A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



iNEW Y< 



tM/TAM 



ilAHDt 



Vol. IX. No. 210. 



BARBADOS, JIAY 14, 1910. 



Prick Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Page. 



Agiicultural OinKiiUnns in 



Cfuriacim 



Agricultural ExperiiiK-nt 

 Stations, The Functions 



of 



.Agriculture in Primary 



Schools, St. Lucia ... 

 Cacao Trees, Tlie Yield 



from 



Cotton Notes : — 



Cotton and Climati' ... 

 Cotton-Growing in Si.-iin 

 Varieties of Cotton Cul- 

 tivated in Nyasaland 

 West Indian Cotton ... 

 Departmental Reports ... 

 Fungus Notes : — 



The Chief Groups of 



Fungi, Part YI 



Gleanings 



Labour Bureau in St. Yiu- 



cent 



Lead Cliromate as an 



In.secticide 



T-einon Grass, A I'se for 



Market Reports 



Notes and Comments ... 



153 



14.5 



153 



148 



150 

 150 



150 

 150 

 1.54 



158 

 156 



153 



1,59 

 155 

 160 

 152 



Poultry Notes : — 



Tlie Breeding and Rear- 

 ing of Turkeys 



To .ludgo the Age of 

 a Fowl 



Prize-Holdings Competi- 

 tion in Dominica ... 



Rninfall in Antigua 



ReceiU Congress Held at 

 Msiiaos. The 



Rice in British Guiana ... 



Round Buildings for .Agri- 

 cultural Purposes ... 



State Forestry in India ... 



Students' Ciunier 



Sugar Industry : — 

 The Iiiti ueiice of the Struct 

 ure of Sugar-cane on 



Mill Wiuk 



Ticks, Freeing Pastures 



from 



Tubers of Calathea Allouya 



Uses of the Tonka Bean 



Yields from Ceara Trees 



witli Ditleront Kinds 



of Taii]iing 



155 

 155 



14!» 

 152 



15i 

 154 



1.53 

 153 

 15- 



147 



157 

 1.52 

 14!l 



151 



The Functions of Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations. 



II. In Pk.\( tical Aumct i/fure. 



N the definite work of an agricultural experi- 

 ment station, besides that connected with 

 research, a consideration of which has already 

 been given, there are included lines of investi- 

 gation that are conducted, broadly speaking, in two 



ways. The first of these has relation to experiments 

 which are designed to give a purely empirical result; 

 that is to sa\-, the effort is made to obtain information 

 as to the nature of the right procedure in any given 

 matter, while there is no arrangement of the details in 

 such a way that scientific reasons will be supplied for 

 the conclusion which is reached. The second kind of 

 investigation includes experiments, in themselves appar- 

 ently simple, which, while giving results of practical 

 value, afford at the same time information that has 

 a use in relation to what are usually termed purely 

 scientific considerations. It does not require any 

 demonstration that the latter way of experiment is the 

 more valuable, especially as it leads to greater certainty 

 in formulating and applying residts of general agri- 

 ciUtural importance; the tendency is therefore to give 

 all investigations a scientific aspect. 



Dealing with the work of the experiment station 

 in a more detailed way, it is generally the case that 

 a large part of this is taken up with manurial and 

 tillage experiments. The latter include the introduc- 

 tion of new methods and machinery in connexion with 

 cultivation, but this is a matter where a large part of 

 the investigation should be performed by the planter, 

 on his own land. Fresh importations, too, will take 

 place under its direction, in relation to crops, in order 

 that those who are interested may be given opportuni- 

 ties of trying new and improved varieties of plants, 

 while the station itself will devote some of its efforts to 

 the improvement of those already existing in the area 

 which is to benefit by its operations. An important 

 part of the work of many stations is the making of 

 experiments which are maintained over several years, 

 and the existence of these gives an argument, among 

 several others, for the continuance of the form of their 



