424 



THE AGRICULTURAL KEWS. 



December 30, 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 Agricidture, 

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



Agricnltu,re for the West Indies F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Hcieiitific Assistaiit and 

 Assistant Editor 



Mntomoloijistn 



Mycologist 



W. R. Dunlop. 



(H. A. Ballou, M.Sc. 



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



W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



Scheme for Encouraging the Planting of Coco- 

 nuts. 



A scheme for the encouragement of coco-nut 

 planting near the littoral of Sierra Leone has been 

 sanctioned by the Government of that Colony: £100 

 has been approved in the 1916 estimates for the 

 purchase of good Ceylon seed nuts. These nuts will be 

 sold to certain people, either at half what they cost 

 the Government landed in Freetown, (in which case 

 after the period of about four years, the purchasers 

 will receive a bonus for each healthy tree,) or the nuts 

 will be distributed free of charge, and no bonus will be 

 provided. The selling price of the nuts and the 

 amount of bonus to be distributed have not yet been 

 definitely fi.xed, but it is probable that where the nuts 

 are sold, 'Id. each will be charged the buyers. It is 

 stated that there are large areas of land along the 

 southern shores of the Protectorate where the soil is 

 sandy to a sandy loam, and the natural drainage good, 

 •which is eminently suited for coco-nut cultivation: the 

 coco-niit trees already growing there point to this 



fiXCt. 



In connexion with the scheme of encouragement, 

 it would seem that actual nuts — not seedlings — will 

 be sold. It would appear that 2r7. is a high price to 

 charge for single nuts, and in any case it would probably 

 be found more satisfactory in the long run to send out 

 seedlings. The idea of giving a bonus for every healthy 

 tree produced is a good one, and should have the effect 

 of causing greater care to be taken by the native 



Chief Clerh 

 Assistant Clerk 



tHerical Assistants 



Typist 



As<iistaiit Tijpist 

 Assistant for Publications 



A. G. Howell. 

 M. B. Connell. 

 rL. A. Corbin. 

 \ P. Taylor. 



Miss B. Kobinson. 



Miss VV. Ellis. 



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



^griculiural lliviufi 



Vol. XV. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1916. No. 383. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this issue comprises notes on the 

 loss of water from varieties of sugar-cane. 



Two departmental reports are reviewed in this 

 issue: one on the Agricultural Department, St. Vincent, 

 and the other on the Department of Agriculture in 

 Cevlon. 



Interesting notes appear in this issue on lime cul- 

 tivation in Sierra Leone, and on the concentration of 

 lime juice by freezing. 



Insect Notes deal with pests of sugar-cane in 

 British Guiana; Fungus Notes concern the fungus on 

 cacao thrips. 



The Chinese Banana in Jamaica. 



According to the West India Committee Circular 

 for November 2, 1916, it has teen advocated in certain 

 quarters that the Chinese or Canary banana (3Iusa 

 Cavendishii) should be grown in Jamaica instead of, or 

 in addition to, the Gro-s Michel variet}' now in favour 

 among the local planters. It is pointed out that the 

 short and sturdy banana tree offers a greater resistance 

 to heavy winds than the rather top-heav}' Jamaica 

 banana tree does. Again, the flavour of the Chinese is 

 preferred, especially by people in England and the 

 West Inilies, to the Jamaica one, though this is not the 

 case in America. The principal objection to substituting 

 the Chinese banana for the Gros Michel lies in the fact 

 that the former must be carefully packed for shipment 

 in crates, whereas the latter can be exported in bunches. 

 The crated bananas although certainly safe from bruis- 

 ing, take up twice as much room in the hold of the ship 

 as a bunch, and therefore the cost of freight is double. 

 Another objection to shipping the Chinese banana is 

 that in America — which is Jamaica's market — it is 

 found to lack staying powers when once ripe, and also, 

 as already pointed out, the American consumer prefei-s 

 thebiggtrtruit. ItfoUows, therefore, that planters will be 

 well advised to continue to plant their present variety of 

 banana tree. At the same time it would probably prove 

 profitable to put in a certain number of acres of Chinese 

 bananas, which will grow at higher elevations than the 

 more tropical (Jros Michel kind, in order to provide 

 fruit for local consumption, which is not inconsiderable^ 



