Vol. IV. No. 96. 



THE AGRUCULTURAL NEWS. 



389 



BARBADOS LOCAL AGRICULTURAL 

 EXHIBITION. 



The sixth annual local agricultural exhibition and show 

 of stock was held by the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 on Tuesday, December ."), at Bushy Park plantation, St. Philip, 

 which was kindly lent for the j)urpose by the attorney, 

 Mr. A. A. Cameron. 



In spite of the fact that the parish had, for a 

 considerable portion of the year, suffered from a somewhat 

 serious drought, the quality of the exhibits was remarkably 

 good, although the number of exhibits was not cjuite as 

 large as on former occasions. 



The goats were distinctly good, and the prize sheep 

 were much admired. Other animals in the live stock class 

 were also of a better class than is usually found among 

 small owners. 



A marked improvement was noticed in the manner in 

 which both the fruit and vegetables were exhibited this year. 

 Flours and starches were well represented, and there were 

 some excellent exhibits of cotton. As on former occasions, 

 there was a class for school exhibits. The quality of these 

 exhibits showed a decided improvement. 



His Excellency Sir Gilbert Carter, K.C.M.G., after 

 distributing the jirizes, addressed the assemblage, expressing 

 his pleasure at being able to attend the show and offering his 

 congratulations on its success. The exhibits he had seen 

 reflected credit on those who had produced them, and he 

 hoped they would go on and achieve even better results. 

 They owed a deep debt of gratitude to Sir Daniel Morris for 

 the indefatigable manner in which he had been stirring them 

 up and he advised them to take full advantage of Sir Daniel's 

 advice and assistance. 



The Hon. Sir Daniel Morris thanked those piesent for 

 recognizing so cordially the work that had been done by the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture in connexion with these 

 shows. He considered St. I'hilip deserved great credit for 

 having done so well in spite of the dry weather that had 

 prevailed. That parish was the leading parish in growing- 

 cotton. St. Philip was also noted for producing the best 

 mutton not only in Barbados but in the West Indies. He 

 suggested that more might be done : they might produce 

 more turkeys and Guinea fowls and a larger number of sheep. 

 Referring to the exhibits, he said those from the schools 

 were better than at any previous show, and he desired to say 

 that, if the schoolmasters of this island took a deeper interest 

 in school gardens, the island would be greatly benefited. He 

 wished to express their indebtedness to the Rev. Henry 

 Daniel and Mr. Cameron for the use of the estate, and to 

 the manager, Mr. Hutson, for his assistance. Their thanks 

 were also due to the Committee, and especially to Mr. J. R. 

 Bovell, than whom no one had worked harder to make these 

 shows a success. He concluded by calling for three cheers 

 for his Excellency and Lady Carter. 



The following is a list of the Diplomas of Merit of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture which were awarded : — 



Sea Island cotton Dr. C. E. Gooding, M.C.P. 



do. (Peasants) Mr. Philip N. Wilson. 



Stool of cane B. 147 Mr. E. L. Skeete, Summervale. 



Sugar-canes Mr. Hutson, Bushy Park. 



Brown filly Mr. M. R. Edwards, Hampton. 



Avocado pear Mr. Samuel Manning. 



Dwarf bananas Mr. W. N. Vaughan. 



Collection of peppers Mr. F. Lythcott. 



Plants grown by school 



children iNlount Tabor School. 



Society School. 



ROOT-ROT OF LOGWOOD TREES. 



A report by Mr. F. S. Earle (now Director of Agri- 

 culture in Cuba), on some diseases of economic plants in 

 •Jamaica, reproduced in the Wat Indian BuUetiii (Vol. IV, 

 PI). 1-9) contains notes on a root-rot of logwood trees, 

 which was examined by him in the western end of the 

 island in 1902. 



There it appears that these trees were dying in consider- 

 able numbers through a fungu.s mycelium invading the roots 

 and thence spreading upwards into the stem, between the 

 bark and the wood. Although fructifications of this fungus 

 were not found, the mycelium presented characters, which 

 enabled Mr. Earle to place it amongst the JI;/menomi/c(tes. 

 This group of fungi includes the 'edible mushrooms' and 

 also species which are deadly enemies to various trees in 

 forests and fruit gardens. 



The logwood disease is found in trees in different kinds 

 of soils and under varjing climatic conditions, but, even 

 where moisture and drainage appear to be perfect, large 

 areas present a diseased appearance. 



Lately, Dr. Emile Bucher, of the West India Chemical 

 Works, Jamaica, has written in the local press, pointing out 

 that in the Westmoreland district the disease is rapidly 

 spreading. Dr. Bucher reminds growers of the serious damage 

 that was done in European vineyards by Ph//lloj:em, a pest 

 which was thought to be harmless at first, but ultimately 

 brought ruin to many of the wealthiest vine-growers. This 

 logwood disease is a contagious one, spreading by means 

 of the mycelial strands in the soil in constantly widening 

 circles and, unless steps are taken to check its spread, serious 

 damage to the logwood industry in that part of the island 

 may ensue. 



To prevent the spread of the disease the following 

 remedies have been recommended : (a) where the disease is 

 confined to small, definite patches, a trench 3 feet deep should 

 be dug outside the diseased area in order to prevent further 

 spread of the mycelium on to the roots of healthy plants ; 

 (b) where the disease is widely disseminated, the only means 

 of checking its spread is to clear the infested tract entirely 

 of logwood, marketing that which is matured and putting 

 the land into cultivation of other crops. The necessity for 

 the destruction of such a seat of infection is shown by the 

 marked tendency of the disease to spread from these centres. 



Dr. Bucher, who is an authority on logwood, rendered 

 much assistance and information to Mr. Earle during the 

 investigations in Jamaica, and, therefore, when he advises 

 growers to take the necessary steps to prevent further spread 

 of the disease, he does so in order that the logwood industry 

 may not suffer in the same way as the European wine 

 industry did through neglect of proper protective measures. 



Blue-flowered Yam Bean. Mr. A. J. Brooks 

 writes from the Agricultural School at Dominica in i-egard 

 to the blue-flowered variety of the yam bean {Pachyrhizus 

 tuberosus). The ordinary yam bean grown in Dominica 

 produces blue flowers and brown seeds, while seeds received 

 from Porto Rico were of a red colour and produced white 

 flowers. To test the relative cropping powers of these two 

 varieties, Mr. Brooks planted two equal-sized plots, and he 

 reports on the experiment as follows : 'When flowering time 

 came, I was surprised to find that the seed saved from 

 the former white varietj' produced blue flowers. Having 

 gathered and sown the seed myself, there can be no doubt as 

 to any mistake having been made with regard to the mixing 

 of the seed previous to sowing.' 



