Vol. XV. No. 376. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



319 



THE SALISBURY BACON FACTORY. 



In a previous issue of the A'jruultural News (Vol. XIV, 

 p. 118), the working of this bacon factory of Rhodesia will be 

 found described, together with certain suggestions coneerniog 

 the establishment of a similar factory in the West Indies. In 

 the West Indian Bulletin (Vol. XV, pp. 207-11) the Hitchin 

 Bacon Factory at Bedford in England is described, and those 

 interested in the matter of these factories will find a compari- 

 son of the information presented in the two references of 

 value. 



The Salisbury bacon factory, which has recently been 

 given further attention in ihe Bhodeua Agricultmal Journal 

 for June 1916, was originally intended to handle twenty-five 

 pigs a week, but at the present time an average of seventy 

 pigs is killed weekly, which, it is understood, has been made 

 possible by the addition of an extra drying room. 



Certain features of this factory not mentioned in the 

 previous reference, are well worth calling special attention to. 

 A special spur from the main railway line runs into the 

 factory yard, by which means the pigs are delivered direct 

 from the station of dispatch without any second handling. 

 This reduces to a minimum the loss incident to the transport 

 of animals by rail, and ensures their being received in 

 a condition almost as good as when they left home. The 

 conveyance of the pigs in the factory itself is done in an 

 efficient manner, and care is taken to save the blood and other 

 by-products; but the method of killing the animals by 

 sticking appears to be somewhat crude compared with the 

 use of the captive belt pistol employed in the Hitchin Bacon 

 Factory in England. Sticking is cheaper, perhaps, but less, 

 humane, and certainly a more unpleasant proce.ss for the 

 operator. 



After the cleaned carcase is .skinned and weighed, it is 

 ^plaBk. ^^ '"^ '^^ chilling room to prevent the cooling off of the 

 carcesv "' ^'^°'" being too rapid. .Ifter a period in the chilling 

 room, ti.''® ("arcase is cut up and shaped into bacon and ham. 

 Fr&m *^^ article under consideration it would seem 

 that the -sys. *^^ °^ feeding, and the quality of pig handled in 

 Rhodesia are ^''"'^ satisfactory. No particular breed seems to 

 be noticeably ibt '^^^''^ suited for Rhodesia than another; any of 

 the standard Ent ''''^'^ ^'^^^^'', if looked after properly, give 

 good results. It ii ^^'^ ^^'* ^"^'^ ^^^"^ P'S that appears to 

 be disappointing. 



As regards feeding, '' "f" ""^t" ^""""^ . ^^^^^ ^^^^ f^rmn^si 

 of flesh and all-round go 'l."''ry.' "nothing surpasses the 



■ pigs that have been fed on k 'V'"^^'' '^'""^ '"'^'^.^ j"^^'^'^^^ * 8°*^^ 

 supply of milk. Where mil. ' " """^ available, the same 

 results can be obtained by nmm * gf ^rous ration of alfalfa. 

 A feed consisting almost wholly °* "^T ^''^. '"^'^•""'^ ^^« 

 produced excellent ba«)n On. fara. \^'^^'l ""ther milk nor 

 lucerne is obtainable, first class pitfst l ^*^^ ^^^ --fsed when 

 boiled roots have been fed, and LaJu ' '', ■'^'''f ""I* ^"^^ 

 boiled mess. Good result.* follow from' b. ^^"^^ ^^ "" ^' 



mixed as possible, by the us-e <A pea^-, a. ^^'' '''^^°'' ''^''^^ 

 potato tops, and buckwhea*. 



DESTRUCTION OF FOOD PLANTS OF THE 



COTTON STAINER IN ST. VINCENT. 



Some general remarks in connexion with this campaign 

 will be found in the Notes and Comments page of the 

 present i.ssue. In the following article 'he details forwarded, 

 by M r. Sands in connexion with the work so far achieved 

 are placed on record-. 



On .July 26, the Assistant Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent started to destroy John Bull trees (Tkespesia 

 populnia) at Edinboro, the services of a prison gang 

 being placed at his disposal. It was found that 

 the in.sect could be readily collected on heaps of the 

 fruits of the John Bull tree and then burned. At this place 

 all the John Bull trees, some hundreds in number, have been 

 destroyed, as well as several large silk cotton trees. At the 

 end of the month the gang reached Kingston valley. On 

 July .31 Mr. Sands left for the windward district to start work 

 there and obtained the voluntary assistance of several planters 

 to act as Inspectors under the Ordinance. On his way to 

 Georgetown, Mr. Sands instructed the Cotton Inspector to 

 commence operations in the Biabou district. He started work 

 at once and stayed with the labour gangs throughout the 

 period. Arrangements were also made for the Georgetown 

 district to be cleared. 



In the country, all the estates have been cleared by their 

 owners. The scheme has planned out well as each districts 

 has been dealt with under the direction of an Inspector and 

 the whole area has been effectually cleared. Some idea of 

 the work accomplished in the district from Stubbs to Colona- 

 rie can be obtained from the following records: at Stubbs 101 

 large John Bull trees, 1,649 saplings and one silk cotton tree 

 were destroyed ; at Biabou and Bridgetown 1,.566 large .John 

 Bull trees and numerous saplings, at New Ground, Lowmans 

 and Chapmans 2, -584 large John Bull trees and numer- 

 ous saplings; at Union, 962: at Colonarie, Mount Grennan, 

 Sans Souci, Gorse, 600 were destroyed. -The greater part of 

 the windward district therefore has been cleared. 



On August 16 the campaign was started in the Leeward 

 district. On this day the inspector started with his gangs of 

 axemen at Lowmans. All the silk cotton trees here were cut 

 dov/n and the work was continued through the district .system- 

 atically dealing with trees at Eylands village and elsewhere 

 to Buccament valley. Seventy-seven large trees and several 

 small ones were felled during the period under review. 

 Mr. Sands says that he finds there are a far larger number of 

 silk cotton trees in the Leeward district than he had expected, 

 so that the necessity for starting the felling operations at the 

 present time is evident. 



The cost of labour has been found to be very reasonable 

 in viev^ of the large amount of work that has been accom- 

 plished to date. 



During the early part of the third week in August, 

 a cyclonic disturbance was reported by the Havana weather 

 bureau as having foriued to the south of the island of Santo- 

 Domingo, then having taKen a direction that would carry it 

 across .Jamaica, and possibly make it touch Cuba. Fortun- 

 ately its touch here was light, for while it did result in 

 a few hours of rather high wind and rains over most of the 

 island, the only damage that was reported was the carrying 

 down of some of the telephone and telegraph wires in Pinar 

 del Rio Province. No damage of consequence was done to 

 to any of the cane, either by the wind or the rain, and the 

 present outlook is for a continuance of weather that will be 

 favourable to the growing crop. {Louisiana Planter). 



