104 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Apeil 3, 1909. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

 News ' should be addressed tp the Agents, and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Afjents: I^lessrs. Uowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents: Messrs. Dulau & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, \V., and The West India Com- 

 mittee, 1.5, Seething Lane, E.G. A complete list of 

 Agents will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News: Price Id per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4.s. 4cZ. 



^agricultural llmrii 



Vol. VIIL SATURDAY, Al'RIL 3, 190'J. No. lf<l. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The chief lines of work, and the most important 

 problems that are receiving the attention of the Bureau 

 of Chemistr}" and Bureau of Soils of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture are brieti}' discussed 

 in the editorial. 



On page 99 will be found a review of the results 

 of manurial'e.xperiinents carried out with ratoon canes 

 at Antigua and St. Kitt's in iy07-.S. 



Cocoa-nut cultivation, and the methods adopted 

 in pine-ap])le growing in the Hawaiian Islands, are 

 dealt with on jiage 100. Some inteicsting experiments 

 on the platiting of fruit trees are reported on page 101. 



A competition among peasant cotton growers at 

 Nevis is expected to have usefid results. At Jamaica 

 cotton growing is not at present regarded with much 

 favour(page 102). 



I'seful information as to the composition and 

 character of giuino appears on page 103. Under 'Insect 

 Notes ' (page lOG) it will be seen that a new theor)' is 

 brought forward to explain the absence of the Anopheles 

 nios(|uilo from Harliados. 



Attention is ilrawn to the articles dealing with 

 transmission of disease by milk, and ' font-and-mouth ' 

 disease, that .•ippc.ir on ]i[i, 109 and 1 1 1, respectively. 



Agricultural Bank at St. Vincent. 



The new Agricultural Bank at St. Vincent, to 

 which reference was made in the last number of this 

 journal, was started 6n March 3 last. It would appear, 

 however, that but a comparatively small number of the 

 .5,000 shares which it is proposed to issue has so far 

 been taken up. 



'J"he number of shares in the Bank which a single 

 individual may hold has been limited to 100, and thi^ 

 management will be 'entrusted to a Board of Directors, 

 consisting of seven persons, who will be elected yearly 

 by the shareholders. Any shareholder possessiiig not 

 less than ten shared- will be eligible for election as 

 a Director. 



It is hoped that this new enterprise will y)rove 

 a success, smce such an institution may undoubtedly 

 prove to be of great benefit to the small holdings class 

 of the island. 



Lemons in the United States. 



We.'-t Indian lime growers and others interested in 

 the possibilities of the industry, should receive 

 encouragement from the figures showing the annual 

 imports of lemons into the United States, since it is 

 admitted on all hands that the lime is, at the least, 

 eijual to the lemon for all purposes for which the fruit 

 can be utilized. The United States now imjjort each 

 year about 1.50,000,000 lb. of lemons, most of which 

 come from Sicily. Lemon production has, however, 

 undergone considei'tible development in California 

 of recent years, and, latest estimates place the annual 

 output from that State at about 100,000 000 lb. The fruit 

 is stated to be of high quality, and to be in great demand 

 in the Slates in preference to the Sicilian product. An 

 article dealing with various phases of lemon culture in 

 California, and the methods of picking, washing, colour- 

 ing, curing, and storing the fruit was published in the 

 Vear-hook of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 

 1907. 



Colonial Fruit Show in London. 



The Colonial Fruit Shows hold in London by the 

 Royal Horticultural Society have done much to make 

 West Indian products better known in Great Britain. 

 Last year three shows were held, but only one exhibi- 

 tion has been arranged for 1909, which will take place 

 in December ne.xt. In this oonne.vion the }Y(:-<t Ivdi.a 

 Committee Circular^ of March "2 last, says : ' The dates 

 of the show — December 1 and 2 — should suit the 

 West Indies e.\trem6ly well, as there is a lloyal M.iil 

 Steamer due to arrive at Southampton on the previous 

 Jlomlay, November 29. It is hoped, therefore, that 

 several of the West Indian colonies will decide to take 

 part in the e.xhibVtion, and that the Permanent 

 Exhibition Committees will communicate with the 

 Secret.iry of the West India Committee, who will be 

 glad to make the necessary arrangements on their 

 ])ehalf'. There is no charu'e whatever In- space. Oa 

 the first day of the show, I'rolessor Robert N'ewstead, 

 who re.H'ntI}' visited .Tau>ai(;a, is to lead a paper on 

 •Some West Indiaii Insect Posts.'" 



