Vol. XI. No. 259. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



107 



ST. KITTS AGRICULTURAL AND INDUS- 

 TRIAL SHOW, 1^12. 



The sixth of tliese shows was held under the auspices of 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural 

 and Commercial Society, at the Grammar School on Febru- 

 ary 2.3, 1912. After a private view had been made of the 

 exhibits. His Honour the Administrator, having been intro- 

 duced by the Hon. S L. Horsford, President of the St. Kitts 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society, formally opened the 

 show at 12 noon. His Honour was accompanied by 

 Dr. Francis Watts, CM. G., the Imperial Coniinissioner of Agri- 

 culture. In his speech, Mr. Horsford regretted the absence 

 on this occasion of His Excellency the Governor of the 

 Leeward Islands, explaining that this was due to additional 

 work in connexion with His Excellency's forthcoming depar- 

 ture from the Colony ; he also read a letter from the Governor, 

 expressing his great regret at not being present, and wishing 

 the Show every success. Mr. Horsford further referred to 

 the presence of Dr. Watts and to the important event that 

 had just taken place in the opening of the Basseterre Central 

 Sugar Factory. He extended a welcome to the visitors from 

 Nevis, and to Mr. H. A. Tempany, B.Sc, Superintendent of 

 Agriculture for the Leeward Islands. He also congratulated 

 the Secretary of the Society, Mr. F. K. Shepherd, on the 

 successful arrangements for the show, and thanked Mr. W. H. 

 Mitchell, M.A., Head Master of the St Kitts Grammar 

 school, and his staff, for the assistance that they had given. 

 In reply, the Administrator thanked Mr. Horsford for his 

 kind remarks and the Agricultural Society for its kind wel- 

 come, regretting at the .same time the absence of the Governor. 

 In doing this. His Honour took the opportunity to make 

 several comments on the exhibits at the Show, and then 

 formally declared it opened. Dr. Watts expressed his pleas- 

 ure at being in St. Kitts at such a time of awakening 

 agricultural prosperity, influenced by the possession of 

 a central sugar factory. He also revievyed some of the 

 objects of agricultural shows, giving special attention 

 to their effect in assisting the diversification of agriculture; 

 their usefulness toward finding new markets for the pro- 

 duce which they gave an opportunity to be brought for- 

 ward; and their effect toward the improvement of stock. 



The number of exhibits was 620, as compared with 736 

 in 1911, the smaller number being partly due to a lessened 

 amount of the exhibits from Nevis, probably because of the 

 drought. The exhibits in the different classes were as 

 follows: liorsekind and cattle, 73; smaller stock, 12; poultry, 

 pigeons and rabbits, 19; sugarcane and its products, 49; 

 fruit, 30; vegetables, 133; local industries, 35; preserves, 58; 

 meals and starches, 50; fancy work, 47; miscellaneous, 69; 

 plants and flowers, 29; school exhibits, 3; trade exhibits 5, 

 exhibits not for competition, 8. 



Good exhibits were seen in the riding and driving com- 

 petition, and in the cattle class the number of teams of steers 

 that was brought to compete was in strong contrast, by its 

 increase, to those in former years. Good native cows were 

 shown, as well as imported mules; a first prize was awarded 

 for a fine specimen of a he-goat bred from Rajah. There 

 were also good exhibits among the poultry 



The sugar-canes shown were numerous and of a high 

 quality; this was the case also with the vegetables, among 

 which there were fair exhibits of ground provisions, notwith- 

 standing the unfavourable conditions that had been experi- 

 enced through drought. Meals and starches were all 

 represented, and gave rise to keen competition. The same is 

 true of the fancy work, while an improvement was to be 

 noticed in the laundry work. The miscellaneous exhibits 



included a show of lint and seed-cotton, in both of which fine 

 samples were to be seen. Some of the greatest interest was 

 evinced in the trade exhibits, to which considerable expense 

 and care had been devoted by the competing merchants. 



In the classes where the quality and quantity of the 

 exhibits, either, or both, were disappointing, were included 

 horses, fruits, preserves, local industries, plants and flowers, 

 and school exhibits. 



Eleven diplomas of merit, awarded by the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture, were distributed by His Honour 

 the Administrator at a special general meeting of the Agri- 

 cultural and Commercial Society held on March 12. The 

 exhibits for which the diplomas were given comprised: native 

 cow, steer over three years, team of native mules, driving 

 and riding, 1 stool of plant canes of B.1753, 4 varieties of 

 cut canes, 1 2 cut canes, dry goods and groceries, hardware 

 and groceries (2 exhibits). 



The report from which this information has been taken, 

 furnished by Mr. F. R. Shepherd, Agricultural Superintendent, 

 St. Kitts, who as has been indicated, is Honorary Secretary of 

 the St. Kitts Agricultural and Commercial Society, states that 

 the attendance of the general public at the show was as good 

 as in past years — a fact which indicates that the interest of 

 the general public in St. Kitts, in such affairs, is being main- 

 tained. 



THE SILK INDUSTRY IN FRANCE 

 AND BRAZIL. 



Interest in the production of silk has been increased 

 recently by a lecture by Mr. H. Maxwell-Lefroy, M.A., Impe- 

 rial Entomologist to the Government of India, in which he 

 suggests that the rearing of silkworms might be taken up on 

 an industrial scale in the West Indies. In regard to the 

 matter generally, the following information is of some direct 

 concern. 



In the Journal Officiel for January 27, a table is pub- 

 lished, giving particulars of the silk cocoon production in 

 France during the past three years; from this the following 

 figures have been prepared : — 



Year. Number of Seed used. Fresh cocoons Fresh cocoons 



1909 

 1910 

 1911 



prod-ucers. 



119,067 

 114,283 

 102,605 



ft). 



10,076 

 9,830 

 7,795 



produced, 



B). 

 18,802,357 

 9,393,360 

 11,240,737 



from lib. seed, 

 BE.. 

 1,866 

 966 

 1,442 



In regard, again, to the silk industry of France, it is of 

 interest that the issue of the journal just mentioned, for 

 February 2, 1912, publishes a decree extending to producers 

 in Algeria the provisions of a law by which those engaged in 

 the production of cocoons in France are granted a premium 

 amounting to about 2|(Z. per lb. for fresh cocoons. 



The particulars of the Brazilian Budget for 1912 are 

 published in the Diario Official for January 5. They 

 show, among other matters, that it is intended to spend 

 10,000 milreis currency (£1,125) on premiums to producers 

 of silk cocoons. The grant will be at the rate of about 'i\d. 

 per lb. Another form of grant will be that of premiums to 

 producers who can prove that they have employed at least 

 2,000 mulberry trees for silk culture; the total amount to be 

 distributed in this way is 5,000 milreis (£563). 



A note on the silk industry of Italy appeared in the 

 Agricultural News for March 2, 1912, p. 71. 



