220 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 10, 1909. 



The weelily shipmei;)ts of bananas from Dutch Guiana 

 amount at present fo from 12,000 to 13,000 bunches. During 

 the til St five months of 1909, there were shipped altogether 

 ■.;29,.')26 bunches, as against 219,663 bunches during the 

 com sponding period of the previous year. (Deincrdra Ari/oxi/.y 



GLEANINGS. 



A sum of $7,000 has l)een appropriated in Cuba, liy the 

 Government, for expenses in connexion with the cam])aign 

 against bud-rot di.seasc in tlie cocoa-nut groves of the island. 



The Dominica Agricultural and Commercial Society has 

 made a grant of £b to the trustees of the Public Library at 

 Pioseau to assist in defraying the cost of [lurchasing standard 

 works on general and troi>ical agriculture. 



Mr. H. H. Cousins, M.A., Director of Agriculture for 

 Jamaica, has ])roceeded to England on leave, and during his 

 absence Mr. W. Harri.s, F L.S., Superintendent of Public 

 Gardens, will act as Director of Agriculture. 



It is mentioned in the latest aniuial report of the 

 Dominica Agricultural and Commercial , Society that an 

 additional eleven members were elected during 1908, and 

 that at the end of the ye^r the nieudiership stood at 117, as 

 compared with lOfi in 1907. 



As a result of the unfavourable conditions which have 

 i>revailed in connexion with the Antigua cotton industry in 

 the last two seasons, the Agricultural Society of the i.sland 

 recently passed a resolution jjraying the Governor to reduce 

 the tax on land under cotton cultivation to l.s. per acre. 



There have been 186 sugar factories in oiicration in 

 Cuba during the past season. Of these, seventy-two are of 

 Cuban ownership, thirty-six of American, seventy-six English, 

 French, and Si)anish ownership. The average area of canes 

 associated with each factory is about 4, -500 acres, and the 

 average output of sugar about 8,100 tons. The sugar acreage 

 of Cuba has doubled within the past ten years. 



In reference to the prize of £-")0 to l)e otfcred by 

 Trojiirtd Life for the liest cs.say on the subject of the changes 

 undergone by cacao during fermentation (see last issue of 

 Af/ricidlHral JS'eivn, page 204) the editor of tliat journal lias 

 written to the Imperial Comuiissior.er of Agriculture, stating 

 that tliis sum of £50 has been raised by subscription, and 

 that the wliole amount has now l«'en guaranteed. 



Cassava is grown on a considerable scale in the Philip- 

 pine Islands, and the roots are utilized in the manufacture of 

 starch. About 1 1 tons of roots constitute an average return 

 per acre, and from these a yield of about 34 per cent, of 

 starch is obtained, i.e., about 8,000 to 10,000 lb. of starch 

 per acre. 



Soy beans were tried last year in sonic cxpeiin)cnts 

 t-arried out by the De[)artment of Agriculture of the Orange 

 Itiver Colony. The plants are iei)orted to stand drouglit 

 well, and they grew to a height of about 2 feet. t)ver 

 480 It), of seed per acre was gathered, and it is stated tiiat 

 this plant gives pioniise of value both as a forage crop, and 

 for green luauuring. 



Sellers of fertilizers and feeding stuffs in Trinidad are 

 required by an Ordinance recentlj' enacted to take out an 

 annual licence. This licence is granted only to residents in 

 the colony, but is issued without charge. It may be 

 cancelled if the holder has been twice convicted of adul- 

 terating the produce in which he deals. 



A Berkshire boar which was imported from the Royal 

 Farms, Windsor, England, in 1904, by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and which is now to be seen at the 

 Botanic Station, Grenada, is ottered for sale. Applications to- 

 be made to .Nfr. George F. Branch, Acting Agricultural Super- 

 intendent, Grenada. 



Mr. A. Davenport, a Dominica planter, advertises that 

 he is ottering for .^ale 5,000 budded orange plants, of the 

 ' Washington Kavel ■'' variety, and 500 budded grape-fruit 

 plants of the 'Triumph' variety, all well matured. These- 

 plants are ottered at 6d. each, delivered in Roseau, and 

 l.<. each, f.o.b., for rleliveries abroad. 



Of the total sugar area of the Hawaiian Islands, 105,000 

 acres (about 50 per cent.) have been reclaimed from practi- 

 cally arid land, entirely through private enterprise, and bj- 

 means of irrigation, magnittcent crops are now produced. 

 The cost of reclamation, with the [irovision of irrigation plant, 

 was about .^ 1 40 per acre. 



Experiments in rice cultivation have been carried out iu 

 parts of Queensland, and these are reported to have .shown 

 that grain of excellent (juality can be produced under the 

 conditions which prevail there. Labour is more expensive in 

 Queensland than in most other rice-producing countries 

 notably China and India, but it is <;tated that this difticulty 

 has been largely overcome by the introduction of special self- 

 binding rice harvesters. 



.At the meeting of the Cununittre of Aranagement of the 

 Grenada Agricultural and Commercial Society hehl on 

 April 23 last, the report was received of the Judges on the 

 I'rize Holdings Competitions in the parish of St. John's, There 

 were 20 entries, divided betu'een the classes as follows : 4 in 

 Cla.ss I, 2 in Class II, and 14 in Cla.ss III, all in the (Jrand 

 Roy-Concord District. The Judges state : ' Wo have much 

 l)leasurr! in being able to testify to the really excellent work 

 that is being done on the small holdings that were entered 

 in this competition. Sixteen out of nineteen competitors 

 obtained 40 marks and over ; 45 being full marks.' 



