Vol. XIII Xo. 321. 



THE AGRICULTURAL XEW.S. 



26.5 



publicatidii uiifk-r review has jiiNt lii-eii changf<I fniiii 

 the Colonial Office Journal to tht- Colonial Journal. 

 Whether correlated with tiiis change or not, the 

 increased amount of attention which is now given in 

 the publication to agricultural nlatt^•^.s throughnut the 

 tropical colonies is a trend whicli will undoubtedly 

 increase the interest and usefulness of the pulilication 

 both in London an<l amongst the readers residing 

 abroad. 



A New Publication on the West Indies. 



Part II of the Future of Tropical America' (Part I 

 was reviewed in the Agricultural News, VV»1. XII, p. 

 82?^) gives an illustrated account of the general features 

 and pi-oducts of the West Indies. Under the name of 

 each colony information is given under the headings of 

 (iovernment. Towns, Education. Physical Features, 

 Climate and Products. Although essentially a publi- 

 cation intenfied to serve purposes of advertisement, it 

 will not only in this respect meet the conimercial 

 interests of the Tropical E.xploitation Syndicati' Ltd. 

 (the Publishers) but will in a geneial way make the 

 West Indies better known in England and America. 

 .Some of the illustrations are exceedingly good, but 

 they are best as a collection providing a.s such a strik- 

 ingly exact impression of what the West Indies are 

 really like. There may, however, be one or two 

 exceptions in this connexicjn. For instance, no general 

 view of any kind is given of Dominica, except an 

 outline map showing the situations of the various 

 estates, which perhajis might create the impression 

 that this colonv is con.siderablv flatter than it reallv is. 



A West Indian Pearl Oyster Industry. 



The suggestion put forward in the Canada-West 

 Imlia Magazine (July 1914) that there is considerable 

 |)ossil>ility before the founding of a pearl oyster 

 industry in the British islands, calls to mind the fact 

 that an old bed still exists on the windward coast of 

 Pjiii-bados at Worthing. Although attempts in the past 

 to establish an industry in this island have not been 

 successful, it has probably been due to want of 

 knowledge, for it is understood that a very thriving 

 industry exists at the Danish Islanfl of St. Thomas. The 

 need for investigation is the principal requirement to 

 which the Canada- West India Magazine calls attention. 

 In a general way, the prospects appear to be good and 

 the con<liti(;>ns shoidd be suitable in most of the islands 

 for the giiiwth and propagation of the pearl oyster. 

 Mr. Prest, a well known Canadian authority, in an 

 article in the magazine under notice says: The con- 

 ditions prevailing in most of the islands are sufficiently 

 similar to those obtaining in Ceylon to justify the 

 importation of the Cejdon pearl oyster which is one of 

 the most highly productive kinil. An abundance of 

 microscopic food is requii-ed by the animal and also an 

 absence of competing organisms. The sea bottom 

 should have an uneven, mixed, rocky and sandy surface 

 interspersed with broken coral and weeds, to prevent 



o\er-crowding and the drifting of .sand. There must 

 also be in existence a gentle current for the conveyance 

 of fresh food, and the temperature must be ecpiable 

 and warm.' 



As regards the return to be expected, it is stated 

 that in Ceylon .'^lOO worth of pearls per 1,000 shells is 

 regarded as a profitable industry. The Bahrein 

 fisheries yield over two million dollars of pearls annually, 

 employing over 800 boats. In Ceylon the fisheries are 

 even more valuable, and it is evident that the estab- 

 lishment of this industry in the West Indies would 

 enormously strengthen the finances of the colonies, 

 provide labour for those who are not required on the 

 estates, and be a source for obtaining revenue from 

 natural sources not connected with the soil. 



Exhibits for the Toronto Exhibition. 



Most of the islands have this year contributed 

 a collecti<in of exhibits to the Canadian National Exhi- 

 bition at Toronto. Information has just been received 

 from St. Kitts which shows that a very representatixe 

 Collection has been forwarded from there. Altogether 

 there were seventeen specimens of sugar products sent 

 including rum and molasses, as well as five samples of 

 cotton, specimens of vanilla beans, beeswax, various 

 fi'uit products in brine and other preserves. In addition 

 two bunches of coco-nuts and one bundle of sugar-cane 

 were forwarded for decoration together with a good 

 collection of photographic views of the Presidencv. 



Agricultural Openings in Foreign Countries. 



Several of the Diplomatic and Consular Reports 

 for 1913 contain interesting information in regard to 

 the scope for development that exists in several of the 

 foreign tn (])ical or sub-tropical countries. 



As regards Haiti, it is stated that the country is 

 physically capable of immense development, and only 

 awaits the establishment of a stable and moral admin- 

 istration. On the French Ivory Coast (see No. 5,235, 

 Annual Series) the enormous value of the forest pro- 

 ducts are refen-ed to, particularly mahogany. There 

 are, however, gi'eat difficulties in the way of exploit- 

 ation, owing to poor connnunication. In Mexico, 

 (according to No. 5,281, Annual Series) there seems to- 

 be a steady and ever increasing demand for land suitable 

 for coco-nuts, oil nut, and bananas, and foreigners of 

 various nationalities are continually coming to the 

 district (Colima) with the idea of purchasing such pro- 

 perties. 



In Report No. 5,22(), on the trade and agriculture 

 of Togoland, German West Aii-ica, it is stated that the 

 development of the hinterland will rapidly follow the 

 completion of the fourth railway line. A network of ^ 

 roads through the hinterland, unsurpassed for cheajj- 

 ness and excellence of construction anywhere else in 

 West Africa, act as feeders to these railways, and all 

 this good work and development was started a little 

 o\er twenty-five vears agi:> with a working capitid of 

 £4,000. 



