Vol. XV. No. 3S0. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



375 



NYASALAXD. It was reported that the acreage under 

 cotton grown by Europeans is the largest yet planted in the 

 Protectorate, namely 29, -578 acres as compared with 24,00(3 

 in the previous year. With regard to the European crop 

 prospects, lower temperatures durin;; the month of March 

 have seriously reduced the crop in the Highlands, and the 

 Luchenza crop was severely attacked by insects. The pros- 

 pects on the Lower River are considerably above the average 

 and showed marked improvement on last year, but even allow- 

 ing for good crops in this area, the output p r acre from the 

 total European acreage is likely to be below the average. 



As regards the native cotton crop, the distribution of 

 seed to native! was never larger than in the present season, 

 and as the greater part of the crop is grown in the warmer 

 districts, it has not suffered to the same extent as the European 

 crop on the Shiie Highlands. The native crop should give 

 a total somewhat similar to 1913-14, when the record native 

 crop of 1,198 tons of seed-cotton was harvested. This would 

 be a most satisfactory re.sult, considering the great demands 

 on native labour for military transport, and the reduced staff 

 of the Agricultural Department for k general supervision of 

 the crop. 



A USEFUL FUNCTION OF BOTANIC 

 GARDENS. 



In his letter of transmittal to the Report on the Agricul- 

 tural Department, Dominica, for 191.516, the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture refers as follows to the scheme 

 of instruction carried out in the Gardens: — 



'The instruction of pupils at the Botanic Gardens 

 continues to be carried on in a satisfactory manner. To 

 show the nature of the field work done by the pupils extracts 

 from the diary of one of them are reproduced in the present 

 publication, us well as the report on the work, by the 

 Hon. J. C Macintyre. These statements make it evident that 

 the work done is of great practical value both to the pupils, 

 and to the Presidency.' 



The extracts referred to are given below in order that the 

 general reader may obtain some idea as to how Botanic 

 Gardens and Experiment Stations may be utilized for the 

 purpose of giving sound practical instruction, fitting the 

 pupils for positions on estates afterwards. It should be 

 added that the pupils receive theoretical instruction each 

 Saturday, and they are also periodically examined by the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture. 



The diary runs as follows: — 



April. — Pruning lime trees in the new Lirae Experiment 

 plots in the valley. Opening holes for lime plants: preparing 

 rosin c nnpoiind, and .spraying nurseries. Tapping Castilloa 

 rubber trees; tarring posts for fences. 



M'ly. — Spraying citrus and orHansental plants; preparing 

 insecticides; sowing cacao seeds; preparing bamboo pots; 

 pruning cacao trees. Topping hedges; pollinating vanilla 

 flowers; collecting material for mulching cacao plots. 



June. — Preparing for application of manures to cacao 

 manurial plots at the station, weighing different manures 

 per plot, and per tree. Applying manures. Gathering 

 seeds of green dressings ; budding lemons on sour orange 

 stocks. Pruning cacao trees; applying manures to lime 

 experiment plots; tarring gates in experiment plots; picking 

 cacao and removing suckers. 



Jtdy. — Sowing iirae seeds. Planting cuttings of shade 

 trees; sowing seeds of green dressings through coco-nut plot. 

 "Topping hedges; applying manures; tapping Castilloa rubber 

 trees; preparing insecticides, and spraying nurseries. 



AuguH. — Lining out for planting lime plants in new 

 Experiment Station. Spraying lime plants; picking and 

 suckering cacao; preparing a fungicide and applying to 

 seedling limes. Potting cacao seedlings: spraying lime plants 

 and transplanting lime seedlings: preparing stock solution 

 of rosin compound; budding lemons on sour orange stocks- 

 applying lime to heavy land. 



Septemher. — Transplanting lime seedlings; sowing seeds 

 of green dressings in the nursery; trimming hedges; 

 spraying lime seedlings; suckering cacao; potting cacao 

 seedlings. Preparing Bordeaux mixture; planting lemon 

 grass on poor soil to produce mulch for experiment plots. 

 Dressing cacao trees for 'canker'. Poisoning wood ant 

 nests in cacao cultivation. Preparing seed boxes and sowing 

 seeds. 



October. — Potting cacao seedlings. Sowing seeds oi 

 green dressings, suckering cacao and treating wounds on 

 cacao trees with tar. Weeding and mulching young coco- 

 nuts. Tarring posts exposed to weather. Surveying and 

 enclosing two new cacao manurial plots ; mulching Para 

 rubber trees ; preparing bamboo pots ; removing moss and 

 other epiphytes from citrus trees. Mulching young limes 

 planted in experiment plots. Lifting and tran.splanting sour 

 orange stocks for budding. Tapping Castilloa rubber trees; 

 transplanting lime seedlings. 



November. — Transplanting lime seedlings; sowing seeds 

 of tangerine, mangoes, and avocado pears. Weeding borders 

 and trimming hedges. Picking vegetable seeds; potting 

 cacao .seedlings. Planting hedges of Acalypha. Planting 

 cuttings of Gliricidia macultitti. Picking and suckering 

 cacao. Weeding green dressing plots. 



December. — -Transplanting lime seedlings; sowing seeds 

 of ornamental plants in boxes; preparing stock solution of 

 kerosene emulsion: spraying limes and cacao. Potting cacao 

 seedlings. Picking cacao; sowing lime seeds in beds; weed- 

 ing lemon grass plots; spraying cacao for attack of thrips. 

 Sowing cacao seeds. Poisoning wood-ant nests. 



■Tanuary. — Pruning dead wood in lime trees Suckering 

 and picking cacao. Preparing .stock solution of kerosene 

 emulsion: spraying limes and cacao. Weeding green dressing 

 plots. Preparing seed boxes and .sowing lirae seeds. Tap- 

 ping Castilloa rubber trees; sowing seeds in boxes. 



Fehriiwry. — Transplanting lime seedlings. Sowing lime 

 seeds. Picking and suckering cacao. Gathering seeds of 

 green dressings. Preparing stock solution of rosin compound. 



March. — Transplanting lime seedlings. Dusting lirae 

 seedlings with sulphur and lime. Applying manure to cacao. 

 Spraying citrus nurseries. Sowing lime seeds; trimming 

 hedges; mulching and spraying young limes in new experi- 

 ment plots. Preparing seed boxes and sowing cacao seeds. 

 Pollinating vanilla flowers Preparing stock solution of 

 'scalo'. Pruning lime trees in the Experiment Station. 



Record Shipment of Lime Juice Products 

 from Dominica. —One of the heaviest shipments of lime 

 juice products made from Dominica went forward in the 

 S.S. 'Savan' which left Roseau for London on October 27. It 

 consisted of 244 ho^islieads and 939 ca.sks containing 49,760 

 gallons of concentrated lime juice, 234 drums, .30 pipes, 

 361 puncheons, 116 hogsheads and 214 ca.sks containing 

 88,680 gallons of rawjaice. The shipment also included 

 646 cwt. of citrate of lime, and packages containing 890 

 gallons of distilled oil and 170 gallons of hand-pressed oil. 



