"Vol. Vlir. No. 183. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



1:59 



CATTLE BREEDING IN TRINIDAD. 



A select Committee of the Agricultural St)rit.'ty of 

 Trinidad and Tobago was appointed in July last to 

 •consider and report upon the question of cattle 

 breeding in the colony, with special reference to 

 securing the full bpnefic of slock at the Government 

 Farm for breeding fur beef, milk, and draft. The 

 report of this Committee was })ublished in the 

 Prore<idings of the Society for Februaijj' last. 



The average annual value of the cattle imported into 

 Trinidad (Uu-iiig the past five years has be^n £43,000, and 

 the number 7,000. It will be .seen, tlierefore, that there i.s 

 abundant reason for making every possible effort to encourage 

 <^attle breeding in the colony, and provided the most suitable 

 breeds are selected, tlie industry should bt; made to prove 

 lemunerative. 



The Committee discuss in sejiarate sections the raising 

 of cattle for beef, for milking purpose.s, and for draft 

 Tespectively. In breeding for beef, it is stated tliat the 

 most suitable cros.ses hitherto obtained in Trinidad appear to 

 bave been tho.se of the Hereford and half-l](ed Zebu, and the 

 Red Polled and half-bred Zebu. The Red Jr'obed lias shown 

 itself to be a satisfactory butcher's beast; it requires less 

 /atteinng than many other breeds, and has the further advan- 

 tage of fieing a good nnlker. There does riot appear to have 

 been much experience in Trinidad with the Hereford, which 

 is the piimary beef breed of cattle in J'^n'gland. A number 

 •of Hereford bulls have been imported, byt these ha^e all 

 died shortly after importation — a fact which leads to the 

 suggestion that all bulls should Ije imported as calves, and 

 not as full-grown Ijeasts. This breed has a great reputation 

 in Jamaica, and has done well in Tobago. The animals 

 fatten readily, and give beef of very good (Quality. 



Opinion in Trinidad is divided as to the breeds of cows 

 ■which are likely to be most successful for .dairy purposes in 

 the colony. The Committee, in their report, draw attention 

 to the well-known and excellent ndlk-yjejding qualities of 

 the Jersey and Guernsey breeds. Cows of these breeds 

 have proved very satisfactory in the West Indies and 

 fully kept up their high reputation. No mention is 

 made of the Ayrshire, which is recognized all over (^ireat 

 Britain as a most economical and satisfactory cow for the 

 .tlairyman. The Holstein or Dutch breed is another variety 

 which in England as well as in many continental countries 

 has earned a well-established reputation for yielding a large 

 and profitable return of milk. The butter-fat content of this 

 milk, however, is usually slightly below the average. Dutch 

 cows have done well in Trinidad, and Me practical cattle 

 breeder recommended a cross between this breed and the 

 Zebu, the result of which, in the opinion of the gentleman 

 referred to, ' should make an invaluable dairy cow, comliining 

 the temper and milk-giving qualities of the; Holstein with the 

 hardy and healthy constitution of the Zebu.' The Red Polled 

 and the Shorthorn breeds have also given i^jitisfactory results 

 as dairy cattle in Trinidad. 



For draft purposes, it is evident that the Zebu breed 

 of cattle is pre-eminently suitable. The further fact that 

 they are so useful for crossing with other breeds renders this 

 variety the most valuable yet introduced into the colony. 

 Apart from the pure-bred Zebu, the animals resulting of 

 a cross between this breed and the Ijereford are also 

 especially useful as draft cattle. ,|. 



The Committee recommend that byJJs of the breeds 

 referred to, together with pure-bred cows,, be imported, and 

 that an effort be made to establish and maintain three 

 separate classes of cattle especially suitable for beef, milk 

 production, and draft respectively. 



INSURANCE OF LIVE STOCK. 



A system of mutual live stock in.suraiice, simdar 

 in principle to those described in late numbers of the 

 Agricultural 2^ctrs (Vol. VII, pp. H02, 383), but on 

 a much smaller scale, has recently been adopt;ed by 

 a section of the live stock owners of Cyprus. As 

 a result of this co-operative acHjdn, any loss suffered by 

 an individual member of the ^association, through death 

 or disablement of working stOfrlj.,, is wholly or partially 

 compensated out of the common fund. 



It appears from tlie pai'ticidars given in the 

 Cyjtrus Journal that at present the society deals 

 with cattle onlj", and the maximum sum for which an 

 animal can be insured has been fi.xed at £1.5. The 

 premiums pa^-able are at the rate of 3 per cent, per 

 annum of this value, and in case of accident, the 

 society pays up to GO per cent, of the sum insured. 

 Certain precautions are, of coiirse, laid down, such that 

 in case of epidemics, stock owners must have their 

 animals vaccinated or inoculated, and that no 

 compensation will be paid in the case of animals 

 running loose in the field. At the start of this useful 

 Societ}', sixt^'-four animals were insured. 



RICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



The fortnightly report jof Messrs. Sandbach, 

 Parker & Co., dated April 16 last, contains the follow- 

 ing information on the rice crop in British Guiana: — 



With the exception of two very wet days, the weather 

 during the fortnight has been bright, and all mills have 

 taken the opportunity to clean paddy, and deliveries to town 

 have been large. The short crop is being reaped, ami the 

 price oi paddy is somewhat easier than during the last six 

 months. The crop to be reaped from October to December 

 next is now being planted, and there seems every pros|iect 

 that the rice area of this year will be larger than that of 

 1908. 



Prices have declined slightly, owing to the extremely 

 low prices which continue to be quoted for East Indian rice 

 in the West Indies. 



Shipments to the West Indian islands during the past 

 fortnight amount to about 1,600 bags, mostly for Trinidad. 



Present prices for good ' export quality rice, f.o.b. 

 Demerara, are : IS.*, to 20s. per bag of 180 ft), gross, and 

 17x. 3(7. to IS.5. M. per bag of 164 ft. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Commissioner of Agriculture returned to 

 Barbados from Antigua on Tuesday, April 20, by the 

 R.M.S. ' Esk.' 



While calling at St. Lucia on the return journey 

 from Antigua, Dr. Watts paid a visit to the Agri- 

 cultural School on Monday, April 19, in order to 

 meet the teachers from the Elementary Schools who 

 are receiving a course of instruction from the Superin- 

 tendent of Agriculture, Mr. J. C. Moore. The Commis- 

 sioner briefly addressed the teachers on the subject of 

 the educational value of Natujre Teaching in Elemen- 

 tary Schools. 



