Vol. VIII. No. 164. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



153 



Trade of Trinidad. 



The report lor 1907-S on the Blire Book of Trini- 

 dad and Tobago has just been issued, ^from which it is 

 seen that the vear under review was i very prosperous 

 one for the cofonv. The total trade shows an advance 

 from £.5,993,042'' in 1906-7, to 7,2x2.327 in 1907-8, 

 while, in the .same period, the exports advanced from 

 £2,872,325 to £3,907,503. Of this increase, £1,050,757 

 was in respect of the produce of the colony. The 

 particular items responsible for the chief increase^were : 

 Trinidad cacao, £984,300: Venezuelan cacao, £157,800 : 

 sugar, £90,900: and asphalt, £25.500. During the 

 year the total quantity of Trinidad cacao exported was 

 49,730,576 tb., valued at £l,786,386,^while the corre- 

 sponding figures for 1906-7 were 27,570,928 tt>. of 

 cacao, of value £802,073. The sugar exported in 1907-8 

 was 46,270 tons, as against 45,004 toils in 1900-7. 



Rainfall Returns at Antigua. 



Mr. H. A. Tempany, B.Sc, has forwarded a table 

 showing the rainlall returns from seventy -two stations 

 at Antigua during 1908. The mean rainfall for the year 

 from all the stations was 4379 inches. As in 1907, 

 the station at which the highest fall (65 67 inches) is 

 recorded, is Wallings (Dam). Yorks station comes 

 second with 61-69 inches, and Walling^ (Hill) third with 

 6086 inches. The least rainfall experienced at any 

 station was 25o8 inches, recorded at Mannings. Two 

 other stations at which very small rainfalls occurred 

 were Cocoa-nut Hall (which last year came at the 

 bottom of the list with 26-20 inches)'29-26 inches, and 

 Collins, 2989 inches. December was the month in 

 ■which the greatest amount of rain fell at Antigua, 

 10-64 inches being recorded as the'''mean of all the 

 stations in that month. November came second, 

 although a long way below, with 4-85 inches of rain. 

 The driest month w,as February, iivhen the mean 

 precipitation was 084 inches. The average rainfall for 

 the past thirty-five years is 45-41 inches, so that the 

 rainfall for 1908 was 162 inches below the average. 



promise to be distinctly profitable, even at present 

 prices. 1^ 



Cardamoms were not a success in 1908, the yield 

 being irregular, and the fruits small. The crop of 1909 

 is estimated at 750,000 lb. Camphor has fallen in 

 price from 400.s-. to 135x. per cwt., which has discour- 

 aged further planting of the trees yielding this product. 



(3ocoa-nuts to the number of 20,609,864 were 

 exported from Ceylon in 1908, this being by far the 

 greatest quantity shipped since 1898. Copra exports 

 also advanced from 347,970 cwt. in 1907 to 729,140 cwt. 

 in 1908, and the shipments of cocoa-nut oil from 

 460,683 cwt. in 1907, to 629,122 cwt. in 1908. 



Agriculture and Trade in Ceylon. 



The report of the Planters' Association of Ceylon, 

 for the year ended December 31, 1908, has been issued, 

 and contains particulars of the condition of the chief 

 agricultural industries of the island. • 



Tea continues a profitable cultivation, and the 

 area planted with this crop is still on the increase. The 

 1909 crop is estimated at 182,000,000 lb. 



Cacao in Ceylon has lately' suffered from a very 

 severe drought, as the result of which the yield fell 

 from 92,511 cwt. in 1907 to 62,186 cwt. in 19()8. Rains 

 that fell some months ago have imjjroved matters how- 

 ever, and the crop of this year is expected to reach 

 75,000 cwt. 



Consequent on the fall in prices^ a much smaller 

 acreage was planted with rubber in 1908 than in the 

 four previous years. The areas already planted, how- 

 ever, are receiving every care and attention, and 



West Indian Orchids. 



Mr. William Fawcett, B.Sc, late Director of the 

 Botanical Department, Jamaica, and Dr. A. B. Rendle, 

 Keeper of the Botanical Department, British Museum, 

 have in preparation a book describing the orchids of 

 Jamaica, which will be published by the Trustees of 

 the British Museum. This work will be written some- 

 what in the style of the Colonial Floras prepared at 

 Kew. It will include thirty-frvvo pictorial plates, show- 

 ing the mode of growth of most of the genera, with 

 enlarged drawings of Howers to illustrate their structure. 

 The plates are prepared from drawings made in Jamaica 

 from living plants, under the direction of Mr. Fawcett. 



Notes will be given of the occurrence of these 

 orchids in the other West Inrlian islands and British 

 Giuana, and it is hoped that the work will prove useful 

 throughout this region to all who take an interest in 

 the subject. 



Specimens of orchids from any district in the 

 West Indies will be gratefully received by Messrs. 

 Fawcett and Rendle at the British Museum (Natural 

 History), Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, 

 S.W. 



Hen Breeding and Egg Production. 



The inriuence of selection and breeding with the 

 object of developing or eliminating any given character- 

 istic is soon evident among hens. An illustration in 

 point, showing the relationship of breeding to egg 

 production is seen in a report lately issued from Read- 

 ing University College, England. Three lots of 

 Leghorn fowls, one lot being Danish, the second 

 American, and the third English, were kept under 

 comparable conditions for twelve months, and the 

 numbers of eggs laid were carefully recorded. Denmark 

 is famous for its dairy and small stock industries, and 

 Danish poultry are selected and bred with the object of 

 developing their egg- laying capacity. The English 

 birds competing had, however, been bred for exhibition 

 purposes. From the table of results it is seen that the 

 Danish birds proved most profitable, laying an average 

 of 153-7 eggs per hen (of an average weight of 212 oz.) 

 in the twelve months. The American birds came 

 second with 142 eggs (average weight 234 oz.), and 

 the English Leghorns last, with only 76 eggs (average 

 weight 2'05 oz). 



