Vol. VIII. No. 186. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



183 



expresses it as liis opinion that tlie' rute of increase will be 

 niaintained in the future. The area of lan<l in the .State 

 siiitalile tor the cultivation cjf cacao is practically unlimited 

 in extent, and the conditions are highly favmiralile for good 

 growth. 



A great drawback to the development of tlie industry 

 at present is the lack of facilities for triinsport. No railway 

 exists in any part of the cacao area of ]5ahia, and the roads 

 throughout the district are, very poor. As a result, transjwrt 

 of cacao and other produce is a very costly atfair. Many 

 [ilanters pay as much as 4.». for the carriage of every bag 

 ( 1 ■■!2 lt>. ) of cacao from the plantation to the port of shipment. 

 Moreover, the exposure and i-ougli handling to which the 

 cacao is subjected en roiifc have the effect of de[ireciating the 

 i]uality of the article to an extent which seriously lessens its 

 market value. 



SUGGESTED CACAO SPRAYING- 

 EXPERIMENTS AT TRINIDAD. 



In oi-der to obtain aeciinite results upon which to 

 base renoniinondatiuns for the use of fiingieidos in 

 cacao i-iiltivatioii, tlie .Mycologist to the Trinidad Board 

 of Agriculture (Mr. J. Birch Rorer) has drawn up 

 a scheme of cacao spraying experiments, which was 

 recently submitied to the Board for .■approval. This 

 scheme inchides e.xperiments in which insecticides are 

 also to be used, both alone, and in combination with 

 the liingicidcs. 



For the work which it is prup(>se(l to undertake, a l.ilock 

 of !^00 cacao trees in good bearing, located in a district where 

 di.seases are prevale;it, will be required. The trees should be 

 in good condition so far as pruning and culture are concerned, 

 and should be in fertile soil, so that they will be able to 

 matuie a good crop of pods. 



For purpo.ses of experiment, the SOO cacao trees will be 

 divided into forty plots, each containing twenty trees. Thirty- 

 six plots will be sprayed, and the remaining four will be left 

 unsprayed as control plots. 



The thirty-six plots to be sprayed are divided into .six 

 cla.s.sos (each class containing six jilots), and each class is to 

 be treated with a different spraying mixture. Thus the first 

 six plots are to be treated with Bordeaux nnxture, the second 

 lot with l)Ordeaux mixture and arsenate of lead, the third 

 with .self-boiled lime and sulphur, the fourth with commercial 

 lime and sulphur, the fifth with arseiiate of lead and liule, 

 and the sixth cla.ss with contact insecticides. 



In addition to the question of the relative value of the 

 different spraying mixtures, the experiment is also designed 

 to investigate, in the case of all the mixtures, tlie intluence'of 

 the frequency v\ith which spraying is carried out. The six 

 plots in every cla.ss are to be treated with the same 

 mixture, but the frequency with which the six plots are 

 sjirayed will vary from two to eight weeks. 



The amount of cacao gathered from each plot through- 

 out the year will be recorded, and au accurate account of the 

 cost of spraying will be kept. The beneficial or injurious 

 effect of the mixtures upon pods, trees and flowers will be 

 noted. No results of the experimental work are to be 

 [(ublishcd for at least one year. 



In the.se experiments the Board of Agriculture will 

 furnish all spraying apjiaratus, mixing plant, and materials 

 for the work, but the labour requiretl for the spraying 

 operations would be supplied by the owner I'f the estate on 

 wiiich the work was done. 



GROWTH OF PALMS. 



The late of growth of palms forms the subject of 

 an interesting article in the i\[arch number of the 

 Iiiihii II Fnri'ster. 



It is ob.-,cive<l that in the case of all palms, whether betel, 

 date, [lalmyra, etc., a fresh leaf-bud was formed every month, 

 so that the development of twelve leaves every year appeared 

 to be constant, lleckoned on this basis, a palmyra palm would 

 attain a height of about 28 feet in a century, and would not 

 rearli maturity for 300 years. 



Palins develop the full thickness of the stem Lelow 

 ground before they tliro\\- up the aerial shoot : the time 

 rec|uired for the palmyra apjiears to vary from about four 

 to twenty years. 



It is suggested that increa.se in thickness, being caused 

 by the expansion of the .soft central tissue, continues so long 

 as the vascular tissue of the leaf-sheaths can extend, and 

 this varies with the nature of the soil. 



AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN 

 PRIMARY SCHOOLS AT ST. LUCIA. 



Agticnltnre was taught as a special subject at 

 nineteen out of the fifry-one primary schools which 

 were in existence at .St. Lucia at the close of 1908, 

 Last year, for the first time, it was arranged that the 

 annual ex.-iminations in this subject, together with the 

 inspection of school gardens sliould be conducted by 

 an officer of tlie Agricultural Department, and accord- 

 ingly, Mr. T. Worm, Agricultuial Instructor, carried 

 out the work. The report on agricultural instruction 

 in the island is included in the Annual Report (1908) 

 of the Education Department of St. Lucia. 



While good work is evidently being done at a few 

 schools, the report suggests that one or two modifications 

 might be made which might tend to increa.se the utility of 

 the teaching given. It is pointed out that the scheme of 

 teaching followed varied considerably in nature and .scope, 

 and that the adoption of a more uniform scheme would be 

 advantageous. 



Most of the schools at which agricultural teaching is 

 given possess garden plots, but these are wanting in other 

 instance.?. Reference is made to the useful object lessons 

 that can be carried out by the aid of boxes and pots, where 

 no garden plots are available. 



In a few instances the school gardens at St. Lucia are 

 being put to good use, but the Agricultural .Superintendent 

 of the island (Mr. -I. C. Moore) points out that for the plots 

 to be of the greatest use in aiding the children to comprehend 

 the lessons given in the school-room, it is important that 

 they should be exclusively devoted to the production and 

 cultivation of plants for .some definite purpose in connexion 

 with the illustration of .such lessons. Merely to fill the 

 gardens with a collection of plants, or to grow one or twcv 

 edible products is not sufficient. 



The schools which <li'd' best in agriculture were Forestiere 

 (100 per cent, of total marks), Castries Anglican Juvenile 

 (93-3 per cent, of total marks), and Laborie Boys, (80 pec 

 cent, of total marks). Then follow Dennery Boys' La Grace 

 (Laborie), .Saltibus .Juvenile, and Itiviere Dorce Anglican. 



