Vol. IV. No. 8G. 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



237 



RAT VIRUS AT ANTIGUA. 



At ;i meeting of the Antigua Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society, held on July 7, the Hon. 

 Dr. Watts, C.M.G., gave a short account of some 

 successful trials with the Liverpool rat virus : — 



Those who had made the trials had reported that the 

 rodents had disappeared after the virus had been used, and 

 no more trouble had been caused for one or two weeks after. 

 It was quite easy to understand why the good i-esults were 

 not of a more permanent nature. If one merchant cleared 

 his store of rats and his neighbour did not, the rats from the 

 adjoining building would soon occupy the vacant lot. He 

 had been told that rats live in colonies and that two colonies 

 might be found in one building, each animal keeping to 

 its own colony. It was proposed that a co-operative 

 effort should be made to secure simultaneous attacks 

 in various parts of the city. In order that this miglit be 

 done the Agricultural l)ei)artnient was prepared to undertake 

 the supervision of the importation of the virus if a sufficient 

 number were ready to make the trial. The trial would be 

 made after the arrival of the Royal ilail steamer from 

 England. Four trials would be made and the total cost 

 would be 4s. for each subscriber. 



!Mr. Bryson said they were greatly indebted to Sir Daniel 

 Morris, in the first instance, and to Dr. Watts for bringing 

 this excellent cure of the rat post to their notice. He liad 

 tried it and found it quite a success. Mr. Cranstoun and 

 !Mr. J. I'oden also spoke of their success with the virus. 

 In answer to Mr. Harper, Dr. Watts said that the virus must 

 be imported on ice, and would not keep, so that it was 

 not probable that any merchant would care to venture on 

 an importation at the present stage. The virus could be 

 obtained from Liverpool at Is. Sd. per tube. 



SISAL HEMP IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The Consular Report on the trade of New Orleans 

 for 1904 has the following reference to the imports and 

 use of sisal hemp : — 



Sisal grass, a substitute for hemp, is grown in Yucatan, 

 and comes here from ilexican ports. It has become one of 

 the chief materials used in the United States for making rope. 

 It is an article of trade largely monopolized by New Orleans, 

 from which port it is forwarded to Chicago and other western 

 manufacturing centres. 



The total imports of sisal grass at New Orleans have 

 increased from 1,466 tons, of the value of £.37,281, in 1900, 

 to 29,6.52 tons, valued at £760,247, in 1904. 



STOCK WANTED FOR ST. KITT'S. 



Inquiries have been received from St. Kitt's for 

 the following animals : — 



1. Young Anglo-Nubian or Toffenberg ram goats about 

 a year old. 



2. Young rams of hairy or woolless breed of sheep from 

 Barbados. 



.3. Trios of Belgian hares not less than six months old. 



Persons having any of the above for sale should 

 ■communicate, stating full particulars as to age, 

 pedigree, price, etc., with :^ 



Stockmaster, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



PREVENTION OF TROPICAL DISEASES. 



The following extracts fi'om the annual Medical 

 Report on the sanitary condition of the presidency of 

 St. Kitt's-Nevis, in reference to the prevention of 

 tropical diseases by the extermination of mosquitos, are 

 worthy of careful consideration : — 



The most common type of malarial fever prevalent here 

 is the remittent, which from the free tide of emigration and 

 immigration, has now become almost endemic. As far as 

 medical science can tell us at present, the anopheles mosquito 

 is the sole conveyor of infection ; other sources, if any, are 

 unknown, thus it is usually most common in the vicinity of 

 stagnant water, which are the breeding pools of these 

 special mosquitos. The connexion between malarial disease, 

 mosquitos, and stagnant water being established, precaution 

 lies in protecting ourselves from the bites of mosquitos, and 

 in getting rid of stagnant puddles. This latter is within the 

 range of possibility in a town where concerted actioji is 

 taken against them, and sufficient means can be employed in 

 draining and filling up puddles, cleaning ponds, collecting 

 and destroying old tins, bottles, hollowed stumps of trees, 

 and all such places that contain stagnant water. 



Filariasis is extremely prevalent in this presidency, and 

 I fear very much on the increase ; 328 per cent, of the 

 inhabitants were calculated to be subjected to it in the year 

 1901 ; it is commonly associated with elephantiasis. It is 

 another disease spread from man to man by means of 

 a special mosquito, and forcibly emphasizes the necessity of 

 trying to rid ourselves of these very unpleasant attendants. 

 It is reasonable to expect and hope that, as the subject gets 

 more widely known, these diseases may become very much 

 less common. 



Improper and insufficient feeding of infants greatly 

 helps to increase our mortality lists, and some efforts should 

 be made to stem this tide of ignorance and obstinacy by 

 offering instruction in hygiene and the elements of tropical 

 sanitation to the young in our schools as a first step. A good 

 beginning, w-orthy of imitation, has been made in Antigua by 

 the delivery of a series of lectures on tropical hygiene to the 

 teachers in elementary schools. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial Conunissioner of Agriculture will 

 embark for Jamaica in the R. M. S. 'Orinoco' on 

 Monday next, July 31. 



The Hon. Francis Watts, C.M.G., has been on 

 a visit to Nevis and St. Kitt's with the view of 

 affording information and encouraging the extension of 

 the cotton industry. Dr. Watts was invited to 

 attend a meeting of the Nevis Agricultural Society on 

 the 20th. instant, and afterwards had arranged to 

 proceed to St. Kitt's. It is probable that at all the 

 three islands in the presidenc}^ viz., St. Kitt's, Nevis, 

 and Anguilla, a much larger area will be placed 

 under cotton during the season 1905-6. 



Mr. George Branch, Agricultural Instructor ab 

 Dominica, has been appointed Agricultural Instructor 

 in the colony of Grenada. Mr. Branch arrived in 

 Grenada in S. S. 'Caribbee' on July 22. 



