Vol, XV. No. 383. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



425 



■ In discussing th6 banana qhestion in Jamaica, it 

 may be observed that a general movement is now on foot 

 with a view to snbstitutincj siisar-cane for bananas in 



... CO 



some districts, on account of the fact that sugar-cane is 

 a good wind-resisting plant, and also because sugar 

 itself is now so profitable. The experience of the past 

 few years seems to indicate that Jamaica would be wise 

 to make herself less dependent, upon such an easily 

 perishable crop as the Gros Michel banana. 



Crop Yields in England and Wales. 



According to returns published by the Board of 

 Agriculture, the total production of wheat in England 

 and Wales this year( 1 91 (i ) amounts to (i,!l4.2, 559 quarters, 

 or about 1,500,000 quarters less than last year, but 

 greater than in 1912 or 1913. The yield per acre, 29'05 

 bushels is about 2 bushels below that of 1915. 

 Barley, although about li bushels per acre below 

 average, is better than last }ear, and, with the acreage 

 increased, has given a total nearly 700,000 (juarters in 

 excess of 1915. Oats are only very slightly below the 

 average, and slightly better than last year: the total 

 production, 10,4(Jl,lG4 quarters, is the largest since 

 1910. Beans are over average by three-tenths of 

 a bushel per acre, and 2 and 2: bushels per acre above 

 last year, but as the ai ea has been reduced the total 

 production is rather below that of 1915. The yield of 

 peas is practically identical with that of 1915, and 1| 

 bushels below average; in this case also, owing to a re- 

 duced acreage, the total production is less than in 1915. 



The yield of hay from clover, sainfoin, and grasses 

 under rotation is 32"! I cwts. per acre — nearly 4 cwts. 

 above the ten-year mean, and the third highest recorded 

 since the returns were tirst collected; the total produc- 

 tion is more than 600,000 tons greater than in 1915, 

 and the highest since 1907. Haj- from permanent grass 

 is Ifl cwts. per acre above the average; the total produc- 

 tion is more than 1,(J00,000 tons greater than the poor 

 total of last year. Taking both categories together, the 

 entire production of hay is estimated at 8,837,079 tons, 

 which is 2,250,000 tons, or full}' 34 per cent., more than 

 last j-ear. 



The returns of the production of potatoes and roots 

 are collected at a later date, and will be issued subse- 

 quently. 



These figures show that in spite of the war and the 

 drain it has made on agricultural labour, British farmers 

 have with the help of soldier and women and boy labour, 

 been able to carry through the year and reap satisfac- 

 tory crops. 



Lime Cultivation in Sierra Leone. 



The Agricultural Department of Sierra Leone 

 started lime plantations at the end of June 1913 at 

 its experimental farms, subsequent to a visit to the 

 West Indies by one of the staff. The area of the plan- 

 tation at South Farm is 04 acre. According to the 

 report of the Agricultural Department for the year 



1915, the average height of all the trees at two years, 

 three months, was 5 feet 10 inches. In one section of 

 the plantation deep hoeing was carried out, and here the 

 trees are stated to be fine and bushy, and of great vigour. 

 The average height on this section is a little over 7 feet. 

 It is stated that the limes on both areas have lately been 

 attacked by a larva which enters the young growing 

 shoot and tunnels up it. The pest is stated to be very 

 destructive to new growth. 



On the North Farm there is another lime plantation 

 occupying an area of 1 '3 acres. The report under notice 

 contains illustrations of these lime plantations hoed and 

 not hoed. Provided the pest referred to above does not 

 prove to be destructive, it would appear that lime culti- 

 vation can be satisfactorily carried on in this part of 

 Africa. 



American Views on Sugar Mills in the West 



Indies. 



A leading article of an interesting and in some 

 respects of a humorous character, appears in the 

 Louisiana Planter for November 25. Its aim is to 

 correct certain statements issued by the United States 

 Department of Commerce in regard to the standard of 

 milling that exists in the West Indies. The Depart- 

 ment of Commerce has stated, 'In the West Indies 

 American mills are not regarded with the same favour 

 accorded those of English make. It is complained 

 that the American mills do not "stand up under the 

 work" as do the British machines. Most of the owners 

 use equipment very roughly, leaving it exposed to 

 torrential rains and tropical sunlight from one season 

 to another. As a rule, the cane mill operatives, through 

 ignorance, do everything that ought not to be done, 

 from overfeeding the rollers, to all other conceivable 

 and inconceivable ways of abusing machinery and 

 exercising lack of judgment or care.' 



The Department's remarks then go on to refer to 

 West Indian cane mills as being manufactured onlj' at 

 Derby in England. It is admitted that some mills of 

 American make are undoubtedly being sold in the West 

 Indies, but the main argument for their sale, it is said, 

 is the difficulty of procuring English mills. 



As pointed out by the Louisiana Planter, these 

 statements display great official ignorance, and simply 

 indicate that the writer has no knowledge at all of the 

 conditions of sugar-cane factories in the West Indies, 

 where in most places factories can be found which are 

 amongst the most skilfully worked in the world, and in 

 which both British and American, not to mention mills 

 from other countries are giving satisfaction. One of the 

 most extraordinary misconceptions of the Department 

 of Commerce is that Derby is considered the only centre 

 in England for the manufacture of sugar machinerv. 

 Apparently the writer is not acquainted with the face- 

 that there are large firms in Glasgow. 



