Vol. IV. No. 75. 



THE AGEICULTUEAL NEWS. 



57 



Permanent Exhibition Committees. 



In the Aijr'ii-iiltural Xcw>i, Vol. IV, p. 20, brief 

 mention was made of the suggestion of the Secretary 

 of the West India Committee that in all the West 

 India Islands permanent exhibition committees should 

 be appointed with the view to securing adequate 

 representation at all exhibitions in Great Britain. In 

 the Wef<t Iiiillii Committee Circular of January 3, 

 this suggestion is referred to as follows: — 



'That each island should appoint a permanent 

 Exhibition Committee, consisting of, say, six members, 

 and comprising representatives of the local West 

 India Committees, the Agricultural and Commercial 

 bodies, and the Government, who might undertake the 

 arrangements for all the exhibitions and thus obviate 

 the necessity of appointing a fresh committee to deal 

 with each case as it arises.' 



A correspondent commenting on this in the 

 West India Committee Circular, makes the further 

 suggestion that, following the example of Canada 

 which has a permanent court at the Crystal Palace, 

 arrangements might be made for some permanent 

 exhibit from which supplies could be drawn for 

 provincial shows. 



We consider that these suggestions are worthy of 

 careful consideration in the various islands : possibly 

 the Agricultural Societies might discuss them with 

 a view of carrying them out if they are considered 

 feasible. 



Fruiting of the Travellers' Tree. 



In a note in the Agricultural News (Vol. II, 

 p. 'il2) it was mentioned that a specimen of the 

 Travellers' Tree {Ravenulu maclafjascariensls) had 

 fruited in Borneo and that this was the only record of 

 the fruiting of this plant in the East. In response to 

 a suggestion that records of its fruiting in the West 

 Indies would be of interest, several correspondents 

 forwarded notes which have been published from time 

 to time in the Agricultural N'ews. It may be of 

 interest to bring together these records. 



Mr. Dopwell wrote that one of these trees fruited 

 at the St. Vincent Botanic Station in 1901, a few 

 plants being raised from the seeds produced. The 

 same tree fruited again in the following year, and a few 

 plants were again i-aised from seed. (See Vol. Ill, 

 p. 12.) A further note, by Mr. Henry Powell, formerly 

 Curator of the Botanic Station at St. Vincent, in 

 relation to this tree will be found in Vol. Ill, p. 342. 



From Jamaica Mr. Fawcett wrote that a tree at 

 Castleton Gardens had fruited regularly for over twenty 

 years, seeds having been gathered for propagation 

 purposes and for distribution. (See Vol. Ill, p. 60.) 



Mr. Hart was not aware of any plants having 

 fruited in the Botanic Gardens at Trinidad. He 

 mentioned, however, several instances of the Howering 

 of plants that had been raised in the Gardens. (See 

 p. 40.) 



In the last issue of the Agricultural Xews (p. 44) 

 we recorded that an old specimen of this tree was 

 fruiting in St. Kitt's, where fertile seed had previously 

 .been produced. 



Carriacou Land Settlement Scheme. 



In reference to the note in the Aijrlculfural News 

 (Vol. IV, p. 29) relative to the Land Settlement 

 Scheme in Carriacou, the following particulars contained 

 in the recently issued Annual Report on Grenada for 

 1903 may be of interest : — 



Two estates had, so far, been purchased and cut 

 up into allotments, giving 244 saleable agricultural lots 

 and fiftj'-one building lots for the extension of the 

 town. 01 the former all but twenty-five had been sold. 



It is considered that this scheme is likely to cause 

 an appreciable increase in the quantity of cotton 

 exported from the island. 



It is stated that, apart from the benefit derived 

 from the settlement of a valuable class of proprietors 

 on land hitherto unprofitable, important propert3' had 

 accrued to the Government from the acquisition of the 

 estates. ' It may, therefore, be claimed that, so far at 

 all events, the .scheme has been a complete success, and 

 with it a new era has opened for Carriacou.' 



Rubber in West AMca. 



A Report on 'Rubber in the Gold Coast and Sierra 

 Leone' by Mr. W. H. Johnson, F.L.S., Director of 

 Agriculture, Gold Coast, has been issued as a Colonial 

 Office Report (Miscellaneous, no. 28, 1904). The 

 special object of this publication is to disseminate 

 information as to the rubber plants best adajjted to 

 cultivation in those colonies with a view to preventing 

 the extermination of the rubber industrj'. 



It is obvious that some measures must be taken 

 if this is to be prevented, for it is undoubtedly in 

 consequence of destructive methods of tapping that 

 the value of the exports of rubber from the Gold 

 Coast has declined in five years from £.5.55,731 in 1899 

 to £196,500 in 1903. 



In this report, then, Mr. Johnson discusses the 

 merits and demerits of six rubber jjlants which are 

 generally accepted as the most valuable, viz., Para 

 (Hevea hraalllensls), West African (Funtumia 

 elastlca), Central American (Castllloa elastlca), Ceara 

 {Manlhot Glazlovll), Assam (Flcu.s elastlca), and 

 West African (Landolphla ou-arlensls). The last 

 named having a climbing habit and being difficult 

 to tap, it is not considered suitable for cultivation 

 on a large scale. The yield from the Ceara and 

 Assam trees, although the trees have made good 

 growth, has not been sufficient to cover cost of 

 collection. Castllloa elastlca has proved particularly, 

 susceptible to insect attacks and does not appear to 

 thrive in the Gold Coast. 



There remain, therefore, two rubber plants which 

 may be selected for planting. These are Funtumia 

 elastlcOj and Hevea hraj^lllensls, both of which have 

 given satisfaction at the Botanic Gardens at Aburi. 

 An interesting account is given of the experimental 

 cultivation of these two plants. The latter has proved 

 a quicker grower and appears to give a larger yield of 

 rubber, and it is concluded that the Para rubber is the 

 most satisfactory rubber tree to cultivate in West 

 Africa. 



