Vol. XV. No. 372. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



245 



In Dominica the work of the St. Lucia factory has 

 been closely followed, and this has not been without 

 influencing the minds of lime growers in that island. 



Lastly, reference may be made to the spread of 

 economic effort in connexion with the sugar industry. 

 A case in point is afforded by the establishment of 

 central sugar factories in the Leeward Islands. It was 

 here again that one place, Antigua, was the first to move 

 in the matter with the establishment ofGunthorpes 

 Factory in 190.5. Its successful operations were 

 largely responsible for the erection of a similar factory 

 in St. Kitts in 1911, and the work of both these estab- 

 lishments has been to a large extent responsible for 

 the increased centralization of IJictory work in Barbados. 



The spread of economic effort in the West Indies, 

 therefore, has originated from restricted activity in 

 individual islands, of which islands St. Vincent and 

 Antigua must be regarded as occupying a foremost 

 position in this respect. An important jDiinciple can 

 be learnt from this spread of economic movements, 

 namely, that the value of starting a land settlement 

 scheme or a co-operative credit scheme in St. Vincent, 

 or a central factory or different growers' associations in 

 Antigua, or a model lime juice factory in St. Vincent 

 — the value of each one is not to be gauged merely by 

 the success of the initial undertaking, but also by the 

 educational influence and stimulus it exerts, b}- force of 

 demonstration, to hasten progress along similar lines 

 in other places. 



This principle is frequently overlooked, but it is 

 very important that it should be appreciated, esjJecially 

 by those who are concerned with the direction and 

 financial support of agricultural policy, and also by those 

 who are dubious of the valuable work applied economic 

 science can do for the benefit of the planter and of 

 the peasant. 



The instructions issued to Kurveyors of shipping by the 

 Board of Trade in Circular 1"»72, state that the required 

 buoyancy of life-jackets may be supplied by cork, kapok or 

 other approved substance, but no Hfe-jackets which depend 

 on air compartments for their buoyancy will be accepted. 

 The cork used in the manufacture of life-jackets should not 

 weigh more than 1 2 B). per cubic foot, and must be of good 

 quality, cleaned, and in pieces not less than 20 cubic inches, 

 e.iccept for shoulder or other special pockets. Kapok must be 

 pure Java kapok, of good quality, free from seeds or other 

 foreign matter, and well cleaned. At least 24 oz. of kapok 

 must be in each life-jacket whose buoyancy is derived from 

 this material. It is presumed that the term .Java is used in 

 the sense of denoting a special quality: in that case the 

 Board of Trade would allow, it is supposed, the employment 

 of equally good kapok produced in the British tropics. 



THE TRUE AND THE FALSE BAY TREE. 



Mr. W. C Fishluck, Curator of the Experiment Station 

 Tortola, has recently forwarded to Dr. Tempany, Superin- 

 tendent of Agriculture for the Leeward Islands, an interesting 

 note on the subject of the growth of Piinenta acris froiiL 

 seed. 



This note may be prefaced by saying that there exists 

 in various parts of the West Indies, in addition to the 

 recognized type of Pimenta acris which produces the Bay oH' 

 of commerce, a variety closely similar in appearance, but 

 yielding an oil with a strong lemon .scent and of little 

 commercial value. (West Indian Bulletin, Vols. IV, pp. 119- 

 and 189; IX, p. 27.5). The name applied to it by Mr. Fish- 

 lock — 'lemoncillo' — is in use in Porto Rico. A proposal was 

 made (West Indian Bu'letin, Yol. IV, p. 194) to call the 

 variety P. acris, var. citri.folia: but as this proposal is anony- 

 mous and unaccompanied by any attempt at dnscription other 

 than of the scent, it cannot be regarded as adequate. The 

 lemon-scented variety is common in Dominica and St. Lucia. 

 In Tortola it is the kind commonly met with, the type being 

 rare, whereas this condition is reversed in St. .Ian. 



After stating that in company with Dr. Tempany he 

 has recently made an examination of the Bay tree plot at the 

 Experiment Station, Tortola, with a view of determining the 

 number of plants of the lemoncillo variety present, 

 Mr. Fishlock continues: — 



'The trees in the plot were planted in November 1914 

 by Mr. C. A. Gomes; they had been raised from seed care- 

 fully picked and sown by me personally about July and 

 August 1913. The seeds were carefully handpicked from 

 a single tree having excellent characters, growing in the 

 Station. This tree came from St. Jan in 1902 with some 

 others, and was planted by me at the Station. Only two 

 of the trees then planted have survived; one is a tree having 

 good characters, and undoubtedly of the true variety; the 

 other is unmistakably of the false or lemoncillo type. The 

 latter tree flowers earlier than the true variety, and conse- 

 quently, I do not think there has been crossfertihzation. 



'LTpon careful examination of the plants in the plot 

 referred to, we found that, of sixty-two living plants, twenty- 

 two or 3-5-.5 per cent, were of the false, or lemoncillo type. 

 This appears to indicate that the original plant, the one 

 planted in 1902, is a hybrid, and that its progeny are split- 

 ting up into two distinct types — roughly 6.5 per cent, coming 

 true, and 35 per cent, reverting to the lemoncillo type. 



'There was nothing in the appearance of the plants, or 



the leaves, to indicate whether they belonged to the true or 



the false type; this could only be determined by the sense of 

 smell. 



'These observations may help to throw some light upon a 

 subject which has already received some amount of attention. 

 It is, of course, of the highest importance that, in the pro- 

 duction of a high class Bay oil, there should be no admix- 

 ture of leaves of the lemoncillo type.' 



If Mr. Fishlock s suggestion turns out to be correct, the 

 fact is of considerable importance where cultivations of Bay 

 trees are being established, as in Montserrat. The lemoncillo 

 is reported to be absent from that island, and its introduction, 

 should be carefully avoided. In islands where both varieties- 

 occur early discrimination should be made among the seedlinga. 



