Vol. IV. No. SO. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



131 



fuel supply would be even greater, because of the lower 

 saccharine richness of the canes in this colony compared with 

 those of Trinidad. On the whole, !Mr. JMncan believes that 

 the Naudet process admits of very material development, and 

 that it may 3'et attain much popularity in these colonies. 



Sugar-cane Experiments in British Guiana. 



The t'ollowiiig are exti-acts froni a jjnigrcss rejjort 

 for the half-year ended December 31, IJJO-l, on the 

 sugar-cane experiments that have been carried on in 

 the experimental fields attached to the Botanic Gardens, 

 British Guiana, under the control of Professor J. B. 

 Harrison, C.M.G., M.A., assisted by the advice of the 

 members of the Sugar-cane Expei'iments Committee of 

 the Board of Agriculture : — 



The mouths of July, August, September, and October 

 were occupied by the agricultural operations proper to the 

 season. The canes made fair growth during this period. 

 During October and November examinations were made of 

 some thousands of new seedlings raised from seed in 1901 

 and 1902. The canes commenced to arrow late in -July, 

 Brekeret and Kara-Kara- Wa flowering freely towards the end 

 of that month. These were followed by Nos. 322, 358, 3-59, 

 377, 382, 393, .54, 4,i08, 95, 3,287, 7i, and 1.30, and 

 by Kamba-Kamba, Vati, and Armstrong in August, while the 

 majority of varieties were flowering l.iy the middle of 

 iSeptember. 



Owing, probablj', to the exceiitional dryness of the 

 weather, a large proportion of the arrows were abortive and 

 remained arrested in their sheaths. Due, probably, to the 

 same cause, was the very great scarcity i;>f fertile seeds 

 produced this year. Two hundred and tweut3--thrce sowings 

 were made and only 292 seeds of five varieties germinated, 

 the lowest rate for many years. About 170 young seedlings 

 have been secured. The most prolific variety was No. 115, 

 followed by No. 1,087, and by No. 130. 



The average yield of the second ratoon canes in the 

 North field was at the rate of 23 tons of canes per acre, that 

 of the first ratoons 22 '2 tons. The average yield of the 

 varieties reaped from South field as first ratoons, twelve 

 months old, was at the rate of 17 '7 tons of canes per acre. 



The experiments with nitrogenous manures have 

 produced singularly clear proofs of the dependence of the 

 yield of the sugar-cane on the proportion of available nitrogen 

 added in the manures, and, with others previously reported, 

 show that the various varieties of sugar-cane resemble the 

 Bourbon in the dependence of their yield upon this 

 constituent. 



Taken in connexion with the figures yielded by the 

 analyses of the soil made in 1891-2 and in 1902, and 

 contained in the reports for 1896-1902, and for 1902-3, these 

 results confirm the opinion expressed in .January 1904 that, 

 if a British Guiana sugar-cane soil shows on analysis 

 a content of "008 per cent, of phosphoric acid soluble in 

 1 per cent, citric acid solution, or of '002 per cent, soluble in 

 two-hundredth normal liydrochloric acid, under conditions of 

 constant shaking for five hours, manuring with phosphates in 

 all probability will not produce conunensurately increased 

 yields of sugar-cane. 



The above conclusion, based on the results of thirteen 

 yeasa' field experiments, is an important one for the guidance 

 of planters in this colony. At present large quantities of 

 slag-phosphates are yearly imported at an approximate cost 

 oil the field of, say, .$20 per ton, and are applied to the soil 

 at the rate of several hundredweights per acre. By 



submitting a properly drawn .sample of the soil, to which he 

 contemplates applying slag-phosphates, for analysis (at a cost 

 of !'?2'50), tlie planter can ascertain whether his soil contains 

 more or less than "008 per cent, of pihosphoric acid solub'o in 

 1 per cent, citric acid, and thus be guided as to the 

 advisability of applying phosphates. In my opinion 

 considerable economy would ensue from the adoption of 

 this course. 



The high yield of B. 147 in these experiments is worthy 

 of note. As it did in the earlier Barbados experiments under 

 similar conditions of plot-growth, it has appeared to be a cane 

 of exceptionally high potential value, while, as it is reported to 

 have been in Barbados, in this colony on the large scale it 

 has been a comparative failure.* 



Two hundred and thirty mule-cart loads of canes were 

 distributed during the last fortnight of December to the 

 various plantations which applied for them. I am of opinion 

 that we now know sutficient about our new varieties of canes 

 to be able to recommend some of them, such as D. 109, 

 D. 145, and D. 625, with confidence to cane farmers and 

 I hope in the near future to receive applications from them. 



WEST INDIAN AGRICULTURAL 

 CONFERENCE, 1906. 



The following is an extract from a letter from tlie 

 Acting Colonial Secretary, Jamaica, to the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies, 

 dated March 24, 1905, in which reference is made to 

 the jiroposal to hold the next West Indian Agricultural 

 Conference in Jamaica: — 



I am desired by the Governor to inform you that both 

 the Board of Agriculture and the Agricultural Society 

 consider that it would be highly desirable in the interests of 

 this colony that the next West Indian Agricultural Con- 

 ference should bo held in .Jamaica. 



I am to say that this Government is in entire agreement 

 with these societies in the matter and that it would be 

 a source of much gratification not only to the Government, 

 but also, his Excellency is sure, to the people of the colony 

 as a whole if you could find it convenient to arrange for 

 holding the Conference next year in this island. His 

 Excellency need hardly assure you that this Government 

 would heartily co-operate with you to nnvke the Conference 

 a success in every way. 



Selling Bananas. The importations of bananas at 

 Boston during last year amounted to 2,906,449 bunches. 

 They were received from .Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cuba, and 

 San Domingo. The U^nited Fruit Co. is now selling the 

 bananas at a fixed rate per lb. By this method one buyer 

 does not get a load of heavy fruit, while another, paying the 

 same price for the same grade of fruit, receives a load of 

 light-weight bunches. W. W. & C. R. Noyes are selling their 

 cargoes according to the old system of a fixed price per 

 bunch. The Atlantic Fruit Company, which has recently 

 entered the Boston banana market, has introduced the 

 auction system, which is used in New York by several 

 banana importers. In general, it is said that the history of 

 the auction system has been lower prices than under the 

 other methods. (The Journal of Commerce.) 



* It should, however, be mentioned that on some estates in 

 Barbados, B. 147 has given gocjd residtson a comparatively large 

 scale. [Ed. .4. iV.] 



