Vol. IV. No. 7.3. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



27 



BRITISH OVIANA: REPORT OF THE BOARD 

 OF AGRICULTURE, 1903-^. By J. B. Harrison, C.M.G., 

 Deputy Chairman. 



An account is given of tlie principal .subjects whicli Iiave 

 been discussed at tlie genera! meetings, as also of the subjects 

 discussed by the Standing Committees of the Board. 



The Standing Committees are as follows : (i) Finance 

 and Executive, (ii) Stock, (iii) Library, (iv) Exhibitions, 

 (v) Agricultural Education, (vi; Sugar-cane Experiments, 

 and (vii) Subsidiary Products. 



In accordance with the recommendations of the Stock 

 Committee, a pure-bred Shorthorn bull and three Holstein 

 cows were imported from Canada, and a Tamworth boar and 

 two sows from Trinidad. Two thorough-bred stallions were 

 imported from England in February 190-t. 



Exhibitions were held at Buxton, East Coast, and at 

 Georgetown. Farmers' Competitions took place in the 

 Victoria-Belfield district, in the Georgetown district, and in 

 the island of Wakenaam. 



Returns are published showing the number of acres 

 under cultivation with the more important subsidiary 

 products in British Guiana in 1903-4, and also the area 

 under rice cultivation. These are as follows: rice, 16,670 

 acres; cocoa-nuts, 3,766; cacao, 901; coffee, 718; corn 

 (maize), 746 ; cotton 39 ; plantains, Ijananas, and ground 

 provisions, 14,240 acres 



BRITISH GUIANA: REPORT ON THE AG RL 

 CULTURAL WORK IN THE EXPERIMENT FIELDS 

 AND THE GOVERNMENT LABORATORY, 1903-4. 

 By J. B. Harri.son, C.M.G., Government Analyst and Deputy 

 Chairman, Board of Agriculture. 



This report deals mainly with experiments with the 

 sugar-cane. Out of 2,82.5 seedlings obtained from the 

 selected varieties, 1,420 were planted in the experimental 

 fields. Tables are published showing the yields from the 

 various seedlings. 



General deductions from the manurial experiments are 

 published. It is stated that these appear to be aiiplicable 

 not only to the Bourbon variety but also to the majority of 

 the varieties submitted to experiment. 



About 3 acres of land were devoted to experiments with 

 a large number of varieties of rice. The imported varieties 

 matured more rapidly than did the so-called ' Creole ' variety, 

 taking four months while the latter took nearly five. The 

 results of the experiments are reported to be 'interesting and 

 encouraging.' 



The manurial experiments with cacao have not as yet 

 ^iven very satisfactory results ; it is evident that they will 

 have to be carried on for a longer period before .satisfactory 

 deductions can be made. 



The details of the useful work carried on so successfully 

 by Professor Harrison and his staff are likely to be of 

 considerable value to members of the planting community. 



DRAINAGE OP CACAO LAND. 



The following is extracted from a report by the 

 Hon. F. Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, on a visit to Dominica 

 in July .and August 1904. The question of sub.soil 

 drainage is an important one for cacao planters in 

 Dominica and doubtless is of importance also in 

 connexion with the occurrence of the die-back disea.se 

 caused by Diplo<li(i mcuoirola : — 



Upon my visit in December 1903 my attention was 

 called to a large area planted in young cacao which was 

 several years old and now should be in good bearing, instead 

 of which the trees presented a very poor appearance and in 

 most cases appeared to be slowly dying; the crop from them 

 was negligible. !My own impression was that the trees were 

 suffering from want of drainage, though on the face of it this 

 appeared improbable, for in places there was a steep cutting 

 down to the river, and even at a little distance from this the 

 trees presented a poor ajipearance. It was on a portion of 

 this defective cacao field that I recommended the establish- 

 ment of an Experiment Station. The first point was to drain 

 the experiment plot very thoroughly, after which various 

 manurial and cultural experiments were laid out. This work 

 was done early in this year (.lanuary-February). Upon 

 visiting the plot I found the most striking change in the 

 appearance of the trees within the treated area. The trees 

 presented a healthy, fiourishing appearance ; new growth was 

 abundant and vigorous, the new foliage healthy and there 

 was an abundance of blossom. I could not see any 

 difference between the various plots to lead me to suppose 

 that any of the manures applied had contributed to 

 this result ; it would a^niear that efficient drainage had 

 caused the imi)rovement. I have on more than one occasion 

 drawn attention to the red soils of Dominica which contain 

 but relatively small proportion of gravel and sand ; these, 

 when first taken up as virgin soils covered with a soft layer 

 of forest mould, are usually in good condition and cacao 

 and other trees grow well in them ; this growth may be 

 maintained if the cultivation and aeration of the soil can be 

 kept up, but under the ccjnditions of a cacao field there is 

 danger of these soils becoming compact and unsuitable for 

 cacao from the presence of excess of water in the subsoil 

 (for cacao is a deep-rooting tree) even when situated on 

 a good slope. 



In a letter to the Imperial Commissioner dated 

 December 20, 1904, Dr. Watts again refers to this 

 point as follows : — 



la my report on my visit to Dominica in July and 

 August 1904 I drew particular attention to this point and 

 instanced the cases of defective drainage and its disastrous 

 effect on cacao at Melville Hall and South Chiltern : I also 

 described the remarkable effects produced by draining the 

 Melville Hall plots, the improvement being greater than 

 I could have hoped for. I am informed that the work of 

 draining is being extended and always with the same very 

 marked improvement. Similar cases are under my observa- 

 tion at Blenheim. 



I have repeatedly observed that on the somewhat close 

 soils of Dominica, particularly upon the red soils, the surface 

 soil may appear in good condition and the land may have 

 a good slope leading one to suppose that drainage is perfect, 

 yet on digging into the subsoil one finds the roots of the 

 trees water-logged and often unhealthj'. This condition is so 

 unexpected as frequently to escape notice. It is, in my 

 opinion, one of the greatest dangers threatening the 

 Dominica cacao planter, for the cacao tree is deep-rooting and 

 soon sends its roots below the well-drained surface soil. 



