Vol. IX. Xo. 210. 



THK AGUICULT[JRAL \K\VS. 



153 



State Forestry in India. 



An interesting paper on Indian State Forestry, by 

 the late Inspector General of Forests, has appeared 

 recently in the Journal of the Rof/a.l Sociefij of Arts. 

 According to this, tlie forests of British India yielded, 

 in 1906-7, 4,400,000 tons of timber and fuel, 181,250,000 

 tons of bamboo, and minor forest produce to the value 

 of £439 000. In addition, they supplied grazing to 13j 

 million head of cattle, as well as free grants and 

 concessions of timber, etc.. to the value of £227,000. 

 The total income was £1,776,000, and the total e.vpend- 

 iture £987,000. Of the latter sum £06,000 was spent 

 on roads, bridges and houses; and £115,000 in demarca- 

 tion, improvement, extension and protection of forests. 



Round Buildings for Agricultural Purposes. 



Bulletin No. 143 of the University of Illinois 

 Agricultural Experiment Station has just been issued, 

 under the title AVojiO/ey of the Round Dairij Barn. 

 Much that it contains is applicable in a geneial way, 

 not to dairy barns only, but to other agricultural 

 buildings. The chief advantages of round buildings 

 are their convenience, strength and cheapness. In the 

 first case, where they are used for cattle-feeding, it is 

 easier to get the food from a central supply to the cattle, 

 than it is in the case of a rectangidar building. Such 

 structures are stronger, because the ability of the timber 

 used in making them to resist compression is taken 

 advantage of to the greatest degree. There is the 

 additional fact, which is especially important in countries 

 liable to hurricanes, that, owing to their circular shape, 

 all exposed surfaces can withstand wind-pressure better 

 than Hat ones; there is no hold for the wind, such as 

 that provided by the gable end of a rectangular building. 

 In the third connexion, rcciangular buildings were 

 found to cost 34 to 58 per cent, more than round ones, 

 according to their construction, in material used, with 

 the same floor area, built of similar stuff. 



Agriculture in Primary Schools, St. Lucia. 



The Annual Report of the Inspector of Schools on 

 the F.ducation Department, St. Lucia, 1909, states that 

 the secon<I annual examination in agriculture at the 

 primary schools, under the scheme by which the inspec- 

 tion of the school gardens is made by the Agricultural 

 Instructor (see Agricultural iVcifs-, Vol. VIII, p. 265) 

 has taken place. In the absence of an Agricultural 

 Instructor, Mr. R. Niles, Schoolmaster at the Agricul- 

 tural School, was, with the approval of the Administra- 

 tor, appointed examiner. Twenty schools were exam- 

 ined by means of an oral examination of about two 

 hours in each case, partly on the work in the class room 

 and partly on that in the school garden. The number 

 of pupils presented for examination was 454, of which 

 nineteen were girls. 



In his report on the examination, the Agricultural 

 Superintendent suggests that it would be useftd, in 

 relation to the school garden work, if a book was kept 

 by the teachers in which details are recorded of the 

 plants grown, the experiments performed, and the results 

 obtained, as well as observations of interest that are 



made from time to time. He also states that the 

 examiner's report shows that noticeable progress is 

 being made in the work throughout the island. 



The detailed results obtained at the different schools 

 show that, out of the twenty examined, three gained 

 over 90 per cent, (excellent) of the marks awarded for 

 agricultural teaching and school garden, two 75 to 90 

 percent, (very good), ten 50 to 75 per cent, (good), 

 three 30 to 50 per cent, (fair), and two under 30 per 

 cent, (weak and insufficient). 



Labour Bureau in St. Vincent. 



Toward the end of last year, a Labour Bureau was 

 established by the Government of St. Vincent for the 

 purpose of assisting to remove some of the difficulties 

 that are being experienced in the matter of obtaining 

 labour in that island. For the purpose of carrying out 

 the scheme, a central office was established at the Police 

 Station in Kingstown, with district offices at most of 

 the country stations. The method of working is for 

 the officers in charge of the district offices to telephone 

 demands for labour that have been received during the 

 preceding day; these are summarized at the central 

 office, and telephoned later to the district offices. In 

 addition, these demands are kept on record for at least 

 seven days, by being entered upon a special form, which 

 is posted at all the offices. Thus a scheme has been 

 devised by which labourers requiring work may, on 

 application at the police stations, learn where employ- 

 ment is to be obtained, or ma}- if they wish, communic- 

 ate particidars of the kind of work which they require 

 to the police, thus improving their position as to the 

 opportunities of obtaining employment. 



So far. little advantage has been taken of the 

 scheme. This is due to initial difficulties, which are 

 inseparable from such a plan in the West Indies, and 

 to the fact that there is little or no provision of sleeping 

 accommodation on estates, for labourers who have come 

 from a distance. 



Agricultural Conditions in Carriacou. 



The Annual Report of the Commissioner, Carriacou, 

 for 1909, shows that the work of the Experiment Station 

 continues to be carried out on the same lines as in 

 previous years. The lime cultivation has reached 

 a stage at which it is indicated that arrangements 

 could well be made for the manufacture of citrate of 

 lime. Xo new scale insects of a destructive nature 

 have been observed, but it is stated that the spread of 

 ' love vine ' {Cuscida sp.) is taking place to a regret- 

 table extent, in certain districts of the island. 



From the cotton factory, 43,992 ft. of cleaned lint 

 (146.'. bales) was turned out during the year. 



The rainfall for 1909 was 05-87 inches; that is 1043 

 inches more than the one of 1908, and 32'43 inches in 

 excess of that for 1907. This is interesting, in connex- 

 ion with the development of the forest belt along the 

 central ridge of the island, which has taken place since 

 the reservation of this area, and it has acted in the 

 direction of causing the extension of the planting of 

 ground provisions by the peasantry. 



