S4 



THE AGEICULTUKAL NEWS. 



MAKcn -2.-., 1905. 



WEST 



BARBADOS BANANAS. 



INDIAN 



FRUIT. 



The folluwing is an extract fnun a letter ai.ldre.s.sed 

 to the Imperial Coianii.ssioner i>f Agriculture by 

 Messrs. W. Pink & Sons relative to Barbados bananas: — 



Sales are mucli better now, and the acoonnt .sale.s which 

 are going out by this mail show an incrca.se in net remittance 

 of just over k/. per bunch. 



I have ju.st received a cable from Barbados to the eti'ect 

 that 1,250 crates are on the way to us. This increase in 

 quantity is most satisfactory. You will be glad to know that 

 we have not had a single bunch chilled at Plymouth this 

 winter, but a few which came through Southampton to 

 Portsmouth were chilled. 1 think that this .shows that the 

 method of landing in large decked lighters is satisfactoiy. 

 The two boats which we are notv using will land .3,000 

 crates under decks. 



COLONIAL FRUIT EXHIBITIONS. 



The following note is extracted from tlie report of 

 the Royal Horticultural Society read at the 101st. 

 annual meeting on February 14 last ; — 



One new departure in regard to the exhibits has already 

 been made, and that is the exhibition of colonial fruit. The 

 exhibition we had during the winter was organized at very 

 short notice, and we hope in future that we shall have 

 a much more comjilete and more interesting exhibition than 

 on that occa.sion. The next show of colonial fruits will take 

 place on March 30 and 31, and we have every reason to 

 believe tliat the colonies will make a very considerable show, 

 as they can do. Not only is the matter of interest to fruit- 

 growers, but it is a very important element in the food 

 supply of the people. Through our colonies we can get, 

 almost thrOTighout the year, fruit and vegetables which 

 conduce so much to the health of the people without having 

 to wait for the seasons to come round. 



PIMENTO IN JAMAICA. 



The following note on pimento is taken from the 

 Annual Beporf on Jamaica for 1903-4. Interesting 

 remarks are made on the fluctuations of the price of 

 this product on the market : — 



Pimento is an article for which there is a limited 

 demand. Jamaica is the sole source of supply. The 

 average output is large enough to depress continuously the 

 market. It will be observed that last year's .short crop is 

 estimated to have been vcrv nearly as valuable as the 



previous year's crop, which exceeded it Ijy more than fiO per 

 cent, in quantity. The price was unduly inflated after the 

 cyclone by exaggerated reports of the destruction of the 

 pimento walks. As was the case in regard to cocoa-nut 

 plantations, many large pimento properties, es[ieeially in 

 St. Ann's, where the edge of the limestone talilcland caught 

 the full force of the hurricane, showed extraordinary de\asta- 

 tion, but the impression I received from travelling through 

 the island during the autumn was that there was a very 

 inqiosing number of pimento trees left standing in St. Ann's, 

 and that outside St. Ann's the reduction was not at all 

 serious, in short that there were probably, on the whole, 

 quite enough bearing pimento trees left in the i.slancl 

 to yield as large an average crop as it is economically 

 advantageous should come on the market. The hurri- 

 cane appeared to me to have done what the Dutch 

 used to do for their spice crop when they controlled the 

 market for cloves, pepper, and cinnamon, and what has been 

 done for the diamond market. 



IRISH POTATOS IN JAMAICA. 



We extract the following from the Jouriial of ihe 

 JaiiUDcd Aijrirvlttiral tSocwti/: — 



We have ordered 50 barrels of seed potatos to the order 

 of members for the .spring planting in March. Never at any 

 time have there Ijeen more seed potatos brought to this island 

 than this last season, and local markets should be well 

 supplied (lining the period when there are no foreign potatos, 

 between ^May and October. This is what we should aim at, 

 because between October and ilay Halifax potatos can be 

 landed here more cheaply than we can grow them, because 

 the return, when planted here at that time, is not usually 

 large enough at high elevations where it is cold, where 

 potatos do best in suuuner. Successful crojis may be raised 

 in the lowlands where seasons are favourable by planting in 

 November. What growers have to watch well is the careful 

 marketing of the crop. The small people, as a rule, dig all 

 their potatos and take them to market at once, and for 

 a month there may be a glut in the local markets, and then 

 for many months "no potatos at all. Large crops will likely 

 be ready in June and July, and good profits may be made 

 by the ' careful manipulation of the markets through 

 a combination of growers, to [ilace only so many potatos in 

 the market each week, and so keep up the demand and the- 

 price. We shall soon be able to collect good reliable data 

 from actual experience as to the best methods of treatment 

 of seed and soil in different districts. 



