Vol. XV. No. 380. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



373 



in the case of the Dhurra variety (Journal of the Jamaica 

 Agricultural Soceity, XVIII, p. 344), or according to 

 ^Shepherd {Report of A()ricullarnl Depa/rtmeiit, St. Kitts-Nevis, 

 1913-14) five months for Mazzagua, it is harvested by cutting 

 oflf the ears near the top of the stem, and then carrying them 

 in baskets to the house or shed. The ears are kept in heaps 

 for a few days, and afterwards they are spread on the floor 

 of the building, and the grains are tlireshed out by means of 

 a flail. Threshing may efl'ectively be done by means of the 

 machines used for threshing broom corn. Winnowing 

 machines might possibly be introduced with advantage into 

 districts where sufficiently large areas of the corn are under 

 cultivation. 



YIELD. 



It is slated that 50 bushels of corn per acre may be 



■considered a good average yield. The return per acre from 



plot experiments at St. Kitts with Mazzagua varied 



between 25 and 35 bushels per acre. In one of these trials, 



'the plants grew to a great height, jind the weight of the 



seed made the stalks bend over until they almost reached 



the ground.' 



/ 



PEEPAEATION FOR FOOD. 



While Guinea corn is used throughout the West Indies 

 as stock food, both as regards the grain and the fodder, it is 

 ■chiefly in Jamaica and Barbados that the value of the grain 

 is appreciated as food for man. As already pointed out, 

 Guinea corn, from a chemical stand-point, is a more valuable 

 human food than Indian corn on account of its high nitrogen 

 content, but it has colour and a certain distinctive flavour 

 which would require getting accustomed to before it could 

 be agreeably used as flour in the plage of wheat Jloreover, 

 Guinea corn flour cannot be used for making raised bread, 

 due to the fact that gluten is absent from the protein in this 

 grain. It might however be used in this way mixed with an 

 equal quantity of wheat flour. 



The customary way of using Guinea corn in Barbados is 

 in the form of a meal. The tlireshed grain is screened and 

 ground up in an ordinary hand mill like a coffee mill, such 

 as is employed in the case of Indian corn. As already 

 intimated, Guinea corn meal has one great advantage, in 

 that it keeps well. 



As regards preparation for table consumption, the most 

 common dish containing this meal is couscous, prepared in 

 a similar way to maize couscous. There would seem to 

 be no valid objection to employing Guinea corn in making 

 cakes and biscuits, and, as already mentioned, mixed with 

 wheat flour, in making bread In .Jamaica, Guinea corn 

 flour is used for making porridge. 



This article may be concluded ^^ quoting the following 

 remarks from Farmers' Bulletin (No. 686, United States 

 Department of Agriculture) on the uses of sorghum grains. 

 This says : 'A varied diet is desirable. Sorghum grain can be 

 and should be used as human food Doubtless it will be 

 used to some extent whenever it can be produced and sold 

 at a figure which will make it profitable to dealer and con- 

 sumer alike.' 



This refers to the United States. The idea in the West 

 Indies is not to grow Guinea corn primarily as a cash crop, 

 though this might prove remunerative, but rather as an 

 emergency crop to take the place especially in the poor 

 man's dietary, of an imported article of food, of which the 

 price is continuing to show a steady tendency to rise. 



Cassava Flour. — Mr. W. Robson, Curator of the 

 Experiment Station, Montserrat,has furnished this Office with 

 a sample af cassava farine prepared in that island. The 

 farin<3 is a dry crisp meal and has the important character- 

 istic of keeping almost indefinitely. On the snbject of 

 cassava farine, the Journal of ike Jamaica Agricultural Society 

 (Vol. XVIII, p. 512) says that where there is any difficulty 

 in selling cassava roots promptly and profitably, they should 

 be made into farine. It correctly describes the farine as 

 looking like coarse oatmeal, while it is almost as palatable. 

 From a chemical stand-point farine has not a very high food 

 value on account of the small percentage of protein it 

 contains. Consumed, however, with more nitrogenous food 

 such as beans and peas, it should be very valuable. It is 

 stated to be more digestible than wheat flour or corn 

 meal, for in the ordinaay process of manufacturing, which 

 is simply heating the grated cas.sava (after the juice has 

 been pressed out as in making cas.sava cakes) on a hot plate, 

 a large proportion of the starch is transformed into dextrin. 

 This change is similar to what takes place when a slice of 

 wheat flour bread is made into toast. From a general point 

 of view properly made cassava farine should prove a useful 

 substitute for some of the wheat flour which is at present 

 consumed in these islands. 



A copy has been received of the Annual Report of the 

 Board of Agriculture of the Bahamas, for 1915-16. In this 

 it is stated that there is a marked improvement generally 

 in agriculture to be reported for this year owing to various 

 causes, among which are generally speaking good rainfalls, 

 inclination, to return to farming on account of the war 

 conditions and the continued encouragement given by this 

 Board both educationally and practically to the small farmers. 

 This is shown by the increased experts of farm and planta- 

 tion products, as well as by the improved supplies in local 

 markets. The experiments carried out last year by the 

 Board to demonstrate the .possibility of growing Sea I.sland 

 cotton in the Colony have not proved a success both on 

 account of local conditions and low market values in England. 

 They have therefore been discontinued, and the cultivation of 

 this product this year must be reported as very small. 



The 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture left 



Barbados on November' 8 by the S.S. 'Guiana' for 

 a short visit to Antig'ua with the object of conferring 

 with the Governor of the Leeward Islands on certain 

 official matters connected with that Presidency. 

 Dr. Watts returned to Barbados by the C.R.M.S. 

 'Chaudiere' on the Loth instant. 



Mr. W. Nowell, D.LC, Mycologist ou the Staff of 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture left Barbados 

 on November IH by the C.R.M.S. 'Chaudiere' for 

 St. Vincent, with the object of continuing investigations 

 in that Colony' in regard to diseases of cotton. 

 Mr. Nowell is e.xpected to return to Barbados on 

 November 29. 



