408 



THE AGltlCULTUKAL NEWS. 



December 16, 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 Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All 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 

 ^ gricidture for the West Indies 



Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, 

 F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Scieidifie Assistant and 

 Assistant Editor 



Entomologists 



Mycologist 



W. R. Dunlop. 



I H. A. Ballou, M.Sc. 



|J. C. Hutson, B.A., Ph.D. 



W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



Ckief Clerk 

 Assistant Clerk 



Clerical Assistants 



Typist 



Assistant Tijpist 

 Asiistaitt for Fahlications 



A. G. Hoivell. 

 M. B. Connell. 

 ("L. A. Corbin. 

 \ P. Taylor. 



Miss B. Robinsnn. 



Miss W. Ellis. 



A. B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



3lnricuHuraI %nn 



^ J -^ ^ — ^ 



Vol. XV. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1916. No. 382. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The need^''=fei'~' giving greater attention to the 

 increased cultivation of crops which can be con- 

 sumed locally either as food or for manufacturing 

 purposes in the West Indies is discussed editorially in 

 this issue. 



The recently issued report on the Botanic Station, 

 Montserrat, is reviewed on page 4(j:{. 



A newly published work on the Genus Phoraden- 

 dron (mistletoes of the New World) is reviewed on 

 413. 



page 



Under Insect Notes is given an account of 

 recent field work connected with the control of pests of 

 eugar-cane in British Guiana. 



Agricultural Statistics of British India. 



The agricultural statistics of India for 191^i-1.5 are 

 reproduced in the September issue of the TropicaL 

 Agriculturist, and some of these figures are of intere.st 

 in view of the fact that they show the ratio between 

 the area under food crops and the area under non-food 

 crops in that country. In the journal mentioned it is 

 not stated what the unit of area is to which the figures 

 refer, but it may be taken as being acres. The point 

 is that the total area under food crops is 21.5,194,000 

 acres compared with only 4.5,007,000 under non-food 

 crops The area under rice amounts to 77,699,000 

 acres while 2,459,000 acres are under sugar-cane, most of 

 the sugar from which is consumed locally. Incidentally 

 these figures indicate the enormity of the Indian popu- 

 lation which requires such a vast area of fojd-producing 

 land to support them. In regard to the non-food crop 

 areas by far the largest section is under cotton, namely, 

 15,222,000. Millions of acres are also devoted to jute, 

 tobacco and fodder crops. 



If one took a crop census in the West Indies, it 

 would be found that the ratio between land under fooi 

 crops and land under crops grown for export was e.xactly 

 the reverse to that which e.xists in the case of India. 

 It is probable in fact that the proportion of lood-pro- 

 ducing land bears an almost negligible ratio. This 

 fact is significant in connexion with the ideas put for- 

 ward in the editorial in the present issue. 



Canadian Foodstuffs. 



In connexion with the high price of food, the 

 Voice of St. Lucia reproduces the following report 

 from the Xeiu York Times: — 



'The wheat crop of Canada for the present year 

 will be only 159,123,000 bushels, as compared with 

 37(3,303,000 bushels in 1915, according to an otHcial 

 estimate issued to-day. The average yield per acre was 

 estimated at 1.5 seven-eight bushels fn)m a harvested 

 area of 10,085,300 acres, as compared with 29 bushels 

 from a harvested area of 12,9cS6,400 acres in 1915. 



'A marked decrease in the production of oats was 

 also indicated by the estimated yield of 338,4(i9,000 

 bushels from 9,795,000 acres, a yield per acre of 3455 

 bushels, as against 45-7(i bushels last year when the 

 production was 520,103,000 bushels from a harvested 

 area of 11,305,000. 



'The barley crop was estimated at 32,299,000 

 bushels from 1,328,800 acres, or 2431 bushels per acre. 

 Last 3 ear's crop was 53,331.300, and the acreage 

 1,-509,3.50. 



'The probable production of rye was announced as 

 2 058,500 bushels from 101,420 acres, or an average 

 yield per acre of 23 30 bushels as against a total pro- 

 duction in 1915 of 2,394,100 bushels from an acreage 

 of 112,.300.' 



If these figures are reliable, and there is independ- 

 ent reason to believe that there has been a general 

 shortage in the Canadian cereal crops, partl3' due to 

 the attack of a disease known as 'ru.st", then this 

 provides an additional argument in support of the 

 policj' advocated to extend the area under substitutes 

 for wheat in the West Indian islamis. 



