u 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



Februarv 6, 1909. 



GLEANINGS. 



It is rfported frnm Jamaica tluit the IJellf Isle 

 Estates Company are erecting a central sugar facturv in that 

 island at a cost of £30,000. 



At a late meeting of the Trinidad ISoard of Agriculture, 

 it was decided to appoint Mr. F. \V. Urieli as Entomologist, 

 for a term of two years, at a salary of £400 jier annum. 



])r. W. A. Muriill, .\ssistant l)irector of the New York 

 Botanical Garden, accompanied hy Mrs. Murrill, is now on 

 a visit to Jamaica, for the purpose of collecting and studying 

 specimens of the fungus flora of that island. 



In a late report of the Trinidad Government Stock 

 Farm, the manager speaks very highly of cocoa-nut meal as 

 a nutritious food for all kinds of animals e.xcept young calves. 

 In regartl to cotton-seed meal as a food for mature stock, 

 it is recommended that it be fed in connexion with molasses. 



As an instance of increasing interest in the utilization 

 of economic plants in >rauritius, it is mentioned in the latest 

 Annua/ Bcjiarf (1907-8) on the colony, that some beautiful 

 fibres prepared from the 'Traveller's Palm ' [Rnvcmihi madn- 

 r/nsrririentiis) were shown at the last Horticultural Exhibition 

 iicld in the island. 



The stf)ck on service at the Agricultural School, I'nion, 

 St. Lucia, include the .\yrshire bull ' (ii[)sy Star of Beilevue, ' 

 fee 2t<. : the African woolless ram shee|i ' Egba,' fee \s. (or 

 less to peasant proprietors at the discretion of the Agri- 

 cultural Superintendent ) ; and the Berkshire boar ' Home- 

 stead Hero, ■ fee for .service Is. 



As in past years, an experimental plot of onions was 

 grown at the .\ntigua Botanic Station in 1907-8. The .seeds 

 were first sown in a nur.sery and then transplanted to the beds. 

 Planting took place on October S, and the last of the crop 

 was gathered in on Fel)ruary 17. The yield of onions 

 obtained was at the rate of 1,400 lb. per acre. 



Two .'\gricultural Inspectors are being appointed under 

 the Board of Agriculture for Trinidad. The chief work of 

 these officers, who are to lie men with practical exjierience in 

 cacao cultivation, will be to inspect estates, repoi-t on plant 

 diseases, etc., together with any other duties which th<' Hoard 

 may direct. 



A lecture on the subject of ' Ticks ' was given at the Jamaica 

 Institute, Kingston, on January 13 last, by Professor New 

 stead of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who is 

 ilt present on a visit to Jamaica for the purpose of investiga- 

 ting; the disease-bearing insects of the colony. {.Iiniinii-ii 

 Tehyrapli.) 



Exports of preserved pine-apples from the Bahamas show 

 a considerable decline from 190G-7 to 1907-8. In the former 

 year, they were 117, 196 cases, valued at £19,090, but in 

 1907-8 they fell to 68, .349 cases of value £1.3,-579. This 

 decrea,se is attributed to drought, and it is stated that later 

 l>rospects are more encouraging. {Annua/ Report, 1907-8.) 



In a recent letter to the Times, My. A. I). Hull, M.A.^ 

 1 )irector of the Kothamsted Experiment Station, England, 

 ]>oints out that experiments, cai-ried out at the Station, in- 

 the inoculation of the soil with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, 

 preparatory to the cultivation of leguminous crops, have 

 so far not proved satisfactory. They have, however, only 

 been in progress for two years. 



There are a few vacant scholarships for [lupils at the- 

 St. Lucia Agricultural School. Camlidates must Ije healthy, 

 strong, and intelligent boys of about sixteen years of age. The 

 boys selected will receive free board, lodging, and an agri- 

 cultural training for three years. Further paiticulars may- 

 be obtained frojn ^fr. J. C. iloore. Agricultural Superintend- 

 ent, St. Lucia. 



The output of cane sugar in t^)ueensland has made- 

 con.siderable advances in recent years. In 1903 4, the total 

 yield was 9L8i;8 tons, but in 1904-jit increased to 147,688 

 tons, and to 15l',722 tons in 19U.")-6. For the season 1906-7 

 the output was 184,377 ton.s, and in 1907-8 it had reached 

 188,307 tons. The yield of sugar (94° test) has been, on. 

 the average, 10-09 per cent, of the weight of the cane. 



Cowpeas are largely grown for green dressing pnrposes- 

 at Antigua, but a great disad\-antage connected with this- 

 crop is the susceptibility of the plants to attack by cater- 

 pillars. Experiments have been carried out in dusting the 

 affected plants with Paris green and lime, the proportions- 

 varying from 10 to 35 parts of lime to one of Paris green :; 

 but in all cases the leaves of the cowpeas were scorched by 

 the application of the insecticide. 



It is seen from the latest Annual Rejxiit on Trinidad' 

 and Tobago that the total value of the exports from the 

 colony during 1907 8 amounted to £3,907,503, as com- 

 pared with £2,872,325 in the previous year. The chief 

 items responsible for this advance of trade are Trinidad 

 cacao, which shows an increase of £984,300 ; Venezuelan 

 cacao, an increase of £157,800; and sugar, an increase of 

 £90,900. 



At a recent meeting of the Trinidad Board of Agri- 

 culture, it was announced that samples of cacao ])ods 

 damaged by thi-ips, together with specimens of the insects in 

 (piestion, had lately been received from Tobago. This is 

 believed to be the first time that an attack of cacao by 

 thrips has been reported from that island. An article ' Thrips- 

 on Cacao,' by Mr. H. A. Ballon, M.Sc, which contains 

 information as to methods of treatment, appeared in the 

 We^t Iw/imi lUd/eiin, Vol. VIII, p. 143. 



A note in the Jniirmi/ of the .lamaica .Vgricultural 

 Society mentions that the rubber trees planted in Jamaica are 

 chiefly grown on big cacao and lianana plantations, and with 

 the hojie that the rubber trees will form a suitalile shade for 

 the cacao. The .foiirno/ advises small Inilders not to plant 

 rubber trees on their land. Their cacao and cotl'oe are already, 

 as a general rule, more than sutHciently shaded, and, grown, 

 on a small scale, rubber is not likely to be a profitable 

 cultivation. 



