Vol. IV. No. 87. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



■243 



Mr. Fleming writes : — 



You will thus see that seedlings have again given better 

 results than the Bourbon ; on this occasion, to the extent of 

 22 per cent. 



B. 208 comprised 1,288-192 acres on December 31, 1904. 

 Since then, 300 acres more have been planted, making a total 

 of about 1,600 acres in that variety on this one estate. 



Trinidad. 



The pamphlet containing ' Statistics of Trinidad 

 Trade,' specially compiled by Professor Carmody for 

 the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, contains the 

 following interesting information on the colony's trade 

 in sugar products : — 



Sugar is prepared exclusively from the sugar-cane in the 

 large central factories of the colony. The largest of these 

 factories has an output of over 150 tons a day. In these 

 factories sugar can be produced i)oIarizing 98 to 99 per cent, 

 of pure sugar. The sugars are puri)Osely now manufactured 

 below this standard, in order to avoid the heavier rates of 

 duty which an unfavourable tariff imposes on sugars equal 

 in quality to refined sugars. None of the yellow or white 

 crystals of similar (luality require refining. The refining 

 process removes the greater part of the characteristic agree- 

 able flavour of cane sugar. Beet sugar is quite unfit for 

 consumption until the characteristic disagreeable flavour is 

 removed by refining. Herei}i lies the chief difference 

 between vane and bi-et sugars. It is admitted that the 

 sweetening power of cane sugar is greater than that of beet 

 sugar, and its flavour immensely superior; but the superiority 

 of cane over beet sugar is seen especially in : (1) Sweeten- 

 ing aerated drinks, liqueurs, cordials, champagne, etc. ; 

 (2) fruit preserving; (3) brewing; (4) cooking; (5)the prepara- 

 tion of any product in which flavour is of importance. 



Great Britain is our best customer, but is closely 

 followed by the United States. Very little muscovado sugar 

 ie now made, owing to the closing of the small factories 

 which produced this class of sugar. 



MOLASSES. 



Large quantities of molasses are produced as a by- 

 product in the manufacture of sugar. Present prices are 

 very low. The molasses from cane sugar are very superior 

 to those from beet, which contain an excessive quantity of 

 alkaline .salts. Molasses are used for : (1) Making rum and 

 other spirits ; (2) cattle feeding ; (3) making golden syrup, 

 treacle, etc. 



Trinidad molasses contain about 45 per cent, of cane 

 sugar and 20 per cent, of glucose. 



More than half of last year's exports went to Great 

 Britain. In previous years the bulk went to Canada, 

 Portugal, or Martinique. 



RUM. 



This is made locally from molasses, and about 300,000 



gallons are consumed annually in Trinidad. Among the 

 liqueurs made from it, rum shrub and falernum are the 

 best known. Bay rum is another local product. The rum 

 made here is usually of a strength- of 40 over proof, but 

 60 over proof is obtainable. Present export prices are 

 unremunerative. The bulk of our exports goes to Great 

 Britain. 



BITTERS. 



The world-famed Angostura bitters are made in 

 Trinidad from rum of the finest quality produced in the 

 colony. The other ingredients are a trade secret. These 

 bitters have been frequently imitated, but never successfully. 

 They were originally made at Angostura (now Ciudad Bolivar) 

 by Dr. Siegert as a medicine, but since 1830 have been used 

 both medicinally and as a beverage. Since 1875 the bitters 

 have been manufactured in this colony. They are one of the 

 principal ingredients in the West Indian swizzle or cocktail. 

 The United States and British markets are regular and 

 nearly equal in extent ; the German market fiuctuates 

 considerably. 



OLEANDERS IN THE WEST INDIES. 



The following notes on growing Oleanders in the 

 West Indies have been forwarded by I\ir. John Belling, 

 B.Sc , Agricultural and Science Master, St. Kitt's : — 



The single and double varieties of this elegant eastern 

 plant with their large, scented Howers of deep crimson, light 

 and dark pink, pure white and creamy yellow, are admirably 

 adapted for itlanting in rows along drives or paths in West 

 Indian gardens. They are perfectly hardy here and have 

 that excellent quality of enduring unharmed a prolonged 

 drought. Owing to the noxious quality of their leaves, their 

 foliage and flowers are untouched by grasshoppers, cater- 

 pillars, weevils, and other biting insects. 



Oleanders are commi:)nly grown in the gardens of 

 Florida, and plants of all the different varieties may be 

 obtained from Reasoner Bros., Oneco, Florida, at from 15c. 

 to 25c. each. They travel .safely. Any required number 

 can then be grown from the stems cut off two or three times 

 a year in pruning. 



The plants need the full sun, and the number of flowers 

 is greatly increased by digging in pen manure before 

 l)lanting and mulching with it afterwards. They should be 

 planted, 6 feet or more apart, and the soil, for some feet on 

 each side, should be kept loose and clean. 



Oleanders do not flower until they have grown to a certain 

 size, but to produce a well-shaped plant a few prunings are 

 necessary before flowering, each time cutting back the stem 

 to 6 inches or more, when three or more new branches will 

 grow out below each cut end, to be cut back in their turn. 

 After each crop of flowers, too, all the branches should be 

 cut back to a length of 6 inches or so from the last pruning. 

 Scale insects, which attack the stem causing swellings, 

 or aphides, which occasionally iqtpear on the young leaves, 

 can be immediately killed by applying kerosene emulsion 

 with a spraying pump or syringe, or by wiping the stems 

 with a rag dipped in it. Fairly strong emulsion can be used 

 without harming the leaves ; the best time to apply it is 

 after pruning. 



Cuttings should be taken from the middle part of 

 a branch, two or three joints long, cut below a node, and 

 only the halves of the three top leaves left on. They root 

 best in a flower-pot full of clean sand, in which they should 

 be deeply planted, the pot being put under a wet wall and 

 not watered too much. 



