56 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



February 25, 1905. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well 

 as all specimens for naming, should be addressed 

 to the Commissioner, Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agri- 

 cultural News' should be addressed to the 

 Agents, and not to the Department. 



Local A(jents: ilessrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Afjents: Messrs. Dukiu & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, W., and The West India Com- 

 mittee, L5, Seething Lane, E.C. A complete list of 

 Agents will be found at foot of page G3 of this issue. 



The Agrieultund News: Price Id. per number, 

 post free \hd. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Po'st free, 3s. 3d 



^gricultiirat |}eiu'j 



Vol. IV. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2.5, 1905. No. -\ 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the editorial on Agricultural Banks (jn pp. 

 49-50 of this issue an account is given of the working 

 of the Jamaica Hurricane Loans Law, 1903, the success 

 of which has been mainly responsible for the advocacy 

 of the establishment of Loan Banks. 



The notes on the sugar industry deal with cane 

 cultivation in Hawaii and in Mexico. The former note 

 is a brief summary of information collected for an 

 article in the M'ed Indum Jhdlcfin, Vol. V, no. 3. 



On p. 51 there will also be found a detailed 

 description of a tool for incising rubber trees to which 

 reference has previously been made in the publications 

 of this Department. 



Interesting articles on the prospects of the West 

 Indian fruit trade will be found on p. 52 : also a note 

 on sterilizing fruit which contains useful information. 



Notes on the Sea Island cotton market and on 

 the prospects of the present crop in the West Indies 

 are published on p. 53. 



Under ' Insect Notes' further information is given 

 as to the strength of hardbacks ; also a note on the 

 clas.'-ification of moths and butterfiie.s. 



Objections have been made, from time to time, to 

 the prominence that is being given to agricultural 

 teaching in elementary schools. As a reply to such 

 objections, we publish the report of a recent address 

 by the Archbishop of the West Indies on this subject 

 (see p. 59). 



Agriculture and Fisheries. 



On p. 54 of this issue there will be found extracts 

 from Ciilonial Office Reports on the fisheries of the 

 West Indies. It may be mentioned that the organiza- 

 tion of fisheries is now regarded as coming within the 

 .scope of the work of Agricultural Departments. This 

 principle is recognized in Great Britain, in Ireland, 

 and at the Cape of Good Hope, where the Agricultural 

 Departments ccmduct investigations in connexion with, 

 and otherwise render assistance to, the development of 

 the marine resoiu'ces. 



As was remarked by the Rt. Hon. the Earl of 

 Onslow, President of the Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries, at the last annual dinner of the Kew Guild, 

 'Agiiculture is a noun of multitude, for it not only 

 includes Horticulture but Fisheries.' 



Onion Seed. 



It is jjroposed to obtain from Teneriffe a further 

 supply of onion seed (red and white) for planting in the 

 West Indies. Planters who are desirous of obtaining 

 seed are reipiested to intbrm the local officers of the 

 Department imnicdlafelij what quantity of seed of 

 each \ariet3' they require. 



Planters are strongly advised to sow the seed in 

 beds and afterwards transplant the 3'onng plants to the 

 fields. Not only is this method more economical of 

 seed, but the young plants can be better looked after. 

 Further it gives bigger yields than sowing directly in 

 the fields. 



This last advantage is ver\- clearly brought 

 out by some expei-iments recently conducted at the 

 Oregon Experiment Station in the United States. The 

 average yield of five different varieties when sown in 

 the field was 389 bushels ; when transplanted the 

 average yield was 655 bushels, or an average increase 

 of 2(iU bushels (68 per cent.) due to transplanting. 



Trade of Trinidad. 



In the Annual Report on Trinidad for 1903-4 it 

 is stated that the exjiorts of produce from the colony 

 show an increase of £41,940 over those of last year, 

 ' and that in spite of the fact that one picking of cacao 

 failed almost entirely during the year under review.' 



The exports of sugar, which were 7,000 tons less 

 than during 1902-3, were the smallest output for many 

 years, but, owing to the recovery in prices, gave an 

 increased value of £25,900 as compared with those of 

 the previous year. 



For the reason already given in the exports of cacao 

 there was a deficit of 15,778 cwt. Thi.s would have 

 been much greater had it not been that the later 

 picking was so good. The exports of asphalt amounted 

 to 192,220 tons, being 33,120 tons in e.xcess of the 

 output for the previous year. The value was £204,126. 



\\ e notice that this report does not contain 

 a section for agrictdture, as is to be found in most of 

 the other rejjorts of this series. Consequently, no 

 reference is made to the useful wovk carried on by the 

 Botanical Department. 



