Vol. XV. No. 380. 



THE AGKICULTUKAL SEWS 



383 



THE BREEDING AND FEEDING 

 OF PIGS. 



In the issue of this Journal for August 12, 1916, an 

 abstract appeared of an article published in the Rhodesia 

 AffricultaralJouryial ioT April 19 lH, containing instructions 

 as to the best methods of breeding and feeding pigs intended 

 for sale at a bacon factory. In that part of the article 

 dealing with the feeding of the animals, rations were given 

 in which succulent food was substituted for skimmed milk. 

 Several of these rations were composed of sweet potatoes, 

 maize and pumpkins, and were regarded as of considerable 

 interest in connexion with the feeding of pigs in the tropics. 

 Undoubtedly the substitution of vegetable products for 

 skimmed milk is an important matter in regard to the feeding 

 of pigs in the West Indies. 



In a subsequent issue of the lihodesia Agricultural 

 Journal (August 1916), an editorial note appears in wiiich 

 it is stated that the article in the April issue of that journal 

 referred to above, has been .severely criticised. The remark 

 is made in this letter that any farmer who has not a suffi- 

 ciency of skimmed milk to give his pigs had 'better get rid 

 of them and leave pigs alone.' The Rhodesia Agricultural 

 Journal maintains that satisfactory substitutes for milk in 

 pig rations are known, and, better still, they are actually 

 being used in Rhodesia with excellent results. Another 

 statement is mnde in the letter that it does not pay to feed 

 pigs on marketable produce. This statement is not borne 

 out by the experience of any other pig-raising country of the 

 world, nor, as the .lournal points out, by the experience of 

 Pihodesian breeders either. It would appear that the criticisms 

 on the article are unfounded, and that reliance may be placed 

 upon such tropical provision crops as sweet potatoes, ground 

 nuts, maize, rice, and succulent food for the successful 

 feeding of pigs, while the employment of skimmed milk is 

 not necessary. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Crop Experiments in Rhodesia.— The Rkodena 



Agricultural Journal for August 1916 contains the results 

 of crop experiments at the Government Farm in that 

 country. Some of these are of interest in the West Indies. 

 Distance planting experiments with ground nuts, velvet 

 beans and cowpeas have been carried out. Ground nuts 

 drilled 36 inches apart yielded the best (-520 lb. per acre). 

 Velvet beans also yielded best at the same distance, giving 

 1.900 lb. of hay and 372 tt). of .seed per acre. In connexion 

 with the harvesting of velvet beans, the irritation cau.sed by 

 the black hairs on the stalks and pods was obviated by 

 cutting the crop about 6 or 8 inches above the ground, 

 leaving the bunch of pods round the base (the main crop) 

 when these were well formed, but the remainder on the 

 runners were just set or still only flowers. The vines or tops 

 were gathered in small heaps to dry, and later on carted 

 away. Interesting experiments have also been conducted 

 with Guinea tsrass {Panicum ma'inium), and also with 

 Soudan grass {Andropogon sp.). Both of these grasses have 

 given signs of great promise in Rhodesia. Soudan grass 

 appears to be very resistant to climatic changes. 



A copy of a Proclamation prohibiting the importation 

 into the Presidency of Antigua of cane plants and parts of 

 the sugar-cane from the Colony of Trinidad has been 

 forwarded to this Office by the acting Governor. This 

 legislative action has been taken with the object of 

 preventing the introduction into Antigua of the sugar-cane 

 froghopper {Tonianpis sp. V 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 

 MARKETS. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the follow- 

 ing report on the London drug and spice markets, 

 for the month of September: — 



The month of September opened with very little interest 

 either for spices or drugs, and. with very slight variations in 

 bulk or prices from those reported upon for August. Though 

 August and September are the normal holiday times in years 

 of peace, the war has to a certain exteiit modified these 

 customs, though they have, perhaps not been so strictly 

 observed this year as they have been in the previous years 

 of the war. Spices have in particular been .slow of demand. 

 The following are the principal details. 



(ilNGER. 



At the first spice auction on September 6, ginger was in 

 fair demand at from iis. to 46s. for washed Cochin, and -tOs. 

 to -12«. for wormy; no Jamaica was offered at this auction but 

 a week later, 16 bags of common small .Jamaica were offered 

 and disposed of at 82s.; some 570 odd bags of wa.shed 

 Cochin were offered and bought in at 47«., and 168 bags of 

 limed Japanese were also offered and bought in at 40s. 

 Pimento has been in slow demand throughout the month 

 at Z\rl. per ft). 



SAKSAPARILL.\. 



At auction on the 21st, .sarsaparilla was represented 

 by 35 bales of grey Jamaica, 13 of native Jamaica, 20 of 

 Mexican, and 8 of Lima Of the first, 9 bales were disposed 

 of at from Ls. 9c/. to Is. lOc^. per ifc. for fair quality, and 

 Is. Id. for rough and damaged. The whole 8 bales of the 

 Lima- Jamaica were disposed of at Is. Qd. per Ba., but none of 

 the native Jamaica nor the Mexican found buyer.s. 



ARROWROOT, LIME JUICE, LI.ME OIL, CITRIC ACID, ANNATTO, 

 AKD KOLA. 



At the beginning of the month ordinary manufacturing 

 St. Vincent arrovproot was quoted at 2|(i. to 3c?. per lb., and 

 fine manufacturing at 'i\d. Lime juice at the beginning of 

 the month was offered at 2s. 9c?. per gallon for fair raw West 

 Indian, but a week later it rose to 3s. 3c?. to 3s. 6f/., in con- 

 sequence of a large Government order having been received, 

 together with the effects of the hurricane in Dominica. It 

 was further announced, however, that some 400 or more 

 packages, principally from Dominica, had recently arrived. 

 There has been a quiet demand for lime oil during the 

 month, fair West Indian distilled being quoted at 8s. 

 per lb. in the early part of the month, but later on 

 this article was also affected by the Dominica calamity. 

 In the early part of the month citric acid was again 

 declining, being obtainable at 2s. \Qd. per Eb., and at the 

 close of the month it had dropped to 'If. Hd. Annatts 

 seed was in good supply at the auction on the 21st 

 when 60 packages were offered, only 15 of which were 

 disposed of, fetching ^d. per Dt). for fair Madras, the 

 remainder (fair Jamaica) being held at Is. per &. At the 

 same auction. Kola was represented by 378 packages, only 

 63, however, finding purchasers, bold Java halves fetching 

 ^d. per ft)., and bright Ceylon halves Qd. to 6Ac?. 



