40 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



Fbbruary 3. 1912. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Coinmissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Agents: Messrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents: Messrs. Dulau <Si 

 Oo„ 37, Soho Square, W. A complete list of Agents 

 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News : Price \d. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4.s. 4rf. 



gigricultiirat |ltiu!^ 



Vol. XI. SATURDAY, FKBliUARY 3, 1912. No. 2-5.5. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial of the present issue deals with the 

 subject of ^Fendelism in Relation to Seedling Sugar- 

 canes. While pointing out the usefulness of the 

 present method of seedling cane production, it empha- 

 sizes the fact that any work on strictly Mendelian lines 

 should be carried out at a few carefully chosen special 

 centres. 



An article on page 35 gives information concerning 

 many of the uses to which eucalyptus oil is put. 



Two articles appear under the heading Live Stock, 

 on page 37, entitled Jibbing in Horses and Some Notes 

 on the Mule. 



Methods of determining the quantity of sulphur 

 in soils receive attention in an abstract that is pre- 

 sented on page 39. The work described shows that the 

 ordinary methods for finding the pi'oportion of sulphur 

 in soils are likely to give results that are too low, and 

 suggestions are made for obtaining greater accuracy. 



The Insect Notes, on page 42, present articles 

 dealing with The Melon or Cotton Aphis and The 

 Nature of the Light Emitted by Fire-fiies. 



The Students' Corner continues the presentation 

 of the questions that were set for the examinations 

 recently conducted in connexion with the Courses of 

 Reading of the Department. The matter will be con- 

 cluded in the ne.xt issue of the Agrirultural News. 



The Soft Rot of Ginger in Bengal forms the sub- 

 ject of the Fungus Notes, on page 46. 



Antigua: A Handbook of General Information. 



This has been ])repared by Mr, II. A. Tempany, 

 JlSc. F.I.< "., F.C.S., Gi'vernment Analyst and Superin- 

 teiiilent of Agiiculture for the Leeward Islands. The 

 li.iiikl' t contains forty-nine pages, dealing with the 

 folldwing matter*: a general account and history of 

 Atitigtifi; itjformation concerning the physical, geologi- 

 cal, scenic, and nieteorolugical features of the island; 

 accounts dealing with the population, principal towns. 

 (iiivenimi'nt, revenue and expemiiture, and industrial 

 oon<litions of the Colon}-. This is followed by infornia- 

 lion treating in a broad manner of the sugar and 

 cotton industries, and of others of agricultural note. The 

 hanilbook concludes with details concerning the natural 

 resources of Antigua, and of its trade, together with 

 information umier the headings: education, ecclesiasti- 

 cal, judicial, medical, water-supply, roads, labour, and 

 stock, concluding with matters relating to municipal, 

 commercial and social affairs, and lu the Department 

 of Agriculture. 



The handbook has been produced in a useful form, 

 with attractive type, and the inclusion of several very 

 good iilusti-ations adds to its interest. 



M I ^ 



Agricultural Possibilities in Honduras. 



The following information with regard to the agri- 

 cultural possibilities in Honduras and the crops already 

 grown is taken from articles in The Fan-American 

 Union, pp. 993-100.5, June 1911, and The Stateman's 

 Year-Bool.-, 1911, p. 943, abstracted in the Bulletin of 

 the Bureau of Agricultural Intelligence and of Plant 

 Diseases, July 1911, p. 1581. 



In the centre of the country is a large and 

 fertile valley 42 miles from north to south and 24 

 miles from east to west, said to have an elevation 

 of 1,900 feet. Very little of this land is cultiva- 

 ted at the present time, though there are occasional 

 fields on the hill-sides where native products are raised. 

 With the aid of modern methods of agriculture, the 

 soil of this district might be induced to yield valuable 

 crops. 



The most important products at the present time 

 are bananas, coffee and cocoa-nuts, the first- and last- 

 mentioned being grown along the Atlantic Coast. 

 Rubber is produced in slowly-increasing quantities; 

 while .sarsiparilla, vanilla, tobacco, maize (for local con- 

 sumption), oranges, lemons and beans are also grown, 

 with indigo, rice and wheat in small quantities. Cacao 

 reci'ives very little attention, though it could be raised 

 on a large scal,e and would form a valuable addition to 

 the other products. .Sugar-cane is also cultivated fair- 

 ly extensively, and manufactured into a native rum, or 

 Guaro; the manufacture is a Government monopoly. 

 The country contains a large variety of trees, of which 

 mahogany and cedar are exported, and it is also rich 

 in medicinal plants. 



Cattle-breeding is carried on extensively, and 

 about 150,400 acres are under pasture. Cattle and hides 

 are valuable items on the export list. In addition, dairy 

 farming is conducted on a small scale, though the chief 

 product, cheese, is of an inferior qtiality, and prepared 

 by erude methods. 



