156 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 20, 1905. 



vT^T 



fel li'^j 







GLEANINGS. 



Dr. Watts writes : 'You will be plea.secl to learn that of 

 the fir.st shipinent of 73 bales of cotton from Antigua, 5 bales 

 have been sold at l.?. 'M. per It), and 4t at \s. 2(1., the 



remaining 24 bales had not been .sold when the mail left.' 



According to the St. Christopher AJveiiiser, it is 

 probable that Sir Robert Rromley, Bart., will be returning to 

 St. Kitt's in October to resume the duties of Administrator 

 of St. Kitt's-Xevis. 



According to the Jniaiial d'Ai/rirulturc Tviqiicfilt' 

 ■A French translation of this Department's pamphlet (No. 31) 

 — 'A. B.C. of Cotton Planting " — is shortly to be issued. Its 

 title will 1 e 'A. B.C. de la Culture du Coton.' 



Prices for molasses are firm, and a ver}- fair trade is 

 going on. Halifax prices are as follows : — Choice Porto 

 Rico, 38c. to 40c. ; extra-choice Porto Rico, 40c. to 42c. : 

 fancy Trinidad, 42c. to 44c. : choice Trinidad, 3.5c. to 3Gc. ; 

 Barbados, 40c. to 42c. (The Muritiine ihirhant.) 



In Dutch Guiana the Surinam Government contemplates 

 the establishment of great central factories in that colony. 

 This information is furnished to the press by M. Havelaar, 

 Chief of the Department of Agriculture at Paramaribo. 

 (Loui^iaud Pl'iiiti-r.) 



The Pint rtnaci'uf leal Journal describes the preparation of 

 ' neutral cocoa-nut soap.' This soaj", which is made with 

 cocoa-nut oil, is usef'd for derniatological practice and 

 specially so for ophthalmic v ork. It is proposed to call it 

 ' Sapophthal.' 



In Trinidad the average yield of cacai is placed at 

 12 bags (of 170 K>. each) per 1,000 trees planted 12 feet 

 apart. This is at the rate of about 620 Hi. jier acre. In 

 Grenada the average yield is somewhat higher, viz., 7S4 It). 

 ]ier acre. 



The exports of cacao from l)(iminica increased from 

 .SSI, 334 %. in 1S94-5 to 1,309,.")77 ft. in 1902-3. The 

 following year, owing principally to the hurricane, there was 

 a .slight decrea.se. It is expected that in a few year.s, when 

 the new settler.s' estates come into bearing, there will be 

 still further increase in the output. 



There are se\eral pujiils at the St. Lucia Agricultural 

 School who will complete their term of training in the course 

 of a few months, and the Agricultural Superintendent is 

 desirous of securing suitable situations for them to enter 

 when they leave the .school. Apiilications for their services 

 should be addressed to the Agricultural Superintendent. 



The index and title-page to the fifth volume of the 

 Tr^s^ Indian Bullttiii will be distrilnited by next mail with 

 the first number of Volume \1. 



A .somewhat remarkable feature of the table of exjiorts 

 given in the Annual Report on the Leeward Lsland.s, is that, 

 while the exports of molasses in 1903-4 were les.s in quantity 

 by 1,390 puncheons than in the previous twelve months, 

 their value was greater by £20,064. 



The Secretary of the West India Committee writes : 

 'Cotton prices are maintained. Sea Island is cpioted at 14(/. ; 

 medium fine, 12i'/. : fine, 13i(/. ; extra fine, 1.')A'7. During 

 the [last fortnight 370 bales have been imported into the 

 United Kingdom.' 



If pimento berries are collected when nearly ripe they 

 become almost black in colour as they dry and are cleficient 

 in aroma ; in addition they become gradually covered with 

 a saccharine exudation, which gives them a very unattractive 

 appearance. Such pimento berries are often artificially 

 colonred by means of a ferruginous material, probably a bole 

 or brown ochre. {Pharmaceutiral Juurnal.) 



According to the public telegrams, the Lord Mayor of 

 London opened the Colonial and Indian Exhibition at the 

 Crystal Palace on the 12th. instant. 'The West India Court 

 is an imposing structure decorated with sugar-canes. Some 

 growing exhibits from Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada, and 

 Jamaica f.re much admired and make the dis[ilay more 

 comprehen^ive and varied than any previously .seen.' 



A correspondent of the India liubber World mentions 

 that a process for the production of rubber from the banana 

 has been patented by Mr. Otto Zurcher, a German chemist 

 formerly in charge of the Hon. Evelyn Ellis' tobacco estates 

 at Montpelier, Jamaica. He adds :" ' It would take a good 

 deal to convince me that banana rubber has any commercial 

 value.' 



In a recent report, ;\Ir. J. Si)encer Hollings, Agricultural 

 Instructor for Xevis, remarks, with reference to the sugar 

 crop: 'in low-lying land the sun is already att'ecting the 

 juice and making it boil "putiy."' This remark is of 

 interest in connexioji with the allusion to 'scorching' in 

 Dr. Watts' paper on muscovado suf;ar in the Agricultural 

 Ken-s, Vol. IV, p. 99. 



The Agiicultural Superintendent, St. ^'incent, is prepared 

 to recei\e written applications from parents or guarclians, 

 especially those owning land, for admission of boys into the 

 Agricultural School. The boys must be at least thirteen 

 years of age, and of good character, and ha\e passed the 

 fomth standard. It is desirable that candidates should 

 possess some natui'al taste for agricultural work. Candidates 

 will be examined by the resident master as to their general 

 kno>\ledge, and by the medical officer as to their physical 

 fitness. 



By request we insert the following : — 

 'i'he Secretary (W. X. Winn) of the Kew Guild, Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Kew, has for sale a few copies of the 

 hill' Guild Journal for 1S96 which contains an article full 

 of interest to colonists, by Dr. (now Sir Daniel) Morris, 

 on ' Kew Jlen and Botanical Work in the Colonies.' Price 

 of Journal l.«. Postage lid. extra. 



