Vol. XI. No. 257. 



THE AGRICDLTUKAL NEWS. 



77 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



.MARCH. 

 First Period. 



Seasonal Notes. 



Give a description of the way in which you would select 

 cocoa-nuts for planting, affording special attention to the 

 characteristics that should be possessed most specially by 

 nuts that are used for seed. In this matter, would you have 

 any regard to the kind and condition of the trees from which 

 the nuts came? If so, what special properties should be 

 exhibited by palms that are used to provide cocoa-nuts for 

 planting? In what circumstances of soil and situation do 

 cocoa-nuts thrive besti It is sometimes found that cocoa- 

 nut seedlings develop slowly during the first part of their 

 existence, and then begin to grow quickly, and afterwards to 

 flourish. What reasons may be adduced for this circum- 

 stance? Provide a description, with diagrams, of the fruit of 

 the cocoa-nut palm. 



State your experience in regard toanimal pests of cotton, 

 giving information as to those which usually effect the great- 

 est damage, under conditions with which you are familiar. 

 Which of these pests are most likely to be reduced in num- 

 bers by the proper clearing of cotton lands after the crop has 

 been reaped? State what insecticides you would stock at the 

 beginning of the season, and in what quantities you would 

 provide them, for u.se on 2r> acres of cotton. To what extent 

 does the natural control exist, of insect pests attacking cotton? 



Experience has shown that the suitability of lands for 

 the growing of cotton depends to some extent on their a.spect, 

 in relation to the points of the compass, and to the degree of 

 slope. In some places, lands with a northern slope are found 

 to be much less suitable for the cultivation of cotton than 

 those which slope to the south. Tn the former situation, there 

 is likely to be a large dropping of bolls during the cooler 

 months, and in addition, those which remain on the plants 

 may not develop in the normal time and manner. Can you 

 account for this circumstance, giving consideration to differ- 

 ences in temperature and rainfall, and to the incidence of the 

 wind, under the different conditions? 



Give a description of the operations connected with the 

 harvesting of onions. What precautions should be employed 

 in drying the bulbs? State the reason why onions cannot, as 

 a rule, be stored for any length of time, in the West Indies. 

 How should onions be graded and packed for export? Indicate 

 any improvements in these matters that may have occurred 

 to you. 



Questions for Candidates. 

 Preliminary Questions 



(1) Distinguish between complete and incomplete, and 

 perfect and imperfect flowers, giving examples of each. 



(2) How may weeds be made useful to the agriculturist ? 



(3) State the chief ways in which air is caused to enter 

 and leave the soil. 



Intermedhth C^ubstions. 



(1) Give a de.scription of the work, where artificial polli- 

 nation is necessary for the production of a crop. 



(2) State the chief uses of weeds to the agriculturist. 

 What kinds of weeds are most likely to benefit the soil in 

 which they grow? 



(3) What changes take place in the air in the soil, owing 

 to the presence of the roots of plants ? 



FiN.\L Questions. 



(1) Give as many examples as you can of the uses of 

 flowers to mankind. 



(2) Provide an account of any cultivated plants, which 

 are now of importance, that are known to have originated 

 as 'weeds'. 



(3) In what ways is the atmosphere being exploited for 

 the production of manures which are intended to take the 

 place of supplies of special manures that are rapidly under- 

 going exhaustion ? 



TRADE AND AGRICULTURE OF 



BARBADOS, 1910-11. 



The report on the Blue Book of Barbados, 1910-11, has 

 been issued as Colonial Reports — Annual, No. 698. In deal* 

 ing with the trade, agriculture and industries of the Colony, 

 this shows that the value of the imports in 1910 was 

 £1,34.5,194, as compared with £1,119,343 (though addition 

 of the items makes the latter amount £1,129,343). The 

 sugar and molasses shipments were as follows: muscovado 

 sugar 35,906 hogsheads value £350,084, as compared with 

 16,968 hogsheads value £144,228 in 1900; dry sugar, 3,993 

 hogsheads value £45,920, as compared with 827 hogsheads 

 value £8,684 in the previous year; molasses 77,722 pun- 

 cheons value £310,888, in comparison with 69,036 pun- 

 cheons value £345,180, in 1909. The increase in the exports 

 of dry sugar (dark crystals) is accounted for by the adop- 

 tion of modern methods of sugar manufacture, and largely by an 

 apparent change due to the employment of a more accurate 

 system of Customs declaration. The amount of rum distilled 

 in 1910 wa.s 226,169 gallons: in 1909 it was 207,239 gallon.s. 



A computation is given of the total output of sugar for 

 the year that would have been made if there had been no 

 manufacture of fancy molasses; this would have been 59,771 

 hogsheads, reckoning that 315 gallons of fancy molasses is 

 equivalent to 1 ton of sugar, with its molasses. 



The quantity of cotton lint exported during the crop 

 season (October 1 to September 30) of 1910 was 644,279 lb. 

 value £38,549; in 1909 the similar figures were 838,748 lb. 

 value £41,937. The exports for the actual years were 

 respectively, 589,118 fc. value £36,820 and 830,11711). value 

 £40,946. The decrease of the area reaped was 1,647 acres, 

 and was due to the low prices and poor yields of 1908. 

 Better prices toward the close of 1909 and during 1910 have 

 led to increased planting of cotton. 



During the year ended December 31, 1910, 13,137 bun- 

 ches of bananas were exported to the United Kingdom. 



Returning to a consideration of the imports into Barba- 

 dos, it is of interest that these came from the chief 

 exporting countries in the following proportions : the United 

 Kingdom, 44 per cent.; United State.-;, 30 per cent.; Canada, 

 11 per cent.; and the British West Indies, 5 per cent. 



