Vol. X. No. 2.31. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



73 



Abnormal Rainfall in St. Lucia and Dominica. 



A letter dated February 7, 1911, has been received 

 from Mr. J. C. Moore, Agricultural Superintendent of 

 St. Lucia, stating that an excessive rainfall for the time 

 of the year has been experienced recently in St. Lucia; 

 15"53 inches was received at the Botanic Station, and 

 1.5'24 inches at the Experiment Station, Union, between 

 January 1 and February G. Greater amounts than 

 the.se have been recorded in the interior of the island, 

 but complete returns are not yet available. The rains 

 were accompanied to a large extent by high winds. 



The effect of this has been to cause the destruction 

 of cacao flowers, and excessive blackening of the pods, 

 as well as to increase the diflficuities of drying, in cases 

 where artificial means are not employed. Further, 

 Mr. Mi)ore states that the reaping of the sugar cane 

 crop will be seriously delayed, in the absence of 

 improvement in the weather. 



A communication from Mr. J. Jones, Curator of 

 the Botanic Station, Dominica, dated February 1-5, 

 1911, reports that very heavy rains fell in the South 

 Windward District of that island on the night of 

 February 7. The effect was to produce many landslips 

 with considerable damage to cultivations, notably at 

 Stowe and Geneva estates. At the formei- place, about 1.5 

 acres of lime plants has been swept avvay, together with 

 the mill house, while a loss of cultivation of the .same 

 kind, which is estimated at a like area, has occurred 

 at Geneva. Considerable losses were also sustained by 

 small proprietors at Dubecque and Petite Savanne. 



Mr. Jones hoped to pay an early visit to the dis- 

 tricts, in order to afford such assistance as is possible, 

 and to make a further report. 



.St. Vincent Starches and Canadian Trade Reci- 

 procity. 



In the report of the committee appointed recently 

 {see Agricultural News, Vol. X, p. 12), by His Honour 

 the Administrator of St Vincent, to consider and make 

 recommendations regarding the proi)osals for reciprocity 

 with Canada put forward by the recent Royal Commis- 

 sion, special attention is given to arrowroot and cassava 

 and their products. The committee recommends that, 

 in addition to a preference of not less than 20 per cent. 

 being made in favour of St. Vincent, in respect of the 

 articles mentioned in Schedule B of Appendix I of the 

 first part of the report of the Royal Commission, that, 

 as arrowroot and its by-]jroducts foi'm one of the only 

 exports in respect of which the colony is likely to 

 benefit from a preferential agreement with Canada, 

 these should be placed on the Canadian free list, in 

 accordance with the suggestion of the Royal Commis- 

 sion, contained in paragraph 90 of the first part of its 

 report. 



The suggestion is also made that cassava and its 

 products from St. Vincent and other West Indian 

 colonies possessing reciprocal trade relations with 

 Canada should either be admitted duty free, or that 

 there should be a refund of duty to such Canadian 



manufacturers as should use these articles as raw 

 material, on evidence of their use being furnished. 



The question as to the importation of West Indian 

 cassava into Canada under favourable terms is import-, 

 ant, as there may be brought about a great demand 

 for the jjroduct, for the manufacture of starches and 

 syrups. 



The Tenure of Private Estates in Java. 



Private estates in Java are held under grant 

 from the Government, and a Law has been passed 

 recently to provide for the restoration of these, under 

 certain circumstances, to the State Domain. 



The mode of application of the Law is through 

 a declaration by Ordinance to the effect that it will be to 

 the benefit of the general interest if one or more certain 

 private estates in the country are restored wholly or 

 partly to the State Domain. If, after such declaration, 

 the ownership of the land required cannot be taken 

 over as a matter of friendly agreement, the title may 

 be transferred by judicial sentence, and the compensa- 

 tion that is to be granted to the owner will be paid at 

 the time when this is done; the title, however, only 

 passes after the compensation has been paid. 



Further arrangerrents that are necessary for the 

 execution of the Law will be made under a General 

 Ordinance. 



Sesbania Aculeata as a Green Manure. 



Notes on Sesbania aculeata, which is known largely 

 in India as Dhaincha, have appeared from time to time 

 in the Agricultural News; references to these wdl be 

 found on page 32.5 of the last volume. The particular 

 usefulness of this plant is as a green manure, and its 

 employment in this way appears to be under consider- 

 able e> tension in India. 



The Quarterly Journal of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Bengal, for Octooer 1910, p. 94, gives 

 a note on the employment of the plant in this way, in 

 connexion with tobacco cultivation, in certain districts 

 in India. The result was to increase the crop by about 

 50 per cent., and although, for some reason, the leaves 

 were thinner than those produced m the ordinary way, 

 and therefore of less value locally, a larger monetary 

 return was obtained than when the green dressing was 

 not used. The matter of this production of thinner 

 leaves in land where Seshania aculeata has been turn- 

 ed under will be investigated. 



A like success has been obtained in the same 

 district with rice, and the experiments are being con- 

 tinued along similar lines with both tobacco and rice. 



As has been stated before, in the Agricultural 

 News, Seshania aculeata occurs in many islands in the 

 West Indies, being often fotmd along roadsides. It is 

 a small, woody plant, having a prickly, cylindrical stem, 

 and leaves with many leafiets. The fiowers are yellow, 

 with the largest petal dotted with purple, and the pods 

 are long and flattened, with a sharp beak. 



