



^M^l 





A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



NEW V 

 H<)TAN 



Vol. XIII. No. 312. 



BARBADOS, APRIL 11, 1914. 



Peice Id. 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Bovine Tubeicul(>.si.s Investi- 

 i^ations 127 



British Honduras, Report on 

 Botanic Slation. 1912... 120 



Climatic Changes, Sensona! Ho 



Cotton Notes: — 



West Indian Cotton ... 1J8 



Data Talm, Fruiting Male 

 of ." ... 117 



Fodenxtcl Malay States, In- 

 vestiiiation Work in ... 125 



Fruit and Vesetahles, Cold 

 Storage of. "ll IIG 



Fungus Notes : — 



Leaf-cut or Toniosis, A 

 Disorder of Cotton Seed- 

 lings 126 



Gleanings 124 



Indian Kepcut, An 118 



Insect Notes:— 



A Usefid Garden Sy- 

 ringe 122 



Mediterranoan Fruit Fly 122 



Market Reports 128 



Page 



New 'rni|iic;il African Genus 

 Allied to Citrus 121 



Notes and Comnionts ... 120 



Taper I'ulp from Giass'.s 117 



Prize Holdings Compe'ition 

 in Jiiniaica 11!) 



Rico Plant, Alkali Soil .iml 

 Growth of 125 



St. Kit's Agricultural and 

 Industrial Show, 1914 121 



St. Vincent, Agricultural 

 Position in 121 



Soil, .Artificial 125 



•Sugar Industry: — 



A Review of the Past 

 Sugar Crop of Porto Rico 114 

 Deterioration of Seedling 

 Canes in Hawaii 115 



Sun Power Plants, Steam 

 Engine for 123 



Water, Report on Samples 

 of frnm Virgin Islands 123 



Weather Map fnr the 

 World 120 



West Indian Bulletin ...121 



Seasonal Climatic Changes. 



'X the last issue but one of this journal a short 

 note was published dealing with the importance 

 _jof the systematic study ot climatic changes. 

 Whilst the usefulness of being able to prognosticate 

 the weather a few days in advance was fully recognized, 

 the value of being able to foretell the general nature 

 of the ensuing season was held to be far more impor- 

 tant, since it would indicate the ad\'isability or other- 

 wise of attempting to grow, for the time being, 

 particular crops. The consideration just put forward, 

 however, must be regarded as being principally 

 applicable to agriculture in temperate countries. In 



the Tropics, where most of the cultivations are of the 

 perennial kind, it is not likely that prognostication 

 in regard to seasons would serve a useful purpose to 

 the same degree as in northern latitudes where 

 systems of cropping are more readily adaptiable to 

 conditions of environment. The utility of such fore- 

 cisting in the Tropics would lie rather in an economic 

 direction, since foretelling the general nature of the com- 

 ing season would enable reliable estimates to be made 

 of crop yields, thereby putting valuable information 

 into the hands of buyers. At the same time, the 

 influence of seasonal forecasts would not be entirely 

 unfelt in tropical agricultural practice, for ic would no 

 doubt lead to the adoption of systematic rotation of 

 annual crops with perennial ones. 



The possibility of forecasting the general nature 

 of an ensuing season is not quite so remote as some 

 readers may believe it to be. The investigation of 

 the upper air is working vast changes in meteorology; 

 and the science which was formerly regarded by 

 physicists as a rather poor sort of study is novv attract- 

 ing some of the best mathematicians. It is now 

 clearly appreciated that meteorology cannot b& 

 advanced by the mere sordid accumulation of local 

 statistics. For the enunciation of general laws, and 

 for the establishment of correlations, accurate observa- 

 tions must be taken sy.stematically; but they must be 

 world-wide and extend above as well as around. The 

 atmosphere is an ocean of gas; and just as a correct 

 idea of the movements of the seas can be obtained 

 only by their study at the surface and below, so 

 a stratigraphic as well as a geographical survey is 

 required for a proper comprehension of the movements 

 of the air. 



