Vol. IV. No. 91. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



319 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices in the London Market. 



The following report on the London drug and spice 

 markets for the month of August has been received 

 from Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S. : — 



As might be ex[)ected during the height of the summer 

 season and especially in the month of August, trade in 

 Mincing Lane is in almost a comatose condition. Con- 

 sequently, the drug and spice markets show but little 

 change in the prices which prevailed in the previous 

 month, and with a decreasing demand. 



GINCEE. 



At the spice sale on August 2 some .300 packages of 

 Jamaica were offered, of which only eighteen sold at G'2s. for 

 good washed, and .'36.5. for ordinary washed. Eight hundred 

 and fifty packages of Cochin and Calicut were also offered, 

 a very few of which were sold at preceding rates : washed 

 rough Cochin being bought in at 20.<. to 21.5.; and rough 

 Calicut at 2is. A fortnight later no .Jamaica was offered, 

 but 298 bags and 10 cases of Cochin and Calicut were 

 bought in at the following rates : bold, but wormy 

 and scraped, 65s.; washed rough dull medium and small, 

 slightly wormy, 22s.; and rough lean, 18s. One hundred 

 bags of Japan were also offered and bought in at 18s. 

 Again on the 2.3rd., .Jamaica was not represented ; about 

 thirty packages of Cochin and Calicut, out of a total of 200, 

 were disposed of, including small and mouldy washed rough 

 Cochin at 18s., and medium and small native cut at 37s. &d. 



NUTMEGS, MACE, PIMENTO, AND ARROWROOT. 



Of nutmegs the month opened with steady supplies and 

 quiet sales. On the 16 th., 360 packages of West Indian 

 were offered, the bulk of which was disposed of at firm, 

 though somewhat irregular rates ; and at the close of the 

 month no alteration had taken place. The supply of and 

 demand for mace remained steady during the month. And 

 the same may be said of pimento. Of arrowroot the sales 

 for the month included about 1,100 barrels of St. Vincent at 

 prices from 1|<7. to l|rf. per lb. 



SARSAPARILLA. 



At the beginning of the month 6 bales of Lima-Jamaica 

 in original wrappers and packing were offered, one of which 

 was sold at Is. per lb. for coarse. Is. 3cl. being asked for fair. 

 .Jamaica sold at firm and unchanged rates ; fair grey to 

 slightly coarse realizing Is. 3c/. to Is. 4c/., and common Is. 2d. 

 At the sale on the 17th., -t bales of fair Lima-Jamaica 

 fetched Is. Id. per H). Honduras was limited at Is. 3c/., and 

 for 3 bales of fair reddish to dull native 10c/. was paid. But 

 little or no changes occurred at the end of the month. Grey 

 Jamaica still continues rare. 



LIMB JUICE, TAMARINDS, AND SOUARI NUTS. 



At the first sale 9 puncheons of raw .Jamaica lime juice 

 were sold at lie/, per gallon, and 2 other puncheons at Is. 

 A fortnight later 8 i>uncheons of connnon raw Jamaica were 

 disposed of at 3d. to 8c/. per gallon. West Indian tamarinds, 

 at the sale on August 2, were disposed of at dearer rates, 

 fair Antigua in bond realizing 13s. 6(/. to lis. per cwt, and 

 squashy Barbados were bought in at 1.5s. On the 16th., 58 

 packages of Antigua in bond were sold at 13s. to 13s. 6c/. 



An unusual article at the sales on the 17th. came from 

 Demerara, in the shape of 5 barrels of Souari or butter 

 nuts {Caryocar nuciferum), of which all were disposed of at 

 iOs. per cwt. 



RAT VIRUS IN DOMINICA. 



Reports from the planters and others who have 

 experimented in Dominica with the Liverpool rat virus, sent 

 out by the Imperial Department of Agriculture, show that 

 this has been very successful in controlling the plague of rats, 

 which do so much damage to many of the growing crops of 

 the island. Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic Station, 

 states that the bread soaked in the virus and placed in the 

 loft above the potting shed was devoured the very fii-st night, 

 and three weeks afterwards not a rat was to be seen or heard, 

 by day or by night. When the loft was turned out, no rats 

 could be found, which therefore shows that the virus has 

 proved successful in clearing the building of these pests. 



Dr. H. A. A. Nicholls, C.il.G., Roseau, states that the 

 rats infesting the buildings entirely disappeared after using 

 the virus. Infected toast and maize were placed amongst 

 cacao trees and the rats left the neighbourhood, but 

 satisfactory conclusions cannot be drawn from this fact as 

 mango trees were bearing in the vicinity and possibly the 

 rats may have left the cacao for the mango fruit. 



Trial of the virus was also made in the buildings of the 

 Agricultural School, Morne Bruce, and the Officer-in-Charge 

 is of the opinion that it is much more rapid in its actiou 

 than the instructions on the tubes state, and that if the virus 

 could be distributed every three months, there would be no 

 further difficulty in keeping the buildings free from these 

 pests. 



Mr. P. F. Cox, Belvidere, eulogizes the use of the virus 

 amongst cacao trees, finding very few pods touched by the 

 rats, whereas his loss last year through these pests was at 

 least 4 bags. He finds that infected corn gives better results 

 than bread, but points out that it is of small use his destroy- 

 ing the rats while they are cultivated by his neighbours. 

 Through the good offices of his Excellency the Acting 

 Governor, the virus is to be imported in a fair quantity and 

 sold at cost price to the planters, so that co-operative efforts 

 niay be made against the pests, and the good results so far 

 obtained should then be of a more permanent nature. 



So far twenty-seven tubes have been sent to Dominica 

 through the Imperial Department of Agriculture and the 

 results appear to be very favourable, for although few dead 

 rats are seen, their depredations are greatly reduced^ 



TOBACCO IN ST. KITT'S. 



Experiments in growing and curing tobacco have been 

 carried on at the La Guerite Experiment Station for some 

 years, the first being started in 1901. 



This year the seed was sown in August 1904 in boxes 

 protected from the attacks of ants, and in September the 

 young plants were put out in shallow furrows 3 feet apart. 



The high winds that prevailed towards the end of the 

 year did much damage to the leaves, notwithstanding the 

 erection of a temporary wind-break. The first cutting of the 

 ripe leaves was made on December 1, and continued as the 

 leaves were fit. The curing was carried out on the lines 

 recommended in the Bulletin of the Z)epartmeni of Agri- 

 cidture, Jamaica, and has, so far, been successful. 



A sample of the cured leaves sent to the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture was well reported on by a local 

 firm in Barbaios as being equal to the best quality grown 

 there. 



From the area reaped— just about 1 acre — 105 K). of 

 cured tobacco have been sold, realizing £6, or at the rate of 

 Is. '2d. to Is. 3d. per Ih., and there are now on hand for sale 

 50 tt>. This makes a total amount of 155 R. cured tobacco 

 from i acre, or at the rate of 775 R>. per acre. 



