Vol. XV. Ko. 362. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



85 



Turning to a consideration of school garden work in 

 Barbados, it appears that this has been carried on in a satis- 

 factory manner, in .«pite of the loss of the grant placed on the 

 estimates for such \v.irk. There has been no increase in the 

 number of gradens during the year, but with the purchase of 

 sites for schools there will be a larger number of plots cared 

 for by the children. The Board is encouraging the planting 

 of hedges b}' the children as enclosures of the new sites 

 which are being purchased by the Board. These, it is 

 pointed out, will both beautify the school grounds and serve 

 a,s a protection for them. At the Local Agricultural Exhibi- 

 bition held at Fisherpond on December 2, 1914, there were 

 226 exhibits of school garden produce, and seventy-three 

 prizes were awarded as against sixty-three in the previous 

 year. All the exhibits were in good condition, and it was 

 demonstrated that, on the whole, the work has received due 

 care and attention at the hands of both teachers and pupils. 

 In addition to prizes given by the Board, the Local Depart- 

 luent of Agriculture presented two prizes for the best 

 collection of exhibits. 



In connexion with school garden work it may be 

 mentioned that in the case of schools where facilities for 

 working a garden are absent, a useful course of study can be 

 carried on in Indoor Gardening. This idea was dealt with in 

 an article in the last issue of the Aijricultui<d News, and the 

 scheme of instruction will be found there or in greater detail 

 in Pamphlet Xo. f^2 of the Imperial Department of Agricul- 

 ture, which is devoted to the subject. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON IN FIJI. 



The islands of Fiji in the Western Pacific are endeavour- 

 ing to establish a Sea Island cotton industry. This is 

 a matter of some importance from a West Indian point of 

 view, in connexion with the fact that at present the British 

 West Indies is the only Imperial source of supply. 



In the report on the Agricultural Department of Fiji 

 for 1914, the results of plot experiments are given with seed 

 obtained from Barbados, Antigua, and St. Kitts. 



Before proceeding to give the results obtained, a few 

 words may be said concerning the method of preparing the 

 land for cotton in these experiuients. This consisted in 

 ploughing with a single disc plough in September. After 

 one month's rest, the land was then harrowed, followed by 

 a cross-ploughing. It was then again harrowed. For 

 experimental purposes one plot in these experiments was 

 ridged. To one plot stable manure and compost were applied, 

 being spread in the drills and lightly covered before the seed 

 was planted. Actual planting took place in these experiments 

 during December. 



Inter-cultivation consisted first in sending a scarifier 

 down the space between the rows of cotton bushes, followed 

 by labourers vrith hoes to attend t" the weeds near and 

 between the cotton plants which canwit be reached by horse 

 implements. This operation combines weeding and a stirrinc 

 up of the soil, the latter being particularly important in dry 

 weather in order to prevent an undue loss of moisture. 



Thinning of the seedlings out to one took place during 

 the first month or six weeks. Subsecjuent cultivation consisted 

 of weeding and stirring the soil. Wiieding ceased at the 

 end of February, and picking started about the middle of 

 April and finished in July. During the early part of the 

 year the weather was unusually dry, but fortunately, the 

 weather following planting was satisfactory and enabled the 

 young plants to get a good start. The Lautoka Experi- 

 ment Station, where these experiments were carried out, is 

 the driest of the four experiment stations of the Colony. 



Nevertheless it has an average rainfall of about 64 inches 

 per annum. At Souva, the average rainfall is 110 inches. It 

 would look, therefore, us if the climate of Fiji were rather 

 too wet for the successful jiroduction of Sea Island cotton. 



Before proceeding to give the yields obtained, it may be 

 noted that the cost of growing cotton in Fiji ranges from 

 about £6 lO.s'. to £8 lO.s. per acre. The cost of growing 

 1 lb. of lint was 709c?. for plot 4, 6-72rf. for plot 5, and 

 6-3 Id. for plot 13. The cost of picking 1 R. of seed-cotton 

 was 1 •41c?. for plot 4, 114c?. for plot .5, and 108c?. for 

 plot 13. 



As already stated, trials were made with seed from 

 Barbados, Antigua and St. Kitts. The germination of the 

 Antigua seed was so poor that this plot had to be abandoned. 

 As regards Barbados seed in which 3 acres were planted, the 

 yield of lint per acre was 252 ft. From similar areas the 

 St. Kitts seed gave 311 lb. of lint per acre on one plot, and 

 255 DE). per acre on another. The percentage of lint was 

 greater in the case of the St. Kitts cotton than in the case 

 of the Barbados cotton, namely, 28'4 in the case of the 

 former against 27 '7 for Barbados. 



As already intimated, some of the land was ridged. It 

 was found th;it there was no advantage to be gained by 

 planting cotton on ridges. 



As regards pests, it is stated that cotton stainers during 

 the season under review gave no trouble: they are usually 

 very plentiful towards the end of the crop and are destroyed 

 in great numbers when the crop is ploughed out. It is not 

 stated in the report how stainers are destroyed. In the year 

 under review, their appearance seems to be considerably later- 

 in the year than usual, and they did not increase to nearly 

 the same extent as in previous years. 



It is stated that the cost of growing 1 D). of lint com- 

 pares very favourably with that of previous years. The- 

 cost of picking is stated to be high, because picking had to 

 be completed with inexperienced labour. No trouble is 

 expeiienced in Fiji in connexion with ginning. 



As regards selection, it is stated that twelve plants are 

 marked each year, the produce from which is kept in separate 

 bags. When all the cotton is reaped from these plants the 

 different lots are sent to Souva for examination In the 

 present season seven lots were at once rejected as being 

 distinctly inferior to the rest, which were very carefully 

 examined. Fifty bolls from each sample were hand ginned, 

 and the result in seed and lint weighed. The total crop- 

 was also weighed, the number of seeds counted and their 

 value measured. The length and fineness of the fibre 

 are examined, and care is taken to see that it is of 

 fair strength. Two of the lots came .so near one another 

 that difficulty was met in deciding which one to select: 

 one of them has a higher percentage of lint but a smaller crop 

 than the other. The difference between the actual crops of 

 the.se two was negligible compared with the difference between 

 either of them and the ordinary yield under field conditions. 

 The point was therefore decided upon by the percentage of. 

 lint rather than of crop. It may be mentioned of these two 

 plants, that one gave -76 ft. of seed-cotton with "21 ft. of lint 

 (27'5 per cent.), and the other 63 ft. of seed-cotton containing 

 •17 ft. of lint (28-1 per cent.). Planted at the distances 

 used at Lautoka, if one or other of these yields was maintained 

 by every plant, we should have enormous yields of 730 and 

 590 ft. of lint per acre. 



It is stated in conclusion, that the seed of the selected lot 

 are planted in a place by themselves, and at crop time the 

 produce is kept by itself and ginned by itself, the machine 

 being carefully cleaned previous to ginning, to prevent other 

 seeds getting among those of the pure strain. 



