^i 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



January 15, 1916. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 







NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



...©• 



^ 



f^^^ 



w 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, shonkl be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents' and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents, and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page o of 

 the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, 



Agriculture for the West Indies F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC .STATF. 



Scieiilijic Assistant and 



Assistant Editor W. R. Dunloj). 



Entomuloijist H. A. Ballon, M.Sc. 



Mycologist W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



Chief Clerk A. (}. Howt-ll. 



Assistant Clerk M. B,.Connell. 



Junior Clerk W. P. Bovell, 



Assistant Jnuior Cleik P. Taylor. 



Typist Miss B. Robinson. 



... , , T, II- ,■ ("A. B.Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



Assistants jor rublications <^ . rnrhin 



gigricuttural |linu.H 



YoL. XV. SATURDAY, .JAXUARY 15, 1916. No. 358. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the editorial in this issue it is shown that, in 

 spite of the war, the prospects 'before cotton growers 

 throughout the world would appear to be fevourable. 



An important article, which should be rea<l by all 

 interested in Sea Island cotton, will be found on 2)age 

 IS. 



The results of the recent examinations in tropical 

 agricidture, conducted by the Imperial Department, 

 are published on page 2!t. 



Proposed Land Settlements in Queensland. 



In connexion with the attempts that are being- 

 made in a similar direction in St. Lucia, the news that 

 there is likely to be considerable land settlement ia 

 (^)ueensland at the termination of the war is of interest. 

 It is stated in The Bunrd of Trade Journal for 

 November 18, 1915, that as a result of the arrangements 

 now being initiated in Queensland and throughout 

 the Commonwealth for settling returned soldiers on 

 the land, there will be a large number of small holdings 

 eventually formed. In connexion with this it is of 

 interest to note that the policy of the present Govern- 

 ment in Queensland is to provide settlements in 

 smaller areas for a greater number of people, for that 

 purpose breaking up the large estates already ia 

 existence. In St. Lucia, it will be remembered that 

 it is Crown Land and not private property that will be 

 utilized. The journal referred to considers it probable 

 that as these areas in Queensland are brought in to- 

 more productive use, , railways will be constructed in 

 order to provide facilities for the transport of produce 

 and goods from and to the small settlements. In 

 St. Lucia the construction of roads is running parallel 

 with this effort to extend land settlement. 



Insect Notes and I'lant Diseases deal, respectively, 

 ■with the corn leaf beetle and Burgundy mixture. 



Nature Study in Botanic Gardens. 



Some of the ideas embodied in an account of 

 nature study with children at the New York Botanic 

 Gardens, appearing in the Journal of that establishmenS 

 for November 1915, should appeal to officers in charge 

 of Schools and Gardens in the West Indies. 



The New York Botanical Garden occupies about 

 4t)0 acres in the northern part of Bronx Park, and 

 contains a large museum, two large ranges of conserva- 

 tories, an old mansion' in the hemlock forest on the 

 Bronx river, and many plantations of herbaceous plants, 

 shrubs and trees. 



In the programme of exercises arranged by the 

 Bedtime Stories Club of The Globe, the children were 

 directed to proceeil along different routes through the 

 Gai-den, and at various points, generally in the 

 conservatories, instructors were stationed to point out 

 and describe various plants of special interest. It may 

 be mentioned here that tropical plants were the chief 

 features of discussion. Several thousand children 

 took part in this instructive excursion, and in every 

 way it was a great success. As the children proceeded 

 along the route sclectedfor each section thejwere told, 

 in a printed programme supplied to each of them, to try 

 and answer certain (juestions for themselves. Thius 

 after leaving the conservatories many deciduous and 

 evergreen trees were to be seen: the children had to 

 ask themselves: 'How do trees that drop their leaves 

 on the approach oi' winter differ in shape from those 

 that are evergreen?' 'Do their leaves also differ in 

 shape?' 



Again in another place where xerophytes occurredi 

 'How do desert plants differ from other plants?' And 

 again in one of the titopical houses: 'How do you 

 explain the different kinds of tea all coming from the 

 same plant.'' And 'How many kinds of banana fruit 

 have you seen?.' 



