Vol. X. No. 228. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



27 



REPORT ON THE BOTANIC STATIOA', AGRI- 

 CULTURAL SCHOOL, LAND SETTLEMENT 

 SCHEME. AND OE THE GOVERNMENT VETERI- 

 NARY SURGEON. ST. VINCENT. I'.mU-in. 



At the beginning of this report, it is shown that the 

 amount expended from local funds on the Agricultural 

 Department, St. Vincent, during 1909-10, was £707 15s. 

 Besides this, £58 4s. 2(7. was spent during the year, from the 

 unexpended balance on March 31, 1909, of the Imperial 

 Grant-in-aid. The sum of £14 12s. 6rf. was received from 

 the sale of plants, seeds and produce at the Botanic Station. 



The accounts of the condition of the garden and of the 

 nurseries show that the usual work in these has been con- 

 tinued. In regard to the former, interesting facts concerning 

 several usefiil and ornamental plants that are growing there 

 are given. The distribution from the nurseries included 

 4,864 economic plants, comprising cacao, nutmegs, cinnamon 

 and grafted mangoes, and miscellaneous [jlants to the number 

 of G,917. In addition to these, quantities of various kinds 

 of produce and vegetable seed were sent out. 



The rainfall at the Botanic Station was 105-45 inches, 

 and this was well distributed. The average rainfall at this 

 station for the past sixteen years is 105-31 inches. A table 

 giving the monthly rainfall for the past eleven years, as well 

 as the average for each mouth, shows that .June is the wettest 

 month, and April the driest. A matter of interest is that an 

 average of over 375 inches was received during each month 

 of the year, in the eleven years under consideration. 



The report on the Botanic Station im-ludes an interest 

 ing account of the progress that has been made in the m:i,lter 

 of the introduction of implemental tillage in St. Vincent. 

 The details in connexion with the introduction are given as 

 Appendix I to the report. It may be stated that information 

 on this subject has been presented in the Agricultural NeuM, 

 Vol. IX, pp. 3, 35 and 124. 



One of the most striking features of the report is an 

 account of the cotton industry of St. Vincent, in which it is 

 shown that the total estimated value nf the industry since 

 1903-4 — the year in which Sea Island cotton grovv'ing was 

 introduced — has been £118,571; of this amount, £26,775 

 is credited to the year under review. The years for the largest 

 amounts of cotton to be exported were the two previous ones, 

 namely 1907-8 and 1908-9; in the former of these the value 

 of the industry was £30,787, and in the latter £29,878. In 

 the total amount mentioned above, the value of the part con- 

 triliuted liy Sea Island cotton is e.stimated at £110,991, 

 although a separate record for this has only been kept dur- 

 ing the last six years. The yield of Sea Island lint per acre 

 in 1909-10 was greater than that in the two preceding years, 

 namely 141 lb; it did not, however, come up to the yields of 

 1905-6 and 1906-7, which were about 174 Dj. The increase 

 in yield during the period under report is attriljuted to the 

 favourable nature of the ripening season, and to the more 

 thorough cultivation of the crop. The work of the Central 

 Cotton Ginnery has been continued, with very useful results. 



A final matter of interest is that an Ordinance was passed 

 during the year to further regulate the purchase of cotton, 

 and having for its object the suppression of cotton stealing. 

 In the starch industry, the chief concern is arrowroot, 

 which attained a total export value of £32,801 in 1909. 

 This starch is lieing superseded by other kinds, and a limited 

 demand has caused a serious lowering of prices. In order 

 to enable producers to obtain a fair price for arrowroot, 

 arrangements have been made for the collection of a tax of 

 M. per barrel by the Government on all exportations, with 

 the object of providing funds which shall be employed in 

 obtaining new markets for this product. 



The cacao industry shows steady progress; 241,294 ffi>. 

 was exported in 1909, as against 218,044 lb. in the preced- 

 ing Year. This is the largest quantity since 1897, when 

 it was 264,102 lb. 



The expenditure on the Agricultural School was 

 £540 3s. Id., so that £44 16s. lie?, was saved from the 

 vote of £585 from Imperial Funds. 



The reports on the half-yearly examinations of the 

 pupils, held by the Imperial Department of Agriculture, .show 

 that satisfactory work is being done at the school, and it is 

 interesting to note that the book prize awarded by the 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture to the boy who passes 

 the best examination in the .schools at Dominica, St. Lucia 

 and St. Vincent has always been won by a candidate from 

 the last-mentioned institution. 



The report on the Agricultural School concludes with 

 several miscellaneous matters of interest, chiefly relatino- to 

 insect pests and insect control by parasites. 



As is usual, a report is made by the Agricultural Instruc- 

 tor on the Land Settlement Scheme and Agricultural Instruc- 

 tion. This consists mainly of a general account of the routine 

 work of this officer. It shows, among other matters, that 

 the distribution of economic plants, free from the Botanic 

 Station to allottees under the Land Settlement Scheme, was 

 3,504, by far the largest proportion of these being cacao. In 

 regard to implemental tillage, the importation of mechanical 

 cultivators by planters is mentioned, and the opinion is civen 

 that satisfactory results will be experienced as a consequence 

 of this. 



The concluding part of the report is taken up by an 

 account of the work of the Government Veterinary Surgeon dur- 

 ing the year under review. The cost of this was £581 2s. Id.; 

 while £14 18s. Id. was received for exportation certifi- 

 cates and vaccination of stock. The number of ears examined 

 at the laboratory was 564, and there were, in addition, 265 

 blood smears made from ears taken to police stations in the 

 country. The number of head of stock fully treated with 

 anthrax vaccine was 4,879, including 3,898 cattle, 123 horses 

 27 mule.s, 130 as.se.s, 189 sheep, 273 goats and 239 pigs. 

 Difficulty is being experienced in ensuring that the first 

 inoculation will be followed by a second, in all cases. The 

 number of certificates for the importation of stock that were 

 issued was 392, as against 215 in 1908-9. This part of the 

 report concludes with eleven tables giving interesting stat- 

 istical information. 



Reference has been made already to Appendix I, contain- 

 ing an account of the introduction of implemental tillage into 

 St. Vincent. This is followed by two further appendixes dealing 

 respectively with the regulations made during the year, under 

 the authority of the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act, 1869, 

 and with an extract from the Annual Iteport of the Inspector 

 of Schools, for 1909-10, having reference to object lessons and 

 agricultural teaching in elementary schools in St. Viacent. 



