Vol. XV. No. 360. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



with the last section, reference is 

 on the stoniaui! characteristics of 



In connexion 

 made to a paper 

 varieties of sugar-cane which appeared in Vol. XIII ot 

 the West Indian Bulletin. 



An Efficient Centi'al American Republic. 



Sir Sydney Olivier, late CJovi.-riior of Jamaica and 

 now Permanent Secretary to the English Board of 

 Agriculture, delivered an interesting lecture on 

 November 30 last, before a meeting of the Royal Society 

 of Arts in London. His remarks upon Jamaican labour 

 in Central America were particulary interesting. In 

 1911, Sir Sydney stated, there were no less than 40,000 

 Jamaicans working in Costa Rica alone. This 

 republic has had a remarkable development, the result 

 I'ntirely of commercial enterprise. The speaker's 

 <iescription of the republic explained the reason why. 

 'Costa Rica is a most efficiently organized industrial 

 republic under the absolute, though very enlightened, 

 and benevolent despotism of the United Fruit Company. 

 The development in Costa Rica of great banana culti- 

 vations, the building of railroads and steamships to 

 carry the fruit internally and externally have been 

 entirely the work of the United Fruit Comjjany. And 

 not a small proportion of the prosperity of Jamaica 

 itself is due to the operations of the same coi-poration. 



Two New Local Publications. 



•The Feeding of Stock' is the title of a shorb 

 pamphlet issued by the St. Kitts-Nevis Department of 

 Agriculture. Part I, on the composition of feeding, 

 stufJs is by Mr. H. Watei-land, the Chemical Assistant, 

 and Part II, on the general properties of teeding stuffs 

 and on rations, is by Dr. Shannon, (Jovermiient 

 Veterinary Surgeon. Jr. this seconil [)art, the remarks 

 concerning French weed (Comnudyna sp.) and the 

 sweet potato vine as fodders appear to show that the 

 former is as good as ( Juinea corn fodder, while the 

 latter might be more generally used for the feeding of 

 milch cows. Greater attention ought to be given to 

 the curing of cane tops in St. Kitts. Analyses of these 

 <lifterent native fodder plants are provided, but the 

 digestibility co-efficient is not worked out. On the 

 whole, stock owners in St. Kitts ought to find this 

 little treatise very helpful. 



In another local publication, this time from 

 St. Lucia, Mr. A. J. Brooks, the Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent, shows in a practical style how manuring should 

 be carried out in that island with particular refeivnce 

 to the maintenance of organic matter and the treat- 

 ment of exhausted soils. Great emphasis is laid upon 

 the utilization as manure of all the crop residues which 

 can be put to no better purpose. The leaHet is written 

 for the peasants and as such will, on account of its 

 simplicity and directness, .serve a useful purpo.se. 



Domestication of Fancy Plumage Birds. 



Concerning our note on this subject in the last 

 issue of this Journal (p. 41), which dealt with egrets 

 and ostriches, it is interesting to learn from the 

 Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, that with a view 

 to encouraging the breeding of egrets as a private 

 industry in Madagascar, the (!<Aernor-(Jeneral of the 

 (Colony has extended for three years from ]\Iay S last the 

 interdiction of the shooting of egrets and false egrets, 

 'vorornpotsys.' The raising of egi'ets anil 'vorompotsys,' 

 and the sale of the plumes gathered from domesticated 

 birds, are authorized undei certain conditions. Accord- 

 ing to a report by the United States Consul atTamatave, 

 breeding should commence with young birds only, whose 

 capture is authorized at the age of ten to forty-five 

 ilays. The capture of full-grown birds is forbidden. 

 The authorized capture of young birds, etc., does not 

 extend to Green Island and the islets of the Vohemar 

 Bay, which are reserved as producing centres of the 

 Vohemar administrative egret farm. 



As we stated, on the authority of Dr. Deurden, 

 the South African ostrich specialist, there are possibili- 

 ties before the domestication of fancy plumage birds in 

 the West Indies, just as then/ are possibilities in the 

 matten- ot organizing and de\tloping West Indian 

 fisheries, especially shallow-water fisheries like sponging 

 anil turtle and oyster rearing. 



It is only the resources of th^ soil that have been 

 tapped in these islands, and even these have not yet 

 been fully exploited, as a visit tq Trinidad, St. Luci;> 

 or Dominica will readily show. 



Report on the St. 'Vincent Agricultural Credit 



System. 



The Administrator of St. Lucia has forwarded to 

 this Office a copy of a report by the lnsp(!ctor of 

 Agricultural Credit Societies of St. Lucia on the system 

 now operating in St. \'incent. It will be remembered 

 that an Agricultural Credit Ordinance has recently 

 been passed in St. Lucia, and it is intended to introduce 

 into St. Lucia a similar system of credit to that 

 I'xisting in St. Vincent where societies have now 

 been establi.shed for some time. 



The report does not give an\^ very detailed infor- 

 mation, but it appears that a satisfactory impression 

 of the working of the system was formed. Much <jf 

 the success in St. Vincent depends upon the cuntidence 

 placed by the peasants in the Agricultural Officers. 

 Importance attaches also to the co-operative sale of 

 produce, and in this connexion there might be an 

 extension to include St. Lucia. 



The report includes a specimen page ofNo.:^ of 

 the Societies' books, which comprise (1) Cash Book, 

 (2) Ledger, (3) Loan Book, and (4) Minute Book. The 

 Registrar keeps a Register of all Societies registered 

 under the Ordinance. It is hardly necessary to state 

 that close land settlement under (Jovernment super- 

 vision is a great help to the successful conduct of 

 credit societies. It is in this respect that St. Vincent 

 has HU advantage over other islands in the West 

 Indies. 



