280 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Attgust 26. 1916. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 



NOTICES. 



Barbados. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agi'iculture, 

 Barbados. 



AH 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 3 of 

 the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Francis Watts, CM. G., D.Sc, 



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



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Scientific Assistant and 



Assistant Editor W. R. Dunlop. 



Untomologist H. A. Ballon, M.Sc. 



Mycologist W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



Chief Clerk 

 Assistant Clerk 



Clerical Assistants 



Typist 



Assistant for Publications 



A. G. Howell. 

 M. B. Connell. 

 j'L. A. Corbin. 

 - P. T,-iyl<-)r. 



M.ss B. Robin.-)oii. 



A. B. Price, Fell. Jouiu. Inst. 



Jijjriciiltiiral |Tciub 



Vol. XV. SATURDAY, ATGUST 26, 1916. No. 374. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number deals with the 

 interesting subject of cotton st-cd meal as a manure. 



A note on cane breeding and selection in Porto 

 Kieo will be found on page 27o. 



Items of Local Interest .ippear on page 27(j. 



A discussion on the subject of peasant instruction 

 OH page 281 will be read with interest. 



The recently issued report on tlic AgricuUurai 

 Department, St. Lucia, for 191.5-16, is reviewed on page 



28.5. 



Exports from the Gold Coast. 



It is stated in The Board of I'rade Jourmil that 

 the value of exports of the products of the Colon}- in 

 1915 amounted to £.5,814.810, as compared with 

 £4,4()9,7.53 in 1914, and £-5,023,640 in I9I3. The 

 increase over 1!)I4 was, therefore, 30 jjer cent., and over 

 1913, the last record year, 15 per cent. 



The quantity of cacao exported amounted to 

 77,278 tons, as compared with 52,8S<S tons in 1914. 

 The increase in quantity was due to the fact that new- 

 areas came into bearing during the year. 



Exports of palm kernels declined from 5,633 tons in 

 1914 to 4,0<)4, tons in 1915 owing to the cessation of 

 shipments to German}', which was the principal market 

 for this product. 



The decline in the exports of palm oil was due 

 to the neglect of the wTiole palm product industry for 

 the more profitable cacao industry, and considering the 

 steady decline of the former industry since 1910, it is 

 to be feared that it is doomed to extinction, except in 

 certain districts that are unsuitable for cacao-growing. 

 Exports of palm oil in 1915 amounted to 330,990 

 gallons, the lowest on record, not being quite one-sixth 

 of the volume of exports in 1!I10. 



The Material Basis of Co-operative Credit. 



The credit t>f any individual person rests partly 

 upon the amount and value of his property, and partly 

 upon his character and reputation for success or 

 failure in his agricultural or business undertakincs. 

 These two fundamentals are referred to in the.il(7»'it'M/- 

 twral Jdurrxtl <</ India as the material basis and the 

 personal basis, respectively, of credit. That journal goes 

 on to point out that it is the essence of the co-operative 

 credit movement that by incorporation with joint 

 unlimited liability, the personal credit of a group- 

 of persons becomes very greatly strengthened. This 

 outstanding fact docs not, however, diminish the need 

 or advantage of developing credit with a material basis. 

 Not only fjxrm implements, buildings and better culti- 

 vation, but also immaterial property rights are impor- 

 tant bases of security, and every society should doits 

 utmost to strengthen its position in regard to increasino' 

 its material valtu'. 



'I'he above ivniarks hold good under West Indian 

 conditions, but it should be remembered that under the 

 West Indian Co-operative Credit Acts the Governments 

 protect themselves, and also at the same time the 

 security of the society, by forbidding the investment of 

 loans in any way but for an agricultural and productixe 

 |iur|)oso. It is perhaps in connexion with the most 

 [iroiit.able and ecoiioiiucal inaiuu'r of disposing of the 

 loans for productive purposes that should be considered 

 by the borrower, and receive the attention of co-opera- 

 tive credit society inspectors, in the course of their 

 duties. 



