Vol. XIII. No. 316. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



189 



BRITISH GUIANA: REPORT OF THE DEPART- 

 MENT OF SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE, 1912-I-J. 



During the period under report almost every section of 

 agricultural work in the colony was seriously affected by the 

 dry weather conditions which prevaileJ. The drought early 

 in the year which had continued from the preceding year 

 proved most disastrous to the sugar cane crop. After the 

 autumn grinding of 1911, ratoons sprung very badly and it 

 was most difficult and in some cases impossible to establish 

 either supplies or plant canes. Asa result, the export of 

 sugar. 76,360 tons, was very low, lower in fact than it had 

 been since 1869. It is stated that the disastrous effects of 

 the drought will be noticeable on the sugar-cane exports for 

 a considerable period. 



Luckily very favourable weather was experienced dur- 

 ing October and November 1912, which enabled very success- 

 ful work to be carried out in the matter of raising new 

 varieties of sugar cane from seeds. Altogether 6,058 were 

 raised, and many of these have been found to be of consider- 

 able promise. As regards the experimental work with 

 sugarcane in the matter of testing varieties from the 

 nianurial aspect, it was found that, contrary to other years, 

 the manurial value of nitrate, of soda proved higher than 

 that of sulphate of ammonia. Rut the Department is in 

 possession of numerous proofs that the sugar-cane shows a 

 distinct preference for ammonia over nitrates as a source of 

 nitrogen in normal years, whilst in abnormal years of very 

 short periods of active growth, nitrate of soda and nitrate 

 of lime may be more efficacious than sulphate of ammonia, 

 dried blood, nitrolim and other more slowly acting nitro- 

 genous manures. The best results in the manurial experi- 

 ments with varieties were obtained with b. 118, D. 14.5, 

 Bourbon, D. 419, D,721, D.167, D.293, D.317, D.651 and 

 D.246. 



The exports of rice and of rice meal during the year 

 under review were 2,766 and 2,179 tons, respectively, as 

 compared with average exports of 2,298 tons of rice during 

 the preceding nine years and of 1,771 tons of rice meal in 

 1911-12. The experiments with rice were continued during 

 the year at the experimental fields of the Botanic Gardens, part 

 of the land being occupied by well tested varieties, the paddy 

 of which was distributed throughout the colony to the more 

 progressive rice farmers. The report under review gives the 

 yield of the different varieties and variants under trial. 



As with the other crops, the output of coco nuts was 

 decreased through drought, but the interest in this industry 

 is steadily increasing and a further extension of the area now 

 planted (about 14,000 acres) may be expected in the future. 

 In some districts trees have died out from the want of 

 adequate drainage, whilst bud rot is not uncommon in other 

 parts. It is said that plants raised from the colony's coco- 

 nuts make more rapid progress than the plants from the 

 imported Tobago and Trinidad ones, but some of the latter 

 promise to yield fruit of excellent strain. 



The report of the Director of Agriculture, concludes with 

 notes on other horti-agricultural industrie.s in which reference 



IS made to the great possibilities before lime cultivation and 

 with notes on the live stock industries where it is stated 

 that the marked reductions i^ the numbers of cattle, sheep 

 and pigs were directly due to the drought. 



In connexion with agricultural education, reference is 

 made to the good work done with model gardens, and to the 

 satisfactory circumstance that the apprentices of the depart- 

 ment who have completed their indentures readily obtained 

 employment at remunerative rates amongst the various 

 companies at work in the cultivation of products other than 

 sugar. 



The general administration report of the Director is 

 supplemented by the report of the Government Analyst in 

 which It IS noted that the number of fiscal samples 'for 

 chemical examination greatly exceeded the number of agri- 

 cultural. Following this is the report on the Botanic 

 (hardens by Mr. J. F. Waby, which is followed by the report 

 of the Economic Biologist. A brief report by the Govern- 

 ment Veterinary Surgeon is inserted. The publication 

 concludes with reports of the Science Lecturer and the 

 reports of the Board of Agriculture, the Onderneeming Farm 

 School and of the Agricultural Stations in the north-western 

 and the Pomeroon district. All these sections of the 

 publication contain a large amount of useful and interesting 

 information which will well repay peru.sal, especially by those 

 who are directly connected with the agricultural industries 

 of the colony. 



British Guiana: Recent Meeting of the Board 

 of Agriculture.— Several matters of considerable interest 

 were brought up for general discussion at the meeting of 

 the Board of Agriculture held on May 12, 1914, at the 

 offices of the Department of Science and Agriculture 

 Georgetown, British Guiana, 



The department has decided to abandon the cultivation 

 of Sapium rubber at Bonasika. This does not mean that 

 success has not attended rubber growing in the colony as 

 a whole. Mr. Bancroft has shown conclusively that Para 

 rubber will grow as well in British Guiana as in the Malaya 

 Peninsula. 



In the course of his remarks, His Excellency the 

 Governor referred to certain unsatisfactory results experienced 

 in regard to seed supply. In the future. His Excellency 

 pointed out that planters would no longer be dependent 

 upon outside supplies of seed. In the gardens at the present 

 time there were plenty of rubber seeds available to meet local 

 requirements. Out of the 3,467 seeds of the newly imported 

 African oil palm {Ehtis guineemis) only sixty-seven plants 

 had been derived. 



Professor Harrison in the course of a few remarks 

 spoke on the increased interest taken in coco-nuts. At 

 greater length, the Director dwelt upon the question of instruc- 

 tion for the East Coast farmers. He expressed the view 

 that the present system of agricultural instruction and shows 

 should be modified. It was suggested that one of the agri- 

 cultural officers should be stationed in the district and be 

 given a definite area to look after. 



After considerable discussion on the .subject of contagious 

 diseases in general and mal de caderas in particular, in which 

 the necessity for strengthening the Contagious Diseases 

 (Animals) Ordinance 1892 was pointed out, the Board rose. 



The above information has been abstracted from a report 

 in the Daily Argosy, of Demerara, for May 13, 1914. 



