Vol.. X. No. 233. 



THE AGRICULTURAL SEWS. 



107 



RECENT AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. 



Agricultural Shows have been held recently in Antigua 

 and St. Kitts, reports of which have been furnished by 

 Mr. H. A. Tenipany, B.Sc, Superintendent of Agriculture for 

 theLeeward Islands, and by Mr. F. 11. Shepherd, Agricultural 

 Superintendent, St. Kitts. From these reports the following 

 particulars are taken. 



ANTIGUA .AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION, 1911. 



This exhibition, which forms the tenth in the series of simi- 

 lar events that have taken place in Antigua, was held on Feb- 

 ruary 23, under the distinguished patronage of His Excellency 

 Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott, K.C.M.G., and under the auspices 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture and the Antigua 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society. For the purposes of 

 the show, the grounds of the training school, St. John's, were 

 kindly placed at the disposal of the Show Committee by 

 His Excellency. 



In opening the Exhibition, Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott 

 expressed his desire to thank the officials, judges and exhibit- 

 ors, who had made it a success; he also tendered his thanks 

 to the Moravian authorities for having kindly lent the Buxton 

 Grove premises for past exhibitions. After comparing the 

 present show with former ones, and making reference to the 

 signs that the cotton industry of Antigua was recovering from 

 the set-back of recent years. His Excellency declared the 

 Exhibition open, having first distributed certificates to the 

 successful candidates in the recent examinations held in con- 

 nexion with the Courses of Reading of the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Ayriculture. 



The display of large stock showed considerable improve- 

 ment over those of previous years, although it was a matter 

 for disappointment that only two milch cattle were shown. 

 In regard to horses in harness, the special prize oflfered by 

 the Governor for the best equipage gave rise to keen com- 

 petition, and brought very good exhibits. The .show of small 

 stock was creditable, though not up to the standard of the 

 large; there were, however, excellent exhibits of poultry. In 

 the stock classes. His Excellency's silver challenge cup, for 

 the best set of exhibits, was again won in competition. As 

 regards agricultural produce generally, a high level of quality 

 was maintained by the exhibits, notwithstanding the fact 

 that unfavourable weather conditions have been experienced 

 during the past season. 



The standard of the cotton exhibits encouraged the opin- 

 ion that the industry in Antigua is recovering, as has been 

 mentioned already, from the untoward conditions of the past. 

 A feature among the prizes was a hand.some silver challenge 

 cup, offered by the British Cotton Growing Association for 

 award among cultivators of not less than 10 acres of cotton. 

 The competition for this was fair, and the offer of such 

 a generous gift should serve to stimulate future interest in 

 the industry. 



A special prize of £1 had been offered by Lady Sweet- 

 Escott for the best set of exhibits among ornamental plants 

 and flowers, and many beautiful specimens of these were 

 shown. Numerous entries were obtained in the class for 

 miscellaneous articles, and there was much appreciation of 

 the enlargement of the scope of the exhibition to include 

 handicraft work, needlework, cookery and photography. 

 Good collections of preserves were shown, and the school 

 gardens sent fine exhibits of vegetables. In the last connex- 

 ion, the Schools Challenge Cup, presented by the late 

 Sir. C. C. Knollys, was won by Spring Gardens School. 



The chief special prizes offered locally were an award of 

 £2 by His Excellency the Governor for the best display of 



goods from the store of a merchant in St. John's, and a hand- 

 some cup by the Hon. H. E. W. Grant, C.M.G., Colonial 

 Secretary, for the best collection of exhibits from an estate, 

 designed to illustrate its resources. The number of competi- 

 tors in each case was seven, and the Governor's prize was 

 gained by Messrs. D. Hope Ross, Ltd.; Mr. Grant's prize fell 

 to the share of Fitches Creek estate, the next in order of 

 merit being Jolly Hill estate. The offer of both of these 

 prizes was effective in bringing forward excellent displays, 

 which aroused much interest. 



A demonstration section was included, as usual, by the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture. This comprised sam- 

 ples of cotton, essential oils, woods, grasses and pressed plants 

 of economic value, samples of manures, insecticides and other 

 specimens of agricultural interest. 



The number of exhibits received for competition was far 

 greater than that in any other year, being 1,640, as against 

 718 in 1906 — the most successful previous year; this increase 

 was, of course, partly due to the enlarged .scope of the exhibi- 

 tion. Altogether, the function was very successful and this 

 circumstance was assisted by the facts that the day on which 

 it was held was proclaimed a public holiday by the Governor- 

 in-Council, and that the show was enabled to be held under 

 the most favourable conditions of weather. 



ST. KITTS AGRICULTURAL AND INDU.STEIAL SHOW, 1911. 



This event, which is the fifth of its kind, was held at th« 

 Grammar School on February U, 1911, under the auspices 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture and the St. Kitts 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society. In opening the show. 

 His Honour the Administrator made reference to the good 

 quality of the exhibits and to the fact that the way in which 

 they were displayed showed a great advance on that of 

 previous years. 



The total number of exhibits was 736, made up as 

 follows: large stock 77, small stock 13, poultry 20, sugar- 

 cane and its products 57, fruits 63, vegetables 145, industrial 

 exhibits 58, fancy work 2.5, plants and flowers 3-5, school 

 exhibit 1, miscellaneous 59; there were also 2S articles not 

 classed in the prize list, and 4 trade exhibits from merchants. 



Among the horses, the young animals shown were 

 not up to the standard of previous years. The riding and 

 driving competitions were not as keenly contested as they 

 should have been; the Governor's prize of £1 for the best 

 equipage was gained by Mr. E. de Santos. In the cattle 

 classes, the bulls were of a distinctly high quality, and the 

 champion prize given by Colonel Cotton was awarded to an 

 animal from Estridge's estate; this estate also won Colonel 

 Cotton's prize for a steer over three years of age. Another of 

 Colonel Cotton's prizes, for the best young mule, was won by 

 Mr. W. Berridge. Very good exhibits of sugarcane, fruits, 

 vegetables, preserves, meals and starches, and general indus- 

 trial products were sent in. The collections of six kinds 

 of ground provisions were disappointing; the Governor's 

 prize for the best basket of such products was won by 

 a peasant. In the class for ornamental plants, fair exhibits 

 were received. There was only one school exhibit, but 

 this was judged to be of a sufficient standard to earn 

 a prize. Four trade exhibits were sent in, and a diploma of 

 merit was awarded to Messrs. R. R. Kirkwood & Co. for 

 a display of hardware and groceries. From a general point 

 of view, the show was a success, although the attendance was 

 perhaps not as large as that in some former years. 



The prizes, together with twelve diplomas of merit award-, 

 ed by this Department, were distributed by His Honour the 

 Administrator on March 14, at a meeting of the Agricultural 

 and Commercial Society held specially for the purpose. 



