THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 11, 1905. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 to the Commissioner, Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, Barbados. 



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^grinittural |]ini!i 



Vol. IV. SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1905. No. 76. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The prospects of cotton-growing in the West 

 Indies arc full}' discussed in the editorial in this issue 

 of the Ayricidtwivl Netcs. Reference is made to the 

 jjrices that are likeh" to be obtained for West Indian 

 Sea Island cotton this season. This matter is further 

 discussed in the letter from the Vice-Chairman of the 

 British Cotton-growing Association published on p. (Ji). 



Cn p. G7 extracts are reproduced from the 

 pamphlet (No. 33), issued to-day, containing a sumniar}' 

 of the results of experiments with seedling and other 

 canes in the Leeward Islands. 



Notes on the jjrogress of efforts to introduce the 

 teaching of agriculture into West Indian schools will 

 be found on p. 70. 



An illustrated article on the structure of the 

 cocoa-nut and the changes that take place during 

 germination is likely to be of interest to readers of the 

 Agricultural Scvu. (See p. 71.) 



It is desired to draw special attention to the 

 announcement made on this page that the Imperial 

 Department of Agrictdture is unable to obtain a supply 

 of Sea Island cotton seed from the L^nited States 

 during the coming season. 



An account of the Arrowroot or Canna Worm is 

 given on p. 74, as also of a disease of stcjck known as 

 Epizootic Lymphangitis. 



In view of the eftbrts that are being made to 

 develop the tobacco industry of Jamaica, the corres- 

 pondence published on p. 77 is likely to be of interest. 



Praedial Larceny. 



It is proposed to bring together a ' Precis of 

 Information' in regard to the present position of 

 praedial larceny in the West Indies. With this in 

 view the Governments of the various West Indian 

 Colonies h.ive been asked to assist the Department 

 with copies of any laws now in force or with any 

 documents that may be available, such as Regulations 

 or Instructions recently issued, recent official corres- 

 pondence on the subject, reports of Commissions or 

 Special Committees appointed within the last ten 

 years, and, also, returns showing the number of 

 convictions for praedial larceny and the number of cases 

 of Hogging during the last ton years. 



Sales of St. Vincent Cotton in 1904. 



The following infurmatiou is contained in an 

 absliact. su|i|ilied by ilr. W. N. Sands, of the acc(junt 

 sales of 134- bales of St. Vincent cotton shipped to and 

 sold bv the British Cotton-growing Association during 

 1904:— 



Of Sea Island cotton, first (pialitv, 5i) bales sold at 

 14'?. to 1.5i'/., and 1 bale at \\\d. : 11 bales of Sea Island 

 cotton, second qualit}', stained, badly prepared, and 

 mixed, fetchetl 9f?. to Oi'?., and 17 sold for od. to Sd. 

 The price obtained for 20 bales of Marie Galante was 

 4(?. to 7i;(?. per lb. Upland cotton sold as follows: 18 

 bales at (i o4(/. to 6-G4(/., and H bales at 4(?. to od. 



Rivers' Sea Island Cotton Seed. 



In reference to the announcement made in the 

 A<irkvUaral Xeus of January 28 last (p. 24) in 

 winch the Imperial Department of Agriculture offered 

 to obtain a further supply of selected Rivers' Sea 

 Island cotton seed for the use of planters in the W^esb 

 Indies, the following information has been received 

 from the Dill Ball Companv. dated Charleston, 

 February 23, 190.5 :— 



We beg to state that we can no loiiger offer any of the 

 River.s' or J. T. Dill seed, as both of these p-irtie.s liave witli- 

 fliawii their seed from the market and it is no longer in our 

 hands for sale. 



Under these circumstances, it \vill not be possible 

 for the De]iartment to undertake to supply any 

 selected Sea Island cotton seed from the United States 

 during the coming sea.son. The planters in the West 

 Indies will, therefore, have to depend on the seed now 

 being harvested, and a careful selection of this will 

 have to be made for continuing the industry on present 

 lines. 



In localities where Rivers' seed only was planted 

 last year and where the bushes were maintained in 

 good health and have yielded satisfactorv crops, it is 

 recommended that the largest and finest seeds be set 

 aside foi- planting purposes. Those who are in 

 a position to do so might offer such selected seed for 

 sale to planters in other localities where the conditions 

 have not been so favourable. Special efforts will 

 require to be made to keep the best Sea Island cotton 

 seed pure and free from an^' admixture of seed of 

 inferior quality. 



