ii'c 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



April 17, 1901h 



show it will not fo^^it the respect of either pupils ov 

 patrons. ' 



Not only will this book prove useful in conne.xion witli 

 school work, but fronints sound practical character, it mav 

 Lie cordially recommencled to those who are about to enter, 

 or who tiave already entered upon practical agricultural life. 

 It may be studied to advantage by those, for e.\aniple, who are 

 preparing for the Preliminary or Intermediate E.xaminations 

 of this Department of Agriculture. In brief, the book mav be 

 described as interesting, sound, and useful. 



AGRiriLrrjlE FOR SOUTHERN SCHOOLS: 

 liy J. F. Duggar. Director of . the Alabama Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. Xvu' York: The MociiiiUdu VoiuiMinj. 

 ijap. .J.:7.>. 



Numbers of elementary text-books have been published 

 in England and the United States 'W'hich deal with the 

 principles and practices of agriculture as it exists in countries 

 of temperate climate. The present volume i.s particularly 

 noticeable, however, in that, while treating of the general 

 principles of the subject, the crops whose methods of cultiva- 

 tion are discussed for j)urposes of study and illustration are 

 chiefl)' those grown exclusively in the Southern (and there- 

 fore sub-tropical) States of America. 



The subject-matter is arranged on the plan which 

 experience has shown to be beat iii developing the teaching 

 of agriculture in elementary and secondary schools. Begin- 

 ning with a consideration of the parts of a flower, process of 

 pollination, the growth of plants, an<l the manner in which 

 they obtain food and moisture, this is followed by chapters 

 on the properties, methods of tillage and improvement of 

 soils ; manures, their uses, and adaptation to particular soils 

 and crops : faini crops, and the principle of rotations ; and 

 .the cultivation of fiowers and fruit trees, etc. In the section 

 dealing with farm crops, the sugar-cane, cotton, maize, ground 

 nuts, cowpeas, etc., all receive attention, so that teachers in 

 West Indian schools where elementary instruction in agri- 

 culture is given will find much matter of interest in the book. 



Considerable space is devoted to diseases in plants, and 

 their cau.scs, insect life, the insect enemies of the crop grower, 

 'and methods of preventing their ravages, '{'he closing chapters 

 deal with the various kinds of farm live stock, their rearing, 

 feeding, and management, dairy work, and farm implements 

 ami machinery. ■ ' ■ 



An attractive feature of tlie book is the abundance and 

 intere.st of the illustrations. Altogether, there are no less 

 than 2 L*0 figures, which illustrate every phase of the niatter 

 disou.ssed. 



At the close of every chapter a few practical exercises 

 bearing on the subject of the preceding lessons are suggested 

 for the pu)iils. This is followed by hints for the teacher, 

 indicating .special points that ;iiay be emjihasized, sources of 

 further information, etc 



The S|)irit of empilry by both teacher and scholar, 

 .which is. inculcated by .Mr. Duggar's book is e.sj)eciallv 

 striking. The teacher is recommended to step down from 

 the desk, .and to become a comrade with the pupils. The 

 fjHowing is quoted from the preface, in which the author 

 addresses the teacher : ' Be a leader in raising questions 

 which you need Tiot be ashamed to own that you cannot 

 answer. If you arouse the interest that will make your 

 l>upils desire an answer, you arouse in them for the years to 

 tjome the .spirit of enquiry by means of which, as men and 

 ■women, they will educate thejnselves. In teaching agri- 

 t;ulture, humility is tlie teacher's (iropor attitude, and to 



IXSECT PESTS OF CACAO. By H. A. Ballou, 

 M.Sc. hmiril 1,11 til,' Iiiijii'rinl Dejxfriiiiriit of Aitriciiliuri-, 

 Price 4(/. 



The above bookie*; written by the Entomologist on the 

 staff of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and which 

 forms one of the latest additions (No. 58) to the Pamphlet 

 Series of the Department, contains within the limits of 

 twenty-six pages, a considerable amount of useful informa- 

 tion on the subject s>i the principal insect pests which 

 attack cacao trees in the We.st Indies, and the measures whicli 

 experience has ^hown to be most useful in keeping these 

 pests in check. 



Regular readers ,fof the publications Issued by this 

 Department will note that much of the material of the 

 pamphlet in (jestion has already appeared at dittereut times, 

 in the form of aiticles pr notes contributetl by Air. Ballou to 

 the We^l Indian Bulletin or the Af/riailfunil News. At the 

 same time it will be.~eecognized that a distinct purpose is 

 served, by bringing together, and including with other 

 matter, within the compass of a small booklet, the informa- 

 tion formerly scattered through a number of periodicals. 



Cacao thrips and , the cacao beetle are the pests chieflv 

 found ill West Indian cacao orchards. In addition, there 

 are several kinds of in.sects, mealy bugs, etc., which occasion- 

 ally give trouble. These are all described, and the remedies 

 recommended are in eWry ease clearly stated. Stress is laid 

 throughout the pamphlet on the need for careful cultural 

 methods to be adoptetr'in cacao cultivation. Experience has 

 shown at Gitnada that this is a most important factor in deal- 

 ing with attacks of insect pests. 



The pamphlet is suitably illustrated, and an apjiendix" 

 gives an interesting account of the measures recommended 

 in combating attacks of the cacao beetle. 



RICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



In their fort-nightily report dated A[)rii 2 last, 

 Messrs. Sandbach. Parker & Co., of Cieorwetown, o-jve 

 the following partictdars respecting the condition of 

 the rice industry of British Guiana : — 



The weather during the past fortnight has been much 

 brighter, and most of the .small mills have taken advantage 

 of it to clean some ot the paddy they had on hand, witii the 

 result that deliveries to tov.ii of cleaned rice liave been 

 considerably larger tl'ian during the |)ast two montlis. 

 Ashort croji isalso norw being reaped in some districts and 

 small quantities of new padiiy have changed hands. Prepara- 

 tions for the October- Decendxr cro]> are going on and 

 planting will .soon be pommenced in real earnest. 



Shipments to the West India islands during the fort- 

 night amount to about.2,S00 bags, the greater part being for 

 Trinidad., '.' ..:■. ;< . 



We quote to-d^j, fo.b. Demerara, for good export- 

 quality, per bag of J 80 It), gross, 19.<. ih/. to 20.«. 4;'.rf.r 

 and per bag of 1C4 tb;,'17.'>'. 7.\(i. to I8.«. 7k/. 



