7,932 tons 

 in 1908. 



The yield of balata collected in the colony during 1908, 

 viz., 1,124,955 lb., was also a record quantity. In 1907-8, 

 the output was 973,269 %., valued at ^368,538, and 

 634,2-12 Iti., valued at $240,510, in 1906-7. 



The progress of the rice industry of British Guiana is 

 so frequently referred to in this journal that it is scarcely 

 necessary to state that the exports of this product again 

 showed a large increase in 1908. In 1907-8 the shi|)nients 

 were 6,977,877 lb., but for the year ending December 31, 

 1908, they reached 9,573,585 &. This, too, is in s[]ite of 

 the fact tliat the yield of rice per acre ^vas somewhat belo-w 

 the average. 



