414 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



December 24, 1909. 



DO-vixiGA : hepoet on the botanic 



STATION, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL AND EX- 

 RERIMEST PLOTS. lUaS-'J. 



The expenditure for the year was £705 O.s. 6(/.: of thi?, 

 £358 4s. 11(7. was spent on the upkeep of the Botanic 

 Garden, including the ornamental grounds, exi)erimental 

 area, and nurseries. The sum received from the sale of 

 plants, cured cacao, fruit and seed.s was £340 15.s-. 7t7. The 

 expenses of the Prize-holdings Competitions were met by 

 a vote under the head of Special Services, allowed by the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, amounting to £33 lOs. 



Particulars are given of the chief flowering and economic 

 plants that are grown in the ornamental part of the Garden 

 The number of plants distributed during the year from the 

 nur.sery at the Garden, was 67,596; by fa.r the greatest 

 number of these were lime.?, both ordinary and .spineless, the 

 total number being 55,648: the number of cacao plants 

 w'a.s 5,613. A large number of seeds wa.s also sent out, 

 including those of cacao, species of rubber, green dressings, 

 shade trees, various coifees, the spineless lime, and vegetables. 



The economic plants in the Garden include twenty 

 different kinds of rubber-yielding plants. Of these. Para 

 rubber (Ilcrea Ijrasiliensis) has shown itself to be the best; 

 Central American rubber (Castil/oa elasfira) stands next in 

 order. Samples of rubber from both of these kinds, which 

 were sent to the Imperial Institute for examination, received 

 favourable reports. After these, Rambong (Assam) rubber 

 (Finis e/asiica), and Sapium (Sapium Jenmani And Sapivin 

 aticupariuin) appear, so far, to be best suited for cultivation 

 in Dominica. The grafting of cacao is being continued; 246 

 grafted plants were distributed during the year, and some 

 were planted at the Station. Marked .success has been 

 obtained in the experiment of grafting plants of the alli- 

 gator cacao {Theoljroina pentarjona) on to Forastero stocks; 

 at the time of reporting, there were 200 of these grafted 

 plants at the gardens, and 400 had been distributed 

 to e.?tates for experimental cultivation. Attention is 

 drawn to the fact that, although the Station will be able 

 to aid planters in obtaining grafted plants, the denrand 

 for these prevents a large number from being allotted to any 

 one applicant. The collection of mangos is making good 

 progress, and there is now a steady demand for grafted 

 plants in Dominica. The other plants, of wliich particulars 

 are given are coffee and spineless limes. 



During the year, exhibits were sent, by the Permanent 

 Exhibition Committee, to four exhibitions, of which three 

 were held in London and one in Canada. At all the.se, the 

 cai)ability of Dominica to produce good fruit was successfully 

 demonstrated. The popularization of green limes was one of 

 the chief objects of the Committee in forwarding material to 

 these exhibitions, and to this end, free distributions of the 

 fruit were made through suitable channels. In addition, 

 suiiplies of limes for free distribution were sent by each mail, 

 from August 9 to December 13. 



Prize-holdings competitions were successfully held in 

 the La Phiine and Crand P>ay di.striets, and the results show 



that the efforts of those who kindly consented to act as local 

 instructors for them had led to an improvement in cultural 

 methods on the part of the competitors. 



Interesting details of the lime and cacao industries are 

 gi\eii. These show that, with respect to lime product.s, 

 there was an increase in quantities shipped, over those of 

 1907, the total value being £55,012. The amount of cacao 

 exported suffered a decrease, being 9,820 cwt., as at^ainst 

 11,628 cwt. in 1907. 



The manurial experiments with cacao, at the station 

 and in country districts, have been continued. These still 

 maintain the principle that this plant repays careful manu- 

 ring and that the application of vegetable mulches is the 

 most profitable form of treatment for it. 



At the Agricultural School, five boys completed the 

 course of training during the year, and all were successful 

 in being appointed to places, as overseers. There were twenty 

 pupils in the school at tne time of the report. The health of 

 the boys continues to be satisfactory, and the reports of th& 

 half-yearly examinations show that good progress is beincr 

 made. On the experiment plots attached to the school, trials 

 were conducted with varieties of ground nuts, cacao, rubber 

 plants, fodder crops and ground provisions. Particulars are 

 given in regard to the stock, large and small, that is kept 

 at the school, and an interesiing report ap[)ears on a ship- 

 ment to England of honey tliat was oroduced there. 



IlRITISir GUIANA: REPORT OF THE DEPART- 

 MENT OF SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE, iyoS-9. 



Fairly satisfactory progress has been made in the 

 science work at Queen's College, considering the difhculties 

 that have arisen through changes in the teaching staff. In 

 the Cambridge Local Examination of .July 1908, the junior 

 candidates acquitted themselves well. Three courses of 

 lectures on Nature Study and on Hj'giene were delivered to- 

 schoolmasters in the elementary schools during the year. 

 In regard to the hygiene lectures, the attendance " and 

 progress were good; but those of the nature teaching were 

 only fair. The attendance at the Model Gardens has greatly 

 improved and the pupils are doing very good work. Durincr 

 190S-9, the attendance at six model gardens during the 

 visits of the Superintendent Teacher was 14,028; in 1907-8, 

 this was 6,777 for five model gardens. Very satisfactory 

 progress has been made at the Ondernoeming School Farm, 

 and, owing to the extent of the work done there, it may now 

 bo regarded as the Government Experimental Farni in 

 connexion with products other than sugar and rice, and as 

 the P.ritish (iuiana Government Stock Farm. 



The report on the Botanic Garden gives particulars of 

 the work with various plants. The total number of plants 

 placed out during the year was 20,570; the gr-ator part of 

 this planting has been done in stocking the borders with 

 tliiwering annuals. 



A reiiuest has been made, by the Board of Agriculture, 

 to the Conunissioner of Lands and Mines, for the carryin" 

 (lut of observations which will lead to the determination of 

 the yield from tapping Sapium Jenniani. In consequence of 

 a representation that the rice industry of the colony is 

 suffering owing to ignorance on the part of cultivators, 

 a committee of the Board has been appointed to con.sider the 

 matter. Arrangements have been made for the drawing up 

 of a Scheme of Courses of Reading and E.xaminations for the 

 colony, similar to that which has been formulated by this 

 Dcnartment. 



