380 



THE AGRICULTDKAL NEWS. 



November 25, 1911. 



It is stated by the Agricultural Superintendent in St. Kitts 

 that, during last month, the cane crop throughout the island 

 had much improved through the receipt of rain; it was, how- 

 ever, very backward for the time of the year, especially in 

 the valley district near Basseterre. In a general way, the 

 canes are healthy; and, with reasonable rainfall, the pros- 

 pects for the crop are fair. 



GLEANINGS. 



It is stated in the Bulletin A'jricole of Mauritius, for 

 August 1911, that recent enquirj' has shown that the total 

 number of agricultural experimental stations which exist in 

 civilized countries, taken all together, is about 800. 



Official returns issued by the Government of Ceylon 

 show that 4,017 cwt. of rubber was exported from that 

 island during June 1911, as compared with 2,036 cwt. for 

 the same month of 1910. The exports for the year ended 

 June 30 reached 48,465 cwt.; in the similar previous period, 

 they were 22,364. 



A report for October, received from the Curator of the 

 Botanic Station, Montserrat, states that the outlook for the 

 cotton crop continued to be hopeful. In the case of a large 

 area where the plants had ripened, and had becoaie almost 

 leafless through the drought in August, new growth had 

 started, and a large second crop will be available. 



The condition of the cacao and lime crops in St. Lucia, 

 during October, was good; while the cane crop was short in 

 some cases. Information received from the Agricultural 

 Suiierintendent shows that the weather during the month 

 was normal, except for the rainfall, which at the Botanic 

 Station was 7 08 inches, or about 3 inches below the average 

 for October. 



The Agricultural Instructor for the Virgin Islands 

 reports that the long drought from which the Presidency has 

 suffered came to an end on October 21, when useful rains were 

 received The breaking up of the drought was sudden, as is 

 shown by the fact that the rainfall at the Station for the 

 month was 8-47 inches, of which quantity 727 inches fell 

 during the last ten days. . 



Facts relating to agricultural matters in Nevis during 

 the month of October, supplied by the Agricultural Instruc- 

 tor, .show that the condition of the cane crop continues to be 

 poor. The outlook for cotton has improved considerably, 

 though the yield is likely to be diminished on account of 

 late planting; and leaf-blister mite and the cotton caterpilbir 

 are fairly prevalent 



Details supplied recently by the t'urator of the Botanic 

 Station, bominica, concerning rubber-iilanting in that island, 

 show that 40,000 Para rubber seeds were received toward 

 the end of last month, and that preparations were immedi- 

 ately made for ]ilanting them in the nurseries. Similar 

 work was done in connexion with the raising of 30,00(> 

 lime plants by the Agricultural Department. 



H. M. Trade Commissioner for South Africa reports 

 that arrangements have been made kiy the Government 

 of the Union, the East London Chamber of Commerce, and 

 the Town Council of East London, acting together, for 

 the planting of 80 acres of cotton near the town mentioned, 

 for the purpose of demonstrating practically that cotton can 

 be grown successfully in the district. 



The Louisiana Planter for October 7, 1911, draws atten- 

 tion to investigations regarding the sucrose content of sugar- 

 cane that have been carried out at the Audubon Park Sugar 

 Experiment Station. The determinations have shown that 

 the seedlings D.74 and D.95 are continuing to maintain their 

 superiority as regards sucrose, and purit}-, over the old pur- 

 ple and striped canes of Louisiana. This fact is true both 

 for olants and ratoons. 



The Textile Mercury for July 22, 1911, states that an 

 expert agriculturist has been otiicially called to Constanti- 

 nople for the purpose of assisting the Government in the 

 ertbrts that are to be made to develop cotton cultivation in 

 Turkey. It has been shown .so far that the climate of West- 

 ern Asia Minor is very suitable for growing L'pland cotton, 

 while Cilicien (Adana), northern Syria and Mesopotamia are 

 adaptable to the cultivation of Egyptian cotton. 



The distribution from the Botanic Station, Antigua, 

 during October included 6,247 limes, 204 plants of Manihot 

 (lichotoina, 137 cacao plants, 9,100 onion plants. 287 miscel- 

 laneous plants, 43,100 sweet potato cuttings and 219 

 miscellaneous cuttings. The Curator of the Botanic Station 

 states that the cane crop is rapidly recovering, on the whole, 

 from the effects of the recent drought, and that its present 

 condition corresponds nearly to that of the similar period of 

 last year. 



La Quinzaine Colonial, Paris, Xo. 19 of 1910. describes 

 experiments that have been made with cassava for several 

 j-ears by the Surinam Department of Agriculture. The 

 best yields have been obtained from native varieties. Of 

 the others, the variety White Top, from Antigua, occupies the 

 best position, with 22,150 lb. per acre as compared with 

 18,612 It), to 34,474 lb. from native varieties. As in the 

 West Indies, Colombian varieties have given comparatively 

 poor returns. 



With reference to the article on the avocado pear, which 

 appeared in the last number of the At/riadlural A^eirs, it is 

 of interest that information obtained from Mr. J. Jones, 

 Curator of the Botanic Station, Dominica, shows that the 

 matter of forming a collection of good varieties of avocados 

 at that Station is receiving attention. Plants of two Mexican 

 varieties named Pahua and Ahuacate have been raised and 

 planted out, and efforts are being made to propagate by bud- 

 ding a very good local variety. 



