Vol. Xr. No. 263. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



167 



ST. LUCIA: REPORTS ON THE BOTANIC STA- 

 TION, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL AND EXPERI- 

 MENT PLOTS. 1910-11. 



The changes made whereby the agricultural pupils receire 

 training at the ?!otanic Station, instead of at the Agricultural 

 School, have enabled the arrangements at the Botanic Station 

 and at the Experiment Station, Union, to be altered, so that 

 now the Agricultural Superintendent has established his 

 office at the former of these institutions. At the same time, 

 the scope of the work in country districts has been increased 

 by the appointment of an Assistant Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent. 



The condition of the garden was maintained, but for 

 various reasons nothing in the way of permanent improvement 

 was effected during the year under review. An abnormal rain- 

 fall was received during February and this, owing to the low- 

 lying situation of the Botanic Station, caused a large amount 

 of damage in certain parts. Something is being done toward 

 raising the level of the more swampy section of the lawn by 

 filling in with the cleanings from surface water drains near 

 the gardens. Some improvements were brought about by the 

 removal of large trees to positions where their effect would be 

 less injurious, or by their complete destruction. 



The total number of plants distributed was 59,391; of 

 these, 56,330 were disposed of by .sale and exchange, and 

 3,061 were sent out free to Crown Land purchasers. Chief 

 among those distributed were limes 45,660, sugar-cane 8,500 

 and cacao in boxes 3,616. Seeds of several kinds were also 

 sent out, including 788 Para rubber seeds and i-B). of Central 

 American rubber seeds. 



The notes on economic plants show that rubber-planting 

 in St. Lucia is only in an experimental condition at present; 

 trees set out, however, on a few estates in 1908-9 appeared to 

 be growing very satisfactorily, and there is some increasing 

 interest in the cultivation. In relation to this, 10,000 seeds 

 of Hi/«ea brasiliensis were obtained from Ceylon, some being 

 distributed to purchasers while the remainder was sown at 

 the Experiment Station nursery. The germination of the 

 whole consignment was only 10 per cent. The number of 

 plants raised at the station was 780, and it was intended 

 that 600 of these should be available for distribution. Trials 

 with Manihot piaiiht/ensu and M. dichotoma do not make it 

 appear likely that these plants will thrive under the condi- 

 tions in which they are growing. 



As usual, the fumigation of imported plants was carried 

 out, and 1 39 packages of plants and seeds were dealt with under 

 the Plant Importation Ordinance. An interesting section is 

 included in the report on the Botanic Station, which gives an 

 account of trials with insecticides and spraying machinery. 

 This is followed by notes on fungus diseases and insect pests, 

 which deal with: a root disease of various plants; pink 

 disease (Corticium laere) on guava; pink disease on pigeon 

 peas; a fungus (Thelephora pedicellata) on lime branches; 

 a cacao seedling disease that has not been found to cause 

 much injury; and the frangipane caterpillar. 



Details given concerning the small cotton industry 

 show that the estimated area of 8ea Island cotton in 



the island was about 122 acres, 58 belonging to peasants 

 and 64 acres cultivated on one estate. Although every 

 reasonable encouragement has been given for the estab- 

 lishment of cotton-growing, the results are not of increasing 

 promise. With respect to the lime industry, the area under 

 the plant has been extended. Concentrated lime juice was 

 made in small quantities on three estates — on two of these 

 for the first time — and satisfactory prices were obtained. At 

 the time of reporting, steam concentrating plants were being 

 installed on two estates. In the lime plantations, no serious 

 cases of injury from scale insects were observed, as these pests 

 appear to be largely controlled by their natural enemies. 

 Statistics given in regard to cacao production show that, ia 

 the last twenty years, the greatest activity in cacao-planting 

 took place during the first half of the period. The output 

 for 1908, 1909 and 1910 was, respectively, 6,775 bags (of 

 200 B).), 10,855 bags, and 8,187 bags. A description is pre- 

 .sented of a Cacao Prize-holdings Competition held in the 

 period under review; an account of this has been given in the 

 Af/ricultural Neivs, Vol. X, p. 153. 



Agricultural education in the primary schools receives 

 large attention from the agricultural department in St. Lucia, 

 and the details of the work are presented in an appendix to 

 the report on the Botanic Station. The examinations in 

 practical agriculture, of the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 culture, have continued to be taken up, with some success. 



Through the changes consequent on the discontinuance 

 of the scheme by which the agricultural pupils receive their 

 instruction, in residence, at the Agricultural School, Union, 

 the work, as has been indicated, is no longer carried on at that 

 institution. The details of what was done in the Agricultural 

 School experiment plots show that the investigations had 

 reference to: the planting of fruit trees, mango propagation, 

 soy bean, Jerusalem pea {Phaseolus trinervis), Bambarra 

 ground nut ( Voandzeia subterranea), cabbages, cacao and 

 limes. With respect to the first, it is of some interest that 

 the trees planted in small holes, with hard ramming and 

 without the exercise of the usual precautions observed in 

 what is called the orthodox method of tree-planting, were at 

 the time of report making the better progress; but it was too 

 early to draw definite conclusions, as the observations had 

 extended only over a few months. 



The Propagation of Poinsettia.— Remove the 



shoots which can be spared from a plant and allow them to 

 lie for about a fortnight in a shady, dry situation. The soft, 

 sappy, useless shoots will immediately shrivel but the firmer 

 wood at the base of the shoots remains .sound. At the end 

 of about a fortnight cuttings can be made and inserted 

 in pots. 



The size of the cuttings should be about 4 inches, and it is 

 essential that the base of the cutting be cut slightly below a 

 node or bud; that is, where the stem is solid. The internodes 

 or other parts of the stem are hollow and the shoot has gen- 

 erally to rot away until a solid piece of stem is reached. As 

 may readily be imagined, it is a matter of considerable diffi- 

 culty to arrest the growth of this rot. 



Insert the cuttings in 6-inch pots using a sandy compost. 

 Cuttings root much more readily when placed round the side of 

 a pot, so that only four or five should be inserted round the 

 side of the above-mentioned size of pot. Until the cuttings 

 are rooted, the soil requires to be kept slightly drier than is 

 usually the case with other plants. Pot off singly into small 

 pots and provide the treatment afforded other plants of 

 a like nature. (From the Agricultural Bulletin of the 

 Straits and Federated Malay States, February 1912, p. 12.) 



