284 



THE AGRICULTUIIAL NEWS. 



SliPTEMBEE 9, 190E 



GLEANINGS. 



T'.'.e Barbados Sdiolarsliiii for 190") has been won by 

 ilr. C. K. Bancroft in natural science. Mr. Bancroft was 

 a student in the science department at Harrison College. 



By tlie R.M.S. ' Orinoco ' wliicli left I'arbados on 

 August 20, tlie Imperial Department of Agriculture shipped 

 1,291 bunches of bananas and 7 bales of cotton. 



During the past year some 10,000 seedling fnrest trees 

 were raised in the nursery at the Botanic Station at Antigua 

 and planted out in the re-afforestation plots outside the 

 station. 



The e.xpiorts of cacao from Martiniijue in 1904 were 

 701,028 It)., yalued at £17,101, there being a decrease of 

 ;i2,37.3 111. in quantity and of £2,226 in value from the 

 exports of 1903. (Coiifiiliir Report.) 



The half-yearly report of tlie London and North-western 

 ]!ail\vay Co. states that the directors have decided to recom- 

 mend the proprietors to make a grant of £1,000 to the funds 

 of the British Cotton-growing Association. 



According to the report of the Local Instructor, the 

 onion crop at Montserrat last .season was 16-5 barrels. The 

 onions were of excellent quality and fetched good prices, viz., 

 •3c. and 4c., in the othe- ■ '•'■'■ 



r island, 



The attendance at the Colonial E.xhibition since the 

 opening day and up to Saturday, August 12, has been 

 733,671. On Bank Holiday, August 7, 41,078 pensons 

 passed the gates. {IVesf India Committee Cirrti/m:) 



At the Dominica Botanic Station thei'e is a good 

 demand for seed and plants of Castilloa rubber. In a few 

 years a considerable area under this cultivation should be 

 ready for tapping experiments. 



The principal exports of Curacoa are divi-divi, .salt, and 

 goat skins. The exports during 1903 of divi-divi (the pods 

 of Caesaljjinia coriaria, used for tanning purposes) were 

 valued at £33,428. These pods are also exported, in small 

 quantities, from some of the British West Indies. 



The Doiiiiiiican records that the largest shiimient of 

 green limes to New York ever made from the West Indies 

 was made on the S. S. ' Parima ' from Dominica on .July 28. 

 The shipment amounted to 2,182 barrels. The sales in New 

 York during the last few months I'.ave been most satisfactorj-. 



The first annual sale of stock was held at the Tobago 

 fiovernment Farm on August 9. The sale was most 

 succesfiful, the competition being keen and the bidding 

 animated. Such sales afford a valuable means of distributing 

 improved animals throughout the island. 



According to the Gleaner, the Jamaica Preserves 

 Comi)any is engaging in the manufacture of fruit jellies, pulp, 

 etc., especially from guavas and pine-apjiles. Last year some 

 20 tons were shijiped. Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.M.G., is 

 a director of the company. 



According to Gleanings in Bee Culture, it has been 

 proved in the United States that bee keepers need have no 

 fear of their bees being poisoned through the use of Paris 

 green in the cotton fields. It is stated: 'There is no 

 authentic case on record where bees were poisoned by 

 working on poi.soned cotton.' 



The i)rincipal honey flowers in Jlontserrat are logwood, 

 pigeon peas, limes, alfalfa, and red cedar. Logwood honey 

 is considered the best and is of a light colour. Eleven hives 

 are run at the Botanic Station for extracted honey. 



A correspondent in Nevis writes : ' I am confident that 

 the acreage under cotton will work out at 50 per cent, in 

 excess of that of 190.5. Cotton has certainly " caught on " 

 in Nevis and is the chief to[iic of conversation among the 

 planters.' 



In his rei)ort on the London drug and spice markets 

 for July, iiublished on p. 287, Mr. Jackson refers to the use 

 of Quillaja bark in the manufacture of effervescing drinks. 

 This bark is obtained from what is known as the .^oap tree 

 of Chili (Quillaja Sa/ionaria), a South American plant 

 belonging to the order liomceae. The bark is rich in 

 sapionine, a vegetable soap, and is also used in the prepara- 

 tion of hair washes and as a subsitute fc'r ordinary soap. 



According to the report of the Manager of the 

 Government Stock Farm, Trinidad, molascuit was placed on 

 the food list dui'ing the year. This article was prepared by 

 one of the sugar estates, and after fair trial is pronounced 

 useful, esjjecially for milch cows. It is cleaner than ordinary 

 molasses, keei>s better, and is not so readily stolen. 



According to the Consular Report on Guatemala, the 

 growing of bananas is destined to be one of tlie princiiuxl 

 industries of the country. The completion of the Guatemala 

 Bailway will 0[ien a large tract of land suitable for banana 

 growing. The United Fruit Co. is the principal luider- 

 taking interested, and all the bananas grown are shipiied to 

 the United States. 



In addition to the cultivation of bananas, which is the 

 principal industry of the Canary Islands, large quantities of 

 tomatos and potatos are grown. According to the Consular 

 Report for 1904, the exports of tomatos show an increase of 

 6i per cent, on the returns for 1903, the value of the exports 

 being £236,350. There was also an increase in the exports 

 of potatos which were valued at £41,200. 



An Ordinance has been pa.ssed l)y the Legislature of 

 Antigua providing for the fumigation of plants imported into 

 the presidency. It follows closely those in force in Jamaica 

 and Dominica, the provisions of which have already been 

 published in the Agricultural News. Notices have been 

 issued to the public warning them of the reipiirements of 

 this Ordinance, and arrangements are in progress for the 

 erection of the necessary fumigating chamber. 



