Vol. IV. No. OL 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



355 



SUGAR-CANE EXPERIMENTS AT BARBADOS. 



canes the most important 

 consideration in determining 

 to the field characters, these 

 (2) behaviour under extremes 



At a meeting of the Barbados Agricultural 

 Society held uii November 3, Mr. J. R. Bo veil, F.L.S., 

 F.C.8., read a jiaper on the results of the experiments 

 with sugar-cane carried on at Barbados under the 

 direction of the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 during the season 1903-5. The experiments consisted 

 of two series, ( 1) experiments with seedling and other 

 canes, and (2) nianurlal experiments. 



The following is a brief summar}" of the portion of 

 Mr. Boveii's jiaper dealing witli the experiments with 

 varieties: — 



In selecting seedling 

 characters are taken into 

 their value. \\'ith regard 

 are: (1) germinating power, 



of dryness and moisture, (-3) habit of the cane, that is, 

 whether upright or recumbent, (4) power of resisting 

 the attacks of insects and fungi, (.[>) period of growth, 

 (6) productive power, (7) weight of tops per acre, (8) ratooii- 

 ing power : there are also the factory characters, viz., 

 (9) milling quality, that is, whether the canes are tough or 

 brittle, (10) fuel-producing property, depending on the per- 

 centage of fibre in the cane, (11) relative percentage of 

 expressible juice, that is, the juiciness or dryness of the cane, 

 (12) the richness of the juice, (13) the purity of the juice. 



The rainfall in December 1903 and .Tanuary 1901 being 

 good, the cane cuttings, on the whole, germinated regularly, 

 and an excellent stand was obtained at an early time. 

 During what is usually the dry season, that is, from February 

 to tlie end of ilay, showery weather was experienced and 

 when the rainy season set in at the beginning of June, the 

 canes were in such a condition as to benefit readily by the 

 rain. As the weather was favourable they made considerable 

 progress during June, July, August, and BeiJtcmber, but i)i 

 October a drought set in, and from then until January, the 

 rainfall was nuich below the average. January was, on the 

 whole, fairly showery, but from then until the end of the 

 reaping season practically little rain fell. In spite, however, 

 of the limited rainfall during the last three months of 1904, 

 the canes continued to grow, due, probably, to the fact 

 that the soil had been thoroughly saturated at an early 

 time, consequently the crop was not much below the 

 average. The eft'ect of the dry weather, however, seemed, to 

 some extent, to increase the root disease, and he regretted 

 to say that in many of the cane experiment plots the canes 

 were attacked by this disease. 



Among the plant canes on both black- and red-soil 

 estates, B. l,-i)29 had given the best results in the season 

 under review. On the average, in the two districts, it gave 

 1,603 lb. of saccharose per acre more than the White 

 Transparent. In the black soils the yield as plant canes was 

 1,749 K). more, on the average, than that of the "White 

 Transparent, and on red soils 1,439 t). As ratoons, however, 

 on the black soil.s it gave, on the average, G93 H)., and on the 

 red soils 597 Ih,, less than the White Transparent. 



The next cane which gave the best results on both black 

 and red soils was B. 208 : B. 379 came next, and then 

 B. 376 ; the AVhite Transparent came fifth. 



To compare the canes just mentioned with one another 

 on both black- and red-soil estates as regards the pounds of 

 saccliarose per acre, stated in terms of money at the 

 average price at which sugar and molasses sold this year, 



and assuming that 80 [ler cent, of saccharose was recovered 

 as merchantable sugar together with its molasses: 

 B. 1,529 had, on the average, given 7,402 tti. of saccharose 

 per acre, B. 208, 6,744 lb. per acre, and the White Trans- 

 parent, 5,799 lb. per acre. B. 1,529 had thus given a yield 

 of nearly 28 per cent., and B. 208, 16 per cent, more 

 than the White Transijarent. To express this in money 

 value, B. 1,529 had given §20-41 per acre, and B. 208, .«15-57 

 per acre, more than the White Transparent. In the case of 

 ratoons, on eight estates (six in the black soils and two in 

 the red .soils), B. 208 had given .f 2-58 more than the White 

 Transparent, but, on the other hand, B. 1,529 gave -f 14'02 

 less. With plant canes on the black-soil estates, B. 147 gave 

 1,939 ft>. of saccharo.se, B. 1,529, 1,7491b. saccharose, B. 208, 

 711 tt). .saccharo.se per acre, more than the White Transparent. 

 Expressed in money value, the return from B. 147 was 

 $31-95, B. 1,529, $28-82, and B. 208, .f 11-71 per acre more 

 than the White Transparent. Another cane of promise, of 

 which the cultivation had been extended on a few estates in 

 the black soils, was B. 376, the average of this cane in the 

 black soils being .$3-93 per acre more than the White Trans- 

 parent. With regard to first ratoons, of those in the black 

 soils, B. 208 gave 88-18 more per acre than the White Trans- 

 parent, but B. 376 gave !?5-23, and B. 1,529, $11-42 less than 

 the White Transparent. As plant canes, on the average on 

 three estates in the red soils, B. 208 gave sugar to the value 

 of $32-32, B. 1,529, .$23-71, and B. 376, $10-31 more than the 

 White Transparent, but, on the other hand, as first ratoons 

 on two estates in the red soils, the White Transparent gave 

 $16-27 more than B. 208, $2-85 more than B. 376, and 

 .$8-85 more than B. 1,529. With regard to the White 

 Transparent as first ratoons in the red soils giving sugar 

 to the value of $16-27 more than B. 208, it may not be 

 without interest to state that the monetary return from 

 the ratoons of the White Transparent, if deducted from the 

 monetary return of the sugar from the plants of B. 208 

 would still leave, on the average, a profit of $16-05 for the 

 two years, or $8-02 per acre per annum. 



Taking the average for the past two seasons, the White 

 Transparent came out eightieth on the list, and the planters' 

 old friend, the Bourbon, still lower with 1,684 lb. of 

 saccharose per acre, even less than the White Transparent, 



Mr. Bovell called attention to new canes like B. 1,753, 

 which had given saccharose at the rate of 11,516 R). per acre, 

 B. 3,289 at the rate of 10,705 ft. per acre, B. 1,030 at the 

 rate of 10,485 h. per acre, B. 1,355 at the rate of 10,302 lb. 

 per acre, B. 6,048 at the rate of 10,102 lb. per acre, B. .3,696 

 at the rate of 9,828 lb. per acre, while the White Transparent 

 for the same two years had given 6,452 fti. of saccharose per 

 acre. The glucose per gallon of these canes was also 

 satisfactory, the lowest, in the case of B. 1,030, being '044 2). 

 per gallon with 2-015 lb. saccharose per gallon, and B. 1,753 

 contained '055 lb. glucose per gallon with 1-968 Bb. of 

 saccharose per gallon, while the White Transparent contained 

 •083 lb. glucose per gallon with 1-903 lb. saccharose per 

 gallon. 



Referring to B. 147, Mr. Bovell stated that on one 

 estate this cane, as plant cane, had given 320 Dj. per acre of 

 merchantable sugar more than the White Transparent. 

 On the same estate there had been reaped as ratoons for the 

 past two years an average of 44 acres of B. 147, and this 

 cane had given 599 ft), more saccharose per acre than the 

 White Transparent. 



