332 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 21, 1905. 



WW 







All the Castilloa rubber trees at the St. Lucia Botanic 

 Station are now large enough to be tapped. Tapping 

 ex[icriuieuts are being carried out. 



GLEANINGS. 



During the fortnight ended September 21, 33 bales of 

 ■\Ve.st Indian cotton were imported into the United Kingdom. 

 (Wvit India Committee Circular.) 



ilr. A. F. Clark, of Jamaica, has been appointed 

 manager in Trinidad of the British West Indian Fruit Co., 

 Limited. !Mr. Clark arrived in Trinidad on October -1. 



]>y the B.M.S. 'Trent ' on October -1 there were shijiped 

 from Trinidad for England by the British A^'est Indian Fruit 

 Co., 709 crates of lime.s, 23 crate-s of oranges, 2-50 crates of 

 banana.s, and 3 cases of papaws. {Port-of-Spuiii Ga:ette.) 



It would be desirable if those sending .samples of cotton 

 to the Imperial Department of Agriculture for examination 

 would always send seed-cotton and not less than 8 oz. in 

 weight. 



Examination of ratoon cotton grown at Barbados has 

 shown that it is generally poor, being of short staple and 

 containing a very large proportion of unripe fibres. Such 

 cotton is likely to prove very wasteful in the spinning factory. 



The amount of sugar imiiortcd into the United States 

 from the British West Indies and British Guiana in 1904 

 was less by 100,.568 tons than in the previous year. The 

 value decreased from §6, -169,201 to $2,-521, 09G. 



According to the Yearbook of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, the total croi) of Sea Island 

 cotton for 1903-4 was 7<j.709 bales, of 378-7 R. each, of the 

 total value of l«.599,694,724 



The next exhibition for .school gardens and small 

 jiroprietors at Tobago will take place on November 1.3. 

 Instruction has been given at most of the school gardens, 

 the majority of which are in good order. 



A Canadian Information Bureau has been started at 

 Barbados under the guidance of Mr. .J. A. Ehler, of Messrs. 

 Ramsey Elder it Co., who will supiily information relating 

 to the lands, manufactures, etc., of tlie Dominion. 



According to the 'Annual Statement of the American 

 Cotton Crop,' is.sued by the Liverpool Cotton Association, 

 September 19, 190-5, the total Sea Island crop for 1904-.5 

 was 99,6G3 bales, made up as follows : Florida, 37,873 ; 

 Georgia, 49,69G ; and South Carolina, 12,094 bales. 



'J'he Curator of the Botanic Station at Tobago writes 

 that a long yam is sold in the island as ' Guinea' yam. It is 

 tlie earliest of the varieties grown there, being the first to 

 come into liearing. It is not, however, so long a yam as that 

 bearing the same name on the West Coast of Africa. 



It is stated in the Co>i/.u/ar lieport on Marseilles that 

 the oil nut industry has been much disturbed by the scarcity 

 of ground nuts. The Indian croji was very short, while the 

 African ground nut.s suffered much in quality owing to rain, 

 and their oil was of an inferior quality. The output of oil 

 cakes was therefore small. 



According to the U.S. Monthli/ Consular Reports for 

 .June, the discover}- of a method of extracting citric acid 

 directly from the waste of lemons is attracting considerable 

 attention in Sicily. In a recent experiment fifty-four boxes 

 of Sicilian lemon waste were used. 



According to the Annual Report of the Inspector of 

 Schools in Trinidad, 190 schools were examined in practical 

 agriculture during the year 1904-5 ; of these fifty-four 

 obtained the highest award. In the previous year, of the 

 180 schools examined only thirty obtained the highest award. 



The Demerara An/osi/ states that Dr. Bovallius, who 

 his been actively exi)Ioiting the rubber industry of British 

 Guiana, has now begun to ship rubber to Loudon and hopes 

 to send consignments every month. He is instructing the 

 Patamona Indians how to tap the rubber trees and exi)resses 

 himself as thoroughly satisfied with the quality of the rubber. 



A handy little volume, called the ' Globe Trotters' 

 Dictionary,' containing a large number of common words 

 likely to be used by traveller.s, in six different languages, has 

 been issued by the Nitrate of Soda Propaganda. Tlie 

 Director writes that he will be glad to send copies to those 

 interested in agriculture. 



It may be of interest to state that Hugh Browne, of 

 whose success as a cotton grower mention was made in the 

 A'jrieultural Naes (Vol. IV, ji. 294), was a member of the 

 St. Lucia-St. Vincent cricket team which visited Barbados 

 recently. The St. Lucia Yoiee states : ' He is only nineteen 

 and conducted himself in a manner most creditable to 

 himself and the Agricultural Sjhool at St. Vincent, wherein 

 he has spent four years.' 



On the islands and coast of Carolina cateri>illars have 

 been general, but by the free use of poison they have been 

 kept in check and have caused but little injury. The reports, 

 however, continue unfavourable, owing to rust and shedding. 

 As these setbacks to the crop are not usual at this period of 

 the season, with favourable weather conditions, the croji may 

 not fall much short of the last. (Iteport of Jlessrs. H. W. 

 Frost .^- Co., September 9, 1905.) 



The United States Commercial Agent at St. Kitt's has 

 reported to his Government on the cotton industry in the 

 British West Indies. He says the industry in St. Kitt's- 

 Nevis has now reached the }ioint where it produces a steady 

 and regular income, for which much credit is due to the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture. ' It is now recognized 

 that West Indian Sea Island cotton is an article in good 

 demand, and the industry shows every promise of being 

 established on remunerative lines.' 



