Vol. IV. No. 78. 



THE AGR[CULTURAL NEWS. 



109 



AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. 



St. Vincent. 



The Agricultural Show under the auspices of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture and a local Committee 

 was held at the Agricultural School on Thursdaj', JIarch 9. 



There was no formal opening of the show, but his 

 Honour the Administrator, and the Imperial Commissioner 

 •of Agriculture visited the exhibition soon after it was 

 opened, and inspected the exhibits. 



The cchibits of stock were quite up to the usual 

 standard ; the entries were more numerous than last year, 

 reaching the satisfactory number of 11.5. The half-bred 

 Hereford calves, the progeny of the pure-bred Hereford bull 

 belonging to the Imperial Department of Agriculture, were 

 a fine lot, no less than twelve being shown. 



As at the last show there was a large number of exhibits 

 of estate produce, such as sugar, arrowroot, cacao, and 

 coffee. The number of exhibits of cured cacao and cacao in 

 pod clearly showed that cacao of good marketable quality 

 can be produced, provided that care is paid to the selection 

 of .suitable localities and to cultivation. Messrs. D. K. 

 Porter &, Co. obtained the first prizes for muscovado 

 sugar, arrowroot starch, and cured cacao, the prize exhibits 

 in each case being especially good. Taken altogether the 

 display of staple products was very instructive, and did credit 

 to the e.xhibitors. 



As was anticipated, the exhibits of ginned Sea Island 

 cotton were very numerous and quite a feature of the 

 exhibition. Mr. J. S. llichards was awarded the first prize 

 in this section for a very fine sample grown on his estate, 

 Petit Bordel. In all cases, the cotton shown was grown from 

 the selected Piivers' Sea Island cotton seed imported by the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, and the .ludges experi- 

 enced some difficulty, owing to the fairly uniform character 

 of the splendid lot of exhibits, in arriving at their decisions. 



The school exhibits were not as good as last year, the 

 plants grown in pots being rather poor, but the collection of 

 vegetables from Troumaka and Buecament schools were 

 a very creditable lot, considering that the weather had been 

 dry during the month previous to the show. 



In the Lecture Piooni there were three new features. 

 The first was a collection of the fruits, cacao, and coffee 

 varieties, spices, etc., from the Botanic Station, and also an 

 assortment of some of the economic plants as grown, and 

 available for distribution, such as grafted mango plants, cacao, 

 coffee, nutmegs, eucalypti, kola, guavas, etc. 



The second feature was a typical exhibit of fruit and 

 vegetables purchased in the local market, and put up by the 

 Show Committee with a view of educating intending 

 exhibitors at future shows, in the methods of preparing and 

 showing produce to the best advantage. 



The third feature was an educational exhibit of ' English 

 Vegetables' by Mr. H. C. Saville showing the right stage to 

 pick bush beans, pull kohl rabi, cut lettuce, etc., and for 

 contrast there were also exhibited samples of these vegetables 

 that had been allowed to grow too old for table purposes. 

 For this exhibit Mr. Saville was awarded a Diploma of Merit. 



The show was certainly very successful, as far as 

 the number and quality of exhibits were concerned, and 

 had the weather been fine a larger number of visitors 

 ■would have been able to put in an appearance. 



Nevis. 



The prizes won by the exhibitors at the Agri- 

 cultural Show held at Nevis on February 28 last were 

 distributed by the Acting Commissioner of St. Kitt's- 

 Nevis on March 20. The following i.s a suuiuiary of 

 the remarks which were made on this occasion by the 

 Chairman of the Agricultural Society (the Hon C. A. 

 Shand):— 



The members of the Agricultural and Commercial 

 Society decided that the show this year should be taken in 

 hand by the society under the auspices of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture. Sir Daniel Morris met the 

 society in a most generous spirit and made a very liberal 

 grant towards the prize funds. His Honour the Adminis- 

 trator, Jlr. Bromley, also gave a handsome donation 

 and the Government authorized a grant-in-aid so that from 

 a financial point of view the success of the show was at once 

 assured; but it was not until a much later hour that the show 

 itself gave signs of having excited popular interest. I am 

 thankful to say that the result surprised even the most 

 sanguine, as no less than 711 exhibits were entered, 100 of 

 which were in Class I, Live stock, and 134 in Class IV, 

 Vegetables. Considering the fact that for some time 

 prior to the show the weather had been unpropitious 

 and that misconceptions had arisen as to the real object 

 of the show, I can only congratulate all concerned upon 

 the result achieved which was eminently satisfactory, and 

 I trust that in future years the entries may continue to 

 improve as they should do now that the advantages to ba 

 derived by such an institution have been generally recognized. 

 An Agricultural Show is a means of inciting the growers of 

 produce towards a healthy spirit of competition with one 

 another as to who shall be able to grow the best of its kind, 

 and this leads to a further stej), that is to say, the ascertaining 

 of the best means by which such prize products can be raised. 

 We have all a great deal to learn as to the most approved 

 processes of agriculture and manufacture, and if we can be 

 roused to the necessity of adopting a more up-to-date system 

 by shows such as the one just held, then a great benefit will 

 have been derived by the community as a whole. 



Special Prizes were given by the Administrator, as 

 follows : — 



Peasant proprietor winning the greatest number of 

 prizes in the various classes: £2, Henry Moore. 



Peasant proprietor winning the next greatest number 

 of prizes in the various classes : £1, divided between James 

 Eogers and Mrs. J. Hutson. 



Prizes offered by the Education Department : — 



Collection of Plants in pots: 1st., St. Paul's School-; 

 2nd., Wesleyan Chapel, Charlestown ; 3rd., St. George's 

 School. 



Single Plant in pot: 1st., Wesleyan Chapel, Charles- 

 town; 2nd., St. Paul's School; .3rd., Brown Hill School. 



Collection of Vegetables from School Garden: 1st., St, 

 George's School; 2nd., St. Thomas School. 



' Diplomas of Merit ' of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture were awarded to the following exhibitors : — - 



John Hanley and Joseph Ward, native stallion undei' 

 three years ; George Small, native jack ; Fred. Boddie, 

 native jenny; J. E. .Jacobs, native tanned leather; H. C. 

 Huggius, pen of sheep and goats; John Evelyn (Maddens), 

 cross-bred poultry; St. Paul's School, plants grown in pots; 

 J. A. Croney, Indian corn ; the Rev. W. Cowley, Guinea 

 corn ; W. S. Maynard, young mule. 



