Vol. XIII. Xo. .321. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL XEWS. 



DOWN THE ISLANDS. 



ITEMS OF LOCAL INTEREST. 



TOBAiiu. Acourtliiig to the Putt :,t'-Spain GuzctU- for 

 July 24, 19U, the stati' at the Botanic' Station, Tobago, i.s 

 to be credited with a considerable amount of activity during 

 tlie la.st year or two. Kefereuce i.s made more especially tfi 

 cotton growing efforts in the island, lime cultivation, and as 

 regards experimental work, to the beneHeial effects of forking 

 and mulching Toliago soils, and to various work in connexion 

 with cacao. Ti> the Botanic Station also credit is due for 

 the recent development of tobacccvgi owing in the island, 

 which has now become quite a large and important industry. 



ST. \tscENT. From information received recently from 

 the Acting Agricultural Superintemlent. it appears that work 

 in the Botanic (iardens has of late included the fumigation 

 of .3,000 coconuts, the sowing of nearly 200 cotton selections, 

 anil the planting out of all the manurial plots of cotton. On 

 the estates throughout the island, the cotton crop has ger- 

 minated regularly, t'onsideration is Ntill being given l)y the 

 planters to the establishment of a dried cassava root industrv. 

 The rainfall during June has been seasonable. 



ST. Luci.\. The Acting Agricultural .Suix;rintendeut 

 from this island states that in view of the .sea.sonable rains, 

 matters are in a satisfactory condition at the Ex])eriment 

 Station, Reunion. Seventeen thousand lime plants were 

 <listributed during July and a i-acre of St. Vincent cotton 

 seed (to which reference was made on tliis page in last issue) 

 has been .sown. Apart from one or two difficulties of 

 a temporary nature, work has been proceeding satisfactorily 

 -at the f Jovernment Lime Juice Factory. At the end of July, 

 6 casks of concentrated lime juice had been prepaied, which 

 in \iew of recent events is nearly £200 worth of juice. 



MoNTsKKKAT, Koutiue Work at the Botanic Gardens in 

 this island, according to a recent report by the Curator, has 

 included the distribution of a large number of bay, lime and 

 pine-ap|jle |(lant.s. On the estates, the condition of the 

 t-otton crop is veiy promising an<l go<jd yields aie looketl for 

 during the coming season. The bulk oi it was planted in 

 April and reaping is ex|3eeted to be "In full swing this 

 month. During July rather high winds were expe- 

 rienced and the .same thing occurred also, it may l)e 

 added, in St. Vincent where, in the Botanic Gardens, 

 a large mahogany tree was blown down. The lime crop in 

 jMontserrat is still in many place> in an unsati-factory 

 conditiim. A form of •chilible' or Vnrly' leaf of cotton has 

 been ob.served in .Montserrat similar in appearance to the 

 condition recently reported on from St. Kitts and Nevis, and 

 lately investigated by Mr. Xowell. The rainfall in this island 

 has been well distributed during .Inne. and fur growing cotton 

 Jias been ideal. 



-■VXTIGU.^. From this Presidency the Superintenilent of 

 Agriculture reports that the cotton for grafting has been 

 planted and that ccjusiderable amount of routine work 

 •Nvas done during June in connexion w-ith the experimen- 

 tal pli>ts at Skerrets. A large niimber of coco-nuts, 

 Eucalyptus, limes and other plants including sweet potato 

 • uttings were distributed during June. In certain parts 

 of the island small patches of last year's cotton jjlants are 

 ^till to be .seen in the fields: it is imperative that planters 

 should take every care to have the old crop de.stroy>d in 

 future. X special effort of the l>epa,rtment ha..« Iwen the 



shipment of a small quantity of tomatoes to Canada. The pro 

 ceeds from the sale of onions is now being distributed to the 

 members of the Onion Growers' Association, the price received 

 being \d. per It), net. During June 2-30 inches of rain fell. 

 In a later report for July the Superintendent of Agriculture 

 states that the condition of the cane crop is very satisfactory 

 and that the fields of young cotton are healthy. A fair pro- 

 portion of the cotton crop was planted during the month 

 though no large increase in area of this crop is anticipated 

 this year. Special work of the Department has included the 

 packing of exhibits for the Canadian Exhibition. Special 

 attention has also been given to the preparation of the land at 

 Fort James for the planting of coco-nuts. A general meeting 

 of the Agricultural and Commercial Society and several 

 committee meetings, were held during the month. The Agri- 

 cultural Su{>erintendent says that the weather experienced 

 during July wa.s all that could be desired from an agricultural 

 point of view. 



ST. KITTS. The weather during the month has been 

 more favourable for sugar making and the nuiscovado estate.s 

 have made lietter progress. The cotton crop in St. Kitt.s 

 though fairly satisfactory on the whole, promi.ses no more 

 than an average yield owing to somewhat un.satisfactory 

 climatic i-onditions. The early planted cotton just picked has 

 given goinl yields. During June, a meeting of the Agricul- 

 tural anil Commercial Society was held with a view to con- 

 sidering the draft Ordinance as to marks on bales of cotton. 

 The draft was approved of by the Society. Notice was given 

 that the Secretary of State for the Colonies had approved of 

 the appointment of a veterinary surgeon by the Government. 

 The rainfall for the month was 3J9 inches. 



SKVis. The coco-nut plantations in this island continue 

 to bear .veil and maintain a healthy condition, but it is 

 reported that there is scope for greater attention with regard 

 to drainage. .Although the coco-nut is not harmed by a wet 

 .soil this only holds good where the water is not stagnant. 

 A water-logged .soil is most unsuitable for the healthy growth, 

 of coco-nuts. It is .satisfactory to be able to announce that 

 considerable success has been obtained on one at least of the 

 estates in this island with vanilla growing. The planting of 

 this crop in the higher lands has been very considerably 

 extended, a large number of plants are bearing and with 

 good cultivation and especially if accompanied by proper 

 curing, this crop should turn out to be a veiy paying one 

 and well-suited to the conditions obtaining in the upper 

 lands of the Presidency. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Mr. \V. Xowell, 1 ).I.C., Mycologist on the Statt' of 

 the Iiiijjerial Department of Agxiculture, returned to 

 the Head Office on Wednesday, Atigu.st 5, by the 

 R.M.S. 'Trent". Mr. X^owell had been in Nevis and 

 St. Kitt.s investigating a condition of the cotton plant 

 known in those islands as enrlv leaf. 



It is stated in Diplomatic and Consular Reports, Xo 

 0,1 76, Annual Series, on the trade and commerce of Zanzibar, 

 that owing to the almndance of fibre-producing plants which 

 overrun the fertile portions of the islands wherever the ground 

 is not cleared for cloves, an excellent ojjportunity presents 

 it.self for the development of a coir and fibre industry. For 

 the cultivation of fruits, Zanzibar possesses facilities which are 

 prol)ably unequalled on the east side of Africa. 



