Vol. XI. No. 267. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



239 



Commercial pasteurization as practised at the present time 

 with reasonable care destroys about 99 per cent, of the 

 bacteria, but it does not prevent the ultimate souring of milk, 

 although it does delay the process. 



QUALITY OF THE MILK TO BE PASTEURIZED. Only clean 



milk should be pasteurized, and it should never be pasteur- 

 ized more than once. Dirty milk containing many millions 

 of bacteria per cubic centimetre is not fit for consumption, 

 and should be condemned. Pasteurization should not be 

 resorted to in order to make dirty milk av^eet long enough 

 to be sold or simply to pass legal regulations, but should be 

 used only to make clean milk a safe milk. 



.METHODS OF PASTEURIZATION Milk is pasteurized by 

 two processes, one known as the 'flash" or 'continuous' process, 

 in which the flowing milk is heated to the required temper- 

 ature and held there from thirty seconds to one minute. 

 The other is known as the 'holder' or 'holding' process, and 

 sometimes the term 'held pasteurization' is applied. By the 

 latter method the milk is held for approximately thirty 

 minutes at the temperature desired. (From Circular 184, of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture; issued April 2.3, 1912.) 



AGRICULTURE IN ST. VINCENT. 1910-11- 



It is pleasing to record a further increase in the amount 

 of land under cultivation in cotton, as also a slightly improv- 

 ed yield of lint as compared with that of the two preceding 

 years. So long as the average value of this product remains 

 at 18d per R). of lint, it must constitute the staple crop of 

 the Colony, although arrowroot at its present minimum price 

 of 3(/. per R), should prove a stout competitor for the honour- 

 able place. While arrowroot can be grown on any land 

 where cotton is cultivable, on the contrary, cotton cannot be 

 raised on all lands where arrowroot can be cultivated; in 

 fact its area of production is limited to the coastal lands. 

 Thus it is unlikely that the one crop will ever be entirely 

 forsaken for the other. 



In the St. Vincent Grenadines, notably Union, Canouan, 

 and ilayreau, the common Marie Galante type of cotton is 

 grown. It is cultivated as a perennial, and produces a short 

 coarse^ lint valued usually at from Sd. to 9rf. per R). The 

 exports of this cotton during the past six years amounted in 

 the aggregate to 166,-576 lb. weight, valued at £7,039. In 

 several of the other islets, Bequia, Mustique, Battowia, and 

 Balliceaux, the cultivation of Sea Island cotton has been 

 taken up exclusively, and with very satisfactory results. 



The table given below shows the area planted in Sea 

 Island cotton, together with the yield of lint and the average 

 per acre during the past six years. 

 Crop year. Acreage planted. Weight of lint Yield of lint 



in Ifj. per acre, in ft). 

 190.5-6 790 137,460 174 



1906-7 1,-533 286,275* 175 



19078 3,2.50* 432,000 135 



1908-9 3,000 372,000 124 



1909-10 2,528 356,139 141 



1910-11 3,587 .561,526 156 



Arrowroot in export value reached a figure of £30,089 

 as compared with £31,792 in the preceding year. This 

 crop is again becoming a source of attention to growers inside 

 the Colony and of commercial attraction to buyers outside 

 the Colony. The Arrowroot Growers' and Exporters' Associa- 

 tion commenced their operations on December 1, 1910, and 



* The.se figures are given incoiTectly; they should be 

 2_68,275 and 3,200.— Ed., A.N. 



their method of working would indicate great beneficial 

 results to the industry. In support of this it may be stated 

 that whilst on December 1, 1910, the price of ordinary manu- 

 facturing arrowroot stood at l|d to l\%d. per lb , at date of 

 writing the quotation for that article is' 3|d. to 3irf per ft. 

 It is also to be noticed that stocks on hand are considerably 

 lower than for a number of 3ears gone by. 



Sugar continues to be grown chiefly in the Carib country 

 estates, but the exportation figures indicate no increase in 

 quantity. The only noticeable feature with regard to this 

 crop is the increase in the amount of export of crystallized 

 sugar, showing a corresponding decrease in the export of 

 muscovado sugar. 



The cultivation of cacao raises no enthusiasm in St. Vin- 

 cent, and it seems conclusive that only certain favoured 

 localities and spots are suitable for its growth. The export 

 value figures are practically the same as in last year — 

 £4,132 for the year under review as compared with £4,088 

 in 1909-10. 



1 )uring the last four months of the year under review 

 there was a marked decrease in the number of deaths among 

 stock from anthrax. This is due to the stringent and 

 efficient measures of vaccination and burial of carcasses which 

 have been continuously carried out since that disease evinced 

 its presence in the Colony in malignant form. Since April 

 1, 1911, up to the time of writing (ten months) only one 

 case of death from anthrax has been discovered by the 

 Government Veterinary Surgeon and that death took place in 

 July. Thus seven months have elapsed without a single 

 death amongst stock from the dread disease. Human 

 anthrax has not been known in the Colony for seven years. 

 The time has come when th« neighbouring colonies may well 

 agree to recognize St. Vincent as free from disease and accept 

 stock from here, under certificate from the Government 

 Veterinary Surgeon that they have been exported from 

 a locality non-infected with anthrax and that the forage 

 accompanying such stock has likewise come from a non-in- 

 fected area. During the year an Ordinance has been passed 

 making provision for compulsory vaccination of stock in 

 areas where the disease may become epizootic. (Colonial 

 liepoi-ls — Annual, No. 712.) 



THE MULBERRY AND THE WEST 

 INDIES. 



The revived interest in the possibility of carrying on 

 a silk-raising industry in the West Indies has led to the 

 question as to the suitability of the white mulberry {Morus 

 alha) for growing in this part of the world. In relation to 

 this question, seeds of this plant have been distributed by 

 the Commissioner of Agriculture among the Botanic Stations 

 in the Windward and Leeward Islands, in order that trials 

 may be made. 



In acknowledging the receipt of some of these seeds, 

 Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic Station, Dominica, 

 states that on his arrival in that island, in 1892, he found 

 Moms alba established at the Station for the purpose of 

 raising silkworms : nothing, however, resulted from the 

 attempts that were made at the time, though this does not 

 mean that future work may not be successful. 



The further interesting fact is mentioned by Mr. Jones, 

 that a strong plant of Morus alba still remains in the col- 

 lection at the station, from which seeds could be obtained 

 from time to time; and it is indicated further that the 

 existence of the plant in the gardens for a period of over 

 twenty years shows that the white mulberry is well suited 

 to the conditions under which it has grown in Dominica. 



