A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



N3W.Y0J- 



Vol. IV. No. 74. 



BARBADOS, FEBllUAllY 11, 1905. 



Peice Id. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Agi-icultuial EihiCiitiiin 



at Barbados 30 



Agricultural Shows, Fortli- 



cciiiiing 40 



Arlxii- Day for Barbados ... 38 

 Arrowroot, St. Vincent ... 45 



Cacao : — 



Disease of 36 



German Colonies 38 



Surinam 30 



Colonial and Indian Exliibi- 



tion, 1!»05 39 



Cotton Industi-y : — 



Barbados 37 



Cuba 37 



Exhibits of Colonial- 

 grown 37 



Pro.spect,s of Croj) 37 



Sea Jsland Market ... 37 

 Shii)ment from West 



Indies 40 



Cotton Seed for 1905 ... 33 



Cuba, Agriculture in 40 



Date Palms in Jamaica ... 3C 



Department News 43 



Dominica Botanic Station, 

 Supply of Budded 



Plants from 35 



Fungoid Diseases : — 



Coral-spot Disease ... 43 

 Tomatos, Bacterial 



Disease of 43 



Gleanings 44 



Page. 

 Insect Notes : — 



Cott'ce Scale Insect ... 42 

 fJall material. Directions 



for preserving 42 



Hardbacks 42 



Lectures in Economic 



Botany 42 



Limes, Seedless 36 



Market Reports 47 



Mo.S(piitos and Malaria ... 41 

 IMosquitos in St. Lucia ... 35 

 Nitrogen-fixing Organisms 41 

 Notes and Comments ... 40 

 Our B.>ok Shelf:— 

 Hi>use, Garden and 



Field 45 



Sun Pictures of tlie 

 Antilles and British 



Guiana 45 



The Book of Trinidad... 45 

 Ruliber trees : — 



In Java 43 



Road-side Planting of ... 39 

 Spraying, Importance of... 35 

 Sugar Industry : — 



Barbados Molasses Crop 34 

 Maiuifacture of Molas- 



cuit 35 



Surinam, E.\ports of ... 41 



Vanilla Cultivation 38 



West Indian Bulletin ...41 

 West Indian Products : — 



Canada 46 



London 46 



Cotton Seed for 1905. 



AST year arrangements were made by the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture to 

 obtain cotton seed of good quality froai one 



of the best plantations in the Sea Islands for distribu- 

 tion to planters in the West Indies at nost price. 



The total t.|uantity of seed imported was 3.5,700 It). 

 In order to prevent the ))ossibility of insect or fungoid 

 pests being introduced, all the seed was carefully dis- 

 infected beforehand and it was distributed under such 

 conditions as were likely to yield the best results. 



The average cost of seed sufficient to plant one 

 acre (6 lb.) was about 15d. ' In the Sea Island 

 cotton districts the cost of selected seed for sowing is 

 placed at 54c. to .58c. (or at the rate of 2.s. Sd. to 

 2.S-. 5t1.) per acre. In Egypt it is placed at 50c. (2.s\ Id.) 

 per acre.' Hence for an estate of 50 acres, seed of the 

 best Sea Island cotton was placed at the disposal of 

 planters in the West Indies for a little over £3, as 

 against £5 12x. in the Sea Islands and £5 4.9. in Egypt. 



In one or two localities we understand the opinion 

 has been expressed that the seed was ' mi.xed' and that 

 it had not the appearance of Sea Island cotton seed of 

 'good crop' qualit}'. Apparently this misconception 

 arose from the fact that some of the seeds presented 

 a slightly ' fuzzy ' appearance and approached, on 

 a cursory glance, some of the characteristics of 

 ' Upland ' cotton seed. As against the possibility of 

 the seed being 'mi.xed' or having been tampered with 

 in any way, we have in the first place to consider the 

 high character of the proprietor of the plantation 

 on which the seed was produced, and the assurance that 

 the seed was true Rivers' Seed, and identical 

 with what he planted himself. We have next the 

 expert opinion expressed by Mr. E. Lomas Oliver that 

 all the samples raised from Rivers' seed examined by 



