THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Dkcembek 9, 1905. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 as all specimens for naming, should be addressed 

 to the Commissioner, Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, Barbados. 



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 cultural News' should be addressed to the 

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gl gri cult lira 1 |}eiu!) 



Vol. IV. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1905. Xo. OO. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



A short review of the available information in 

 regard to the bud-rot disease of the cocoa-nut palm is 

 given ill the editorial in this issue. 



On pp. 372-3 will be found a report of the pro- 

 ceedings at a meeting of the Barbados Agricultural 

 Society on November 17, at which a discussion took 

 place in regard to the sugar-cane exjDeriments carried 

 on at Barbados. The Imperial Commissioner of Agri- 

 culture addressed the meeting on the subject of central 

 factories. 



Jaffa Oranges. 



An inquiry' has been made whether forms of the 

 true Jaffa orange are grown in the West Indies. This 

 is a matter of interest to all who are concerned in the 

 cultivation of citrus fruits. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture would 

 be glad to receive information from those who possess 

 true Jaffa orange tree.?, and also specimens of the fruit, 

 to bo addressed to the Head Office of the Department 

 at Barbados. 



Medals For Cotton Growers. 



In reference to the paragraph on this subject that 

 appeared in the Agricidtmxd News of October 21 last, 

 it may be mentioned that a telegram has been received 

 from Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.Bl.G., announcing that gold 

 and silver medals for competition amongst cotton 

 growers in the West Indies have been ordered. They 

 will be exhibited at a ban([uet to be given at 

 Manchester by the British Cotton-growing Association 

 on December 11 ne.xt. Sir Alfred Jones has expressed 

 his wish that the medals should be awarded under the 

 direction of the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture 

 and entirely with the object of extending the 

 cultivation (jf Sea Island cotton on right lines. It is 

 pirobable that sil'.er medals will be offered for 

 competition for the best seed-cotton at the Agricultural 

 Shows to be held up to March 31 next. The gold medals, 

 on the other hand, will be reserved and offered for 

 competition generally amongst growers who have 

 shipped the largest quantity of cotton (per acre or 

 otherwise), who have obtained the highest prices, and 

 who have shipped such cotton to the British Cotton- 

 growing Association. 



The report on the cotton industry at St. Vincent, 

 published on p. 374, shows that the position of the 

 industry is, on the whole, satisfactor}-. 



Particulars are published on p. 37-5 of a scheme 

 that has been drawn up for awarding prizes for peasant 

 holdings at Grenada. 



Under the head of ' Insect Notes' information is 

 given relative to a caterpillar which has been doing 

 considerable damage to cocoa-nut and other palms in 

 British Guiana. (See p. 378.) On the same page will 

 be found notes on the insects that have appeared in 

 the cotton fields in Barbados during 1905. 



The extracts from official reports from Jamaica, 

 which are published on p. 379, indicate that there is 

 considerable activity in agricultural matters in that 

 island. 



Trade and Agriculture in Jamaica. 



The Annual Report of the Collector General in 

 Jamaica tor the j'ear 1904-5 shows that there was 

 a considerable decrease in the value of the exports 

 during the year. This shrinkage in output is found 

 principally in the following items: cocoa-nuts, coffee, 

 ginger, oranges, sugar, rum, honey, and logwood. 



Increases are shown in respect of pimento, 

 higwood extract, and tobacco (leaf, cigars, and 

 cigarettes). The output of bananas was 1,100,496 

 stems greater than in the preceding year, but the 

 value was £71,052 less. 



It is pointed out that the export figures ' taken 

 by tliemselvcs show- little or no progress, but when the 

 qualifying factor of the greatly reduced prices obtained 

 for some of our principal products is taken into 

 consideration, claim to appreciable progress is fairly 

 established.' 



The Collector General expresses his ojjinion that 

 there is visible already good growing out of the evils 

 of the experience with the hurricane of 1903. New 

 life has been instilled into agriculture and it is 

 believed that a lasting lesson in thrift has been taught 

 and learnt. The extracts from the reports of the 

 collectors for the several parishes, reproduced on ]i. 379, 

 are of interest in this connexion. 



