236 



THE AGEICULTUr>AL NEWS. 



July 29, 1905. 



A meeting of tbe Antigua Agricultuial and Commercial 

 Society on July 7 was attended by a representative of 

 >[e.ssr.s. Fowler & Sons, steam plough manufacturers. In 

 response to an inquiry, this gentlemen said that the problem 

 of ploughing in trash had never before been presented to his 

 firm, l>ut that they were making a specially designed jilough 

 for that [)urpose which would be tried in Antigua. 



GLEANINGS. 



It may be mentioned that the Symington Fruit 

 Syndicate has finally decided to cease all operations in 

 Trinidad. 



A private meeting r.'f the Tol ago Planters' Association 

 was held on July 5, when rules were drawn up for the 

 management of the affairs of the Association. 



According to the Port-of-Spaiii Gazette, a trial shiimient 

 of Sea Island cotton, grown by ^Mr. C. W. Wyatt at Princes' 

 Town, Trinidad, has been pronounced 'very good' and 

 fetched 1 'IJ. and 1 \d. per It). 



It would ai>pear that the peasants at Mont.senat are 

 taking an increasing interest in the matter of stock. In the 

 la>t half-year about £1,000 in cattle went off the island and 

 £400 in small stock. 



The .shipment of molasses from Barbados for the present 

 eroii, up to July 1.3, was 33,C7t> iiuncheons, as compared 

 with 38,841 puncheons at the same time last year. The 

 crop is now practicall}' closed. (Messrs. James A. Lynch 

 it Co.'s ' Market Iteport,' I'.arbados, July 15.) 



In reference to the note in the Agricultural New!> 

 (Vol. IV, p. 117) describing the 'thread' disease of cacao 

 and mentioning its a[iiiearance in St. Lucia, Trinidad, and 

 British Guiana, it ma)' be of interest to state that Dr. Watts 

 reports that the disease has, so fai-, not been found in 

 Dominica. 



Messrs. Henry W. Frost it Co's. report on the Sea 

 Islands market, dated Charleston, July 1, 1905, states : — 

 'The crop reports are generally favouralile, and the outlook 

 at present is promising. We have had beneficial rains, which 

 were needed in some section,-^, and the fields have been well 

 wrirked and are now free of gras.s.' 



Mr. AV. M. CuuningliaU), who, as mentioned in the last 

 issue of the A<jri<:ult\iral JS'ewf, has been appointed Curator 

 of the Botanic Station in the Bahamas, was, on leaving 

 Jamaica, the recipient of farewell addresses from the 

 agricultural students, and also the pu|iil apprentices, at the 

 Hope Gardens. Mr. Cunningham's efforts as an instructor 

 have lieen much appreciated. 



Bv last 



th 



--_. -,. . mail 41 bales of cotton were shipped to 

 British Cotton-growing A.ssociation from Antigua. It may 

 be mentioned that the .shipment contained 9 bales of stained 

 cotton : it was requested that these should be placed on 

 the market as 'stained' in order that the reputation of 

 Antigua cotton might not 

 such cotton. 



damaged liy the shipment of 



J\lon.sieur Th. Dufau, a distinguished French scientist 

 interested in sugar matters, who attended the West 

 Indian Agricultural Conference at Barbados in 1902, and 

 now Director of the Societe Generale des Sucreries et de la 

 Baffinerie d'Egypte, is contributing a series of articles on 

 sugar subjects to the Paris journals. His comparisons of the 

 relative prospects of the beet and cane sugar industries are 

 likely to be of special value. 



Ui)on the suggestion of the Agi'icultural Superintendent, 

 the Government of St. Vincent has placed a sum on the 

 estimates to provide for the destruction of the numgoose. 

 The sum of '2J. is paid at the Police Station for each female, 

 .tnd \d. for each male, and several hundreds have been 

 captured to date. This action lias become necessary on 

 account of the fact that several small industries were being 

 kept back owing to the ravages of the mungoose. 



In refeience to the scheme for the purchase of farmers' 

 canes in Trinidad, outlined in the Agricultural Kcics (Vol. 

 l\\ pp. 194-5), the Port-of-Spain Gazetti- says: 'AH the 

 factory owners, i.e., estate owners who grind their own and 

 farmers' canes, have not, it is true, agreed, but we think the 

 extent of the agreement arrived at is highly creditable to all 

 concerned and will . . . secure the adherence to its terms, of 

 all factory owners in the colony.' 



Messrs. Elders iV Fyfles, Ltd., state that the total 

 iuqjtirtation of bananas into the Lnited Kingdom, for the six 

 months to June 30, amounted to 2,395,351 bunches, as 

 compared with 1,416,873 bunches during the same period 

 in 1904, showing an increase of 978,478 bunches. Of this 

 increase Jamaica and Costa Eica bananas accounted for 

 681,792 bunches, the total of the.se varieties for the 

 respective half-years being 662,142 and 1,343,934 Imnches. 

 {West hi,dia Coimnitti-c Circular.) 



The attendance at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition 

 since the opening day has been 359,984. The West India 

 C'onnnittee announces that there is a little space remaining 

 for exhibits genuinely relating to the West Indies, which will 

 be placed at the disposal of firms. Brisk business has been 

 done at the West Indian produce stall, organized by the 

 Committee : it was found nece-s.sary to cable to the West 

 Indies for fresh supplies of lace bark articles, bitter wood 

 lUps, ari-owroot, hone}", lime juice, etc. ■ 



Anthrax made its appearance at Dougaldston, Grenada, 

 in A[>ril last. Energetic measures were taken by the 

 owner, the Hon. D. S. deFreitas, the Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society, and the Government, to stamp out the 

 disease. A useful and practical paper by Mr. deFreitas has 

 been published in the Proceedings of the Agricultural and 

 Commercial Societj', drawing attention to the necessity for 

 ilisinfecting all pastures, buildings, etc., where cases have 

 occurred, and for destroying affected carcasses. 



