^^^/. 



A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



NEW 

 BOTAf 

 OAKI 



Vol. XIII. Xo. 316. 



BARBADOS, JUNE 6, 1914. 



Price Id, 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Biitish Guiana: Recent Meet- 

 iiii; of Boarilof Agricultiirel89 



Cacao Cultivation in Trinidad 

 and the Gold Coast ... 180 



China. University for ... 184 



Cotton Notes: — 



West Indian Cotton ... 182 



Departmental Reports ... 189 



Eg.vpt, Co-operative Move- 

 ment in 182 



Fungus Notes: — 

 A New Spray Fluid ...190 

 Base Rot of Pine-apples 190 



Gleanings 188 



Insect Notes: — 



Insect Pests in Barbados, 

 1912-13. II 186 



Market Reports 192 



Me.it Production in the 

 We.st Indies 177 



Mutation in Micro-Organ- 

 isnis 185 



Page. 



Nitriticaliouand Diseaso... 18" 

 Notes and Comments ... 184 

 Orange Oil Industry ... 180 

 Philippines, Swine Breeding 



in 183 



Plant Growth and Partial 



Sierilization 191 



Plant Products as Manures 185 



Rothamsted Experimental 

 Station, Report mi, 191.'$ 184 



Ru))ber Growing 181 



Sugar Industry: — 



Blackstrap (Feeding) Mo- 

 lasses 179 



Xew Changes and Devel- 

 opments 179 



Tea Manufacture 182 



Trinidad, Horticultural So- 

 ciety for 185 



United States, Cattle Tick 

 Eradication in 183 



Meat Production in the West Indies. 



PX his well-known treatise on veterinary 

 Uiygiene, General Smith, C.M.G., begins the 

 ^section on the care and management of 

 cattle by stating that 'cattle are kept for two 

 specific purposes, viz., either the production of 

 flesh or of milk. Both of these are intimately 

 mixed up with the question of feeding.' In the 

 West Indies, and in the Tropics as a whole, we have 

 the distinction of remaining outside this general- 



ization; for although the raising of animals for meat 

 and milk does occur, the specific aim generally kept in 

 view is the breeding of animals for work. In other 

 words, the production of animals for meat or milk as 

 a primary object is almost non-existent, and there 

 is consequently no special regard paid to the question 

 of feeding of balanced and nutritious rations beyond 

 the consideration necessary for the provision of what is 

 often nothing more than a maintenance diet. 



The feeding of animals for meat or milk production 

 is a far more complicated matter than feeding for the 

 production of work. In the utilization of food for 

 physical work there is principally a breaking down of 

 the food — and chiefly of one constituent, the carbohy- 

 drates. But in the growth of fat and muscle, a building 

 up as well as a breaking down occur, and these construc- 

 tive processes involve the utilization of all the different 

 constituents which a varied diet contains. There is 

 also in regard to feeding for meat production, the effect 

 . of taste and flavour upon the quality of the meat, and 

 the influence of the chemical composition of the foods 

 upon digestion and upon the consistency of the flesh. 



In the West Indies during crop time, the provision of 

 food — of home-grown foods — is generally adequate. But 

 there are periods in the year — especially in times of 



drought when green food and sometimes even molasses 



are not available. At these times the pastures are in 

 their poorest condition and are not only unable to sup- 

 port animals that it may be intended to keep in good 

 condition for killing, but are also inadequate for the 

 maintenance of the general herd. There is great need 

 for the improvement of pastures. The Prize Pasture 

 Competition inaugurated in Antigua is an admission 



