Vol. IV. No. 79. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



123 



RAINFALL RETURNS. 



MANUAL OF FORESTRY.- Vol. III. Forent }faHafje- 

 ment. By W. Schlich, Ph.D., CLE., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

 London : Bradbunj, Agiuw <£• Co., Ltd. 10, Bouvinie St., 

 1005. 



This i.s a revised edition in which many ciianges and 

 Alterations have been introduced. It i.s stated in the preface 

 that the object of this ' Manual,' which was intended in the 

 first place as a text-book for candidates for the Indian 

 Forestry Department, was to give a clear picture of economic 

 forestry. 



This volume on forest management deals with (i) forest 

 mensuration, (ii) forest valuation, (iii) the foundations of 

 forest management, (iv) the prepartion of forest working plans. 



The appendices contain tables of useful information for 

 foresters, and the fifty-eight plans and illustrations are of 

 assistance in following the operations. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF MOSQUITO S .- By 

 !Major W. M. Hodder, R.E. Chnthain : Royal Engineers' 

 Institute, lOOJf. 



The sub-title to this little publication states that it is 

 'an account of the drainage and other works carried out with 

 this object [the destruction of mosquitos] during 190"2 and 

 1903 at St. Lucia, West Indies.' 



Major Hodder has not. however, confined himself to 

 a bare statement of the works executed, but gives, also, his 

 views and experience on this subject. 



The first chapter deals with the outbreaks of fever at 

 St. Lucia. Towards the end of 1901 yellow fever appeared 

 on the ilorne Fortune: as a consequence troops were moved 

 to Vigie, and here malaria fever broke out, necessitating 

 a second move, this time to Pigeon Island, with satisfactory 

 results. Observations during these outbreaks, rendered it 

 possible to plot out the infected areas at Vigie and to draw 

 general deductions from tlie facts that became ajiparent later. 

 The drainage of swamps, concreting beds of water courses, 

 filling holes, etc., were put in hand. 



In Chapter II, ]\Iajor Hodder relates ' How yellow fever 

 was stamped out in Havana,' stating, also, briefiy the manner 

 in which the various types of malarial fevers are carried from 

 animal to animal by mosquitos. This is followed by 

 a chapter en the habits of mosquitos. 



After dealing in detail with the works at St. Lucia, the 

 author discusses the precautions to be observed in building 

 barracks, and in household arrangements. The great drop 

 in the cases of malaria is evidence sufficiently good to show 

 that some great change has taken place in the conditions 

 which produce the disease. 



This little book, which contains .several plans and illu.s- 

 trations, might be read by all dwellers in tropical countries 

 with nnich profit. Tlie subject of the destruction of 

 nios(putos is dealt with in a clear and practical manner, and 

 a large amount of useful information on the habits of 

 nio.squitos and their relationship to tropical diseases is 

 brought together. 



Grenada. 



The following meteorological returns are extracted 

 from the Ojficial Gazette: — 



1901. 190.3. 



Inches. Inches. 



St. George's. 



Richmond Hill G9'll 78-89 



Annandale 160-18 1.50-20 



Grand Etang 176-49 1.53-8-t 



St. David's. 



LesAvocats 119-72 126-19 



.S'^ Andrew's. 



Dunfermline 8170 82-13 



Bellevue 91-55 90-13 



St. Patrick's. 



Springbank 105-22 9610 



St. Mark's. 



Mt. Edgecumbe 108-31 86-35* 



St. John's. 



Dougaldston 110-05 107-12 



Belvidere 167-65 168-20 



The rainfall at the Meteorological Station in the south 



of the island was 9^ inches less than in the preceding year 



and below the average for the previous twelve years. In the 



centre and north of the island, however, and in Carriacoii 



the record of 1903 was exceeded. < 



t'AERIACOU. 



The following remarks on the meteorology of 

 Carriacou are taken from the i-eport of the Com- 

 missioner for the Carriacou district, for the year ended 

 December 31, 1904. 



The rainfall for the year was 56-67 inches, or 3 inches in 

 excess of that recorded for 1903. These figures, when 

 compared with the average annual rainfall of other colonies, 

 for example, Barbados, 63 inches, Trinidad, 66 inches, 

 Antigua, 50 inches, Virgin Islands, 57 inches, indicate that, 

 after making all allowance for decreased humidity due to 

 indiscriminate forest cutting in past years, Carriacou is not 

 so far behind in the matter of rainfall as to account for the 

 severe droughts to which the i.sland is periodically subject. 

 The question, therefore, resolves itself into one of conser- 

 vation of soil moisture, and one naturally asks : Is it possible 

 to do anything to save crops from such periodic droughts? 



A very short experience of Carriacou during the rainy 

 season will convince any observer that quite three-fourths of 

 the rainfall passes off by surface drainage. This not only 

 occasions great loss so far as immediate plant growth is 

 concerned, but such washings also carry away with them 

 much of the soluble plant food from the surface soil. 



It is therefore of the greatest importance that the 

 people .should be brought to at least a rudimentary under- 

 standing of the conditions under which water exists in 

 a soil and the part it plays in the operations of plant growth, 

 and also be persuaded that the first step towards the 

 conservation of soil moisture must be tillage, so that the 

 rainfall, which is now lost, will sink down and not be carried 

 oft' by surface drainage. 



Until this is realized and carried into practice, little or 

 no amelioration in regard to the occurrence of droughts can 

 be expected. 



* For ten mouths onlv. 



