Vol. VIII. No. 180. 



THK AGKICULTITRAL NEWS. 



87 



TOGGENBERG GOAT 'BRUCE.' 

 The accompanying picture (Fig. 14) represents 

 the pure-bred Toggenberg ram goat ' Bruce, ' which 

 was imported from England by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture — through the British Goat 

 Society— in 1903. 



'Bruce' was a handsome (hmiiless) well grown animal, 

 two years old at time of impoitatioii, and ot excellent 

 pedigree. A female goat of the .same breed, ' Paidine, ' was 

 brought to the West Indies at the same lime. Ti.ggenberg 

 goats are famous all over the world for their high milk-yield- 

 ing capacity, and 'Pauline' fully stistained the re|mtation of 

 the breed from this point of view. On one occasion, after the 

 birth of three kids, she gave a yield of 7 iiitits of milk daily 

 for some time. 



Fig. 14. Toggenberu Goat 'Bruce." 



' Bruce ' was kept at Halton estate, Barbados, for a con- 

 siderable time, and his services weie much in requisition by 

 owners of goats in the neighbourhood. Numbers of 

 his progeny are still to be seen in the islaml. In 1905, 

 ' Bruce ' was transferred to Antigua, where he died in the 

 following year. A son of his, ' Paul,", was transferred to 

 St. Vincent for some time. The female goat ' Pauline ' had 

 two kids when she arrived, and gave Iiirth to ti^e more at 

 Barbados before .she died in lOOi""). Tun or three of these 

 have been sent to other islands. 



COVER CROPS l-EA'SUS CLEAN WEEDING 

 IN PERMANENT CULTIVATIONS. 



Rubber planting is comparatively a new industry 

 in the Malay States and Ceylon. and the methods of culti- 

 vation adopted have been, so far, necessarily experi- 

 mental. In general, it has been the custom for planters 

 to carry out the practice of clean weeding between the 

 trees in preference to growing cover crops of any 

 description. 



In an article contributed to the A (jri cultural 

 Bulletin of the Federated Malay States for September 

 last, Mr. J. B. Carruthers discusses the conditions of 

 the case, and brings forward, for the consideration of 

 planters, the advantages of allowing the soil, in orchard 

 cultivation of such permauent crops as rubber, to be 

 occupied by cover crops instead of being clean weeded. 



This question was briefly dealt with in the. Agri- 

 cultiiral X'eus of December 2(i last (page 407). 



The practice of clean weeding, as applied to the culture 

 of tropical crops, was, in the case of early planters, the result 

 of experience gained in England and Scotland, where turnips, 

 wheat, cabbages, etc. are grown under the conditions of 

 a temperate climate. Clean weeding is undoubtedly suitable 

 to the conditions which prevail in Great Britain, and is 

 recognized as being an essential part of good farming. 



The principle of kee))ing the land free from weed growth, 

 however, is frequently adopted by planters in the tropics who 

 do not consider whetlier the practice is suited for all cultiva- 

 tions in all climates. 



In temperate climates little damage can be done by 

 e.xposing the surface soil, but in the tropics a good deal of 

 harm may result from allowing soil in good condition to be 

 open to the alternate ett"ects of baking sun, and heavy down- 

 pours of rain. Further, owing to the rapidity with which 

 plant growth takes place under tropical conditions, the 

 amount of labour entailed in keeping the land clean is far 

 greater than in temperate climates. 



Although clean weeding promotes quick growth of the 

 young rubber trees, it carries with it heavy disadvantages ; 

 as the result of e.xposure to the sun, moisture is evaporated 

 in large quantity ; bacteria also, which are largely responsible 

 for the continuous supply of plant food, cannot exist in the 

 sun baked soil. Further the top soil, more especially on 

 sloping land, is being continuously washed away during heavy 

 rain, and this entails great loss of plant food. 



Weeds and other green plants undoubtedly take 

 a certain amount of plant food from the soil, and by their 

 agency transpiration of moisture also goes on. Under the 

 conditions which prevail in rubber plantations, however, 

 such losses are more than repaid by the protection given to 

 the soil, and the supply of organic matter provided, when the 

 plants are turned into the land. When leguminous plants 

 such as C'rotolaria, Jliniosa, Desmodium, etc., are sown or 

 planted beneath the trees, these are of additional value, as 

 being the means of adding nitrogen to the soil. 



It should be pointed out that the above principles alao 

 hold good in relation to cacao cultivation in the West Indies. 



DEPARTMENT NE'WS. 

 The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture left) 

 Barbados by the R M.S. ' Esk ' on March 16, for a short 

 official visit to St. Lucia. Dr. Watts is expected to 

 return on March 23. 



Mr. H. A. Ballon, M.Sc, Entomologist to the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, also left Barbados 

 on the • Esk ' for the purpose of paying a brief visit 

 to Montserrat : and with the further object of calling 

 at Grenada, St. Vincent, and St Lucia en route, in 

 order to arrange the preliminary steps to be taken in 

 carrying out a systematic investigation of scale insects 

 and their parasites in the several islands. 



Mr. C. W. Jemmett, Entomologist to the Govern- 

 ment of Southern Nigeria who has for the past six 

 months been attached to the scientific staff of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, proceeded to 

 England by the R.M.S. 'Clyde' on March 9 last,, 

 preparatory to taking up his duties in Nigeria. 



