150 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 15, 1909, 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme & Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date of April 26 last, with 

 reference to the sales of West Indian Sea Island 

 cotton : — 



A moderate busine.ss has been done in West Indian Sea 

 Island cotton since our last report. 



The sales, which amount to 3.50 bales, include Anguilla 

 at 12|rf., Barbados at ISrf. to IM, St. Croi.N: at 12 id to 

 x3d., St. Kitt's at 12i(7. to 13id, Virgin Islands at KM, 

 and a few bags of St. Vincent at 17'/. to 18ifZ. 



Prices remain quite steady, and there is a prospect of 

 A little improvement in values if patience is exercised. 



BATH SPRINGS AT NEVIS. 

 The therapeutic value of the ' Bath Sprintfs ' water 

 at Nevis has long been recognized These springs occur 

 OR an estate which is the property of Messrs. (Jillespie 

 Bros., and are at a distance of about j-mile from 

 Chai-lestown. The water is of a high ten)perature as it 

 issues from the earth. Samples have been analysed on 

 several occasions, and pronounced to be free from 

 impurities or deleterious substances. In its physical 

 and chemical properties, the water is stated by 

 a well-known London chemist to be similar to 

 that from the Wilsbad Thermal Springs at Wur- 

 temburg, Germany, which are extensively used for 

 rheumatism and gout. There is no reason why the 

 water should not be employed for cooking purposes. 

 If used in steam boilers it would be necessary to add 

 a little caustic soda, to prevent the deposition of scale 

 or ' fur ' within the boiler. Messrs. Gillespie arc now 

 having the Bath House (a hotel near the springs) 

 rejiaired, and made habitable for the use of visitors. 



AGRICULTURE IN SIERRA LEONE. 



The total exports from Sierra I^eoue increased 

 from £716,628 in 1906-7 to £831,259 in 1907-8. 

 Agricidlural ])ro(luct,s naturally form the chief articles 

 of shipment, most prominent among these being kernels 

 of the oil palm (£447,8()1 ),:palm oil (£.'>!, 1.54), kola nuts 

 (£113,674), rubber (£22,4S0), ginger (£11.578), and 

 rice (£5.635). With the exception of rubber, all of the 

 above articles were exported in greater quantity in 

 1907-8 than in the previous year. The rubber shipped 

 in 190(i-7 was worth £30,1.70. 



Palm kernels realized a very .satisfactory price in 1907-8 

 in consequence of a short supply of animal fats, and the 

 greater demand for vegetable oils. For the past five years, 

 ilie shipments of pslm kernels and oil from Sierra Leone have 

 shown a steady increase. The bulk of the palm kernels 

 sTiijiped— 26,693 tons out of a total of 34,942 tons— were 

 exported to Germany. 



It is interesting to note that although no le.ss than 1,374 

 tons of kola nuts were exported from Sierra Leone in 1907-H, 

 none of this went to Europe, but the whole found a market in 

 other parts of Africa, as Gambia and Senegal. Kola nuts are 

 largely consumed by the natives as a tonic stimulant. It is 

 affirmed that one 'kola nut, well masticated, will sustain 

 a man for a whole day. European traders in Sierra Leone 

 have lately begun to take an interest in this product, and in 

 view of the valuable medicinal effects ami sustaining qualitie.s 

 of the nut.s, the market should soon be considerably extended. 



Ginger was ptoduced in the colony in 1907-8 to the 

 extent of 618 ton.i,' worth £11,-571 as already mentioned. 

 This is an advance on previous years, and a good deal of 

 attention has been paid by some of the small planters to the 

 better cultivation and preparation of the product for the 

 market. 



It is believed that the decline in the export of rubber is 

 due t(i the steps that have lately been taken to check the 

 reckless and wasteful system of tapping the trees that was 

 formerly prevalent. 



IRRIGATION ON JAMAICA SUGAR 



ESTATES. 



A note on an interesting irrigation enterprise that 

 is being carried through by the proprietors of some 

 valuable sugar estates in the Vere district of southern 

 Jamaica appears in the current number of the West 

 liulia Committee.\Circular. 



The soil of the district around Vere is of great natural 

 fertility in seasons when an average rainfall is exjierienced. 

 Of late years, however, ci'op returns have largely fallen off, 

 owing to the long spells of dry weather that have occurred. 

 Notwithstanding the tendency of the land in question to 

 sutler frcjin drought it was known that there existed within 

 a few feet of the surface an excellent and ]jractically in- 

 exhaustible supply of water, and efforts, the results of which 

 have so far been very successful, have been made to taj) and 

 utilize for crop producing purposes this underground reservoir. 



It may be menibioned that a few years ago a .system of 

 irrigation was started on the Vere Estates at a cost of £50,000. 



In this case, h'Owever, the irrigation water was brought 

 to the sugar estates from the Milk River by a number of 

 canals, and in the great drought of 1907 the system broke 

 down in consecjuenc'e of the river itself running dry. 



The irrigation operations that have hitely been initiated 

 are due to the enterprise of the Amity Hall Factory Co , Ltd., 

 and the Vere Estates Co., Ltd. When the first well was 

 sunk on Perrins E.sttate, a fine How of water was struck at 

 a depth of about 15 feet. Thereupon the Vere Estates 

 Company proceedeij to excavate on Morehmd estate, and 

 from a well which jyas carried down to a depth of 40 feet 

 they are now obtaining a continuous flow of 100,000 gallons 

 per hour, this How being maintained witliout reducing the 

 surface of the water, below 3 feet of the bottom of the well. 

 Gas engines are being imported which will work pumps 

 (ni>al)le of rai-sing 1^8,000 gallons i)er hour. It is thouglit 

 that further excavation will lead to an increased su))])ly of 

 water. Further \w]U will probably be sunk in other sections of 

 the estates, and, if the success so far obtained continues, the 

 danger from drought in the Vere district will l)e largely 

 obviated in the future. 



