Vol. XVI. No. 388. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



75 



DOWN THE ISLANDS. 



ITEMS OF LOCAL INTEREST. 



ST. VINCENT. The Agricultural Superintendent, Mr. W. 

 N. Sands, reports that work in the Experiment Stations in 

 January included picking cotton, and reaping arrowroot 

 manurial plots and manufacturing starch from the roots. 

 Several varieties of cowpeas were also sown. Plant distribu- 

 tion was carried on to a limited extent. In the Botanic Gardens 

 the chief work performed during the month was tne levelling 

 and grading of the driving road through the Gardens. As 

 regards staple crops, the manufacture of sugar and syrup was 

 in progress, and cotton picking was practically finished. The 

 Sea Island crop was estimated at .3(30 bales only, including 

 stains, at a meeting of cotton growers held on the 31st. The 

 first shipment of cotton was made during the month. Owing 

 to a dry December the water- supplie.s of some estates were 

 deficient and arrowroot reaping was retarded. Under the 

 head of Pests, it is stated that cotton stainers were prevalent 

 in the cotton fields generally, and a good deal of the cotton 

 picked, was stained. Investigations of certain features 

 connected with the life-history of the cotton stainer were 

 continued, and with promising results. The work of eradi- 

 cating the native food-plants of the pest was continued in 

 the Leeward District. 



The Superintendent paid a visit to the Uarib Country 

 to investigate a report that a new native food-plant of the 

 cotton stainer had been found in the northern Windward 

 District, which is called Dabarubois' by the Caribs. The tree 

 was fairly common in the district and its identity, from the 

 fruits and leaves seen, has been established as Sterculiu 

 carih'i'.u. The vernacular name would appear to be a cor- 

 ruption of Douve bois (Stave wood). In Dominica the 

 tree is known as Mahoe-cochon. The identity of the species 

 of stainer bug which is said to feed on the fruit has not yet 

 been established. 



The weather was seasonable; the rainfall evenly distri- 

 buted — Botanic .Station 7-t-i> inche.s, Experiment Station 

 7 57. 



ST. Luci-\. According to Mr. .V I. Brooks the AgricuU 

 tural Superintendent, work in the E.xperiment Stations and 

 Botanic Gardens in January was nf a routine nature. Plant 

 distribution included the following: ornamental 12, economic 

 6, budded oranges 2 1 . vegetable seeds 6 packets. The 

 condition of the cacao crop is said to have .slackened, 

 while the lime crop was almost finished, and reaping operations 

 in regard to sugar-cane were in full swing. Work in connexion 

 with the extension of the Government Lime Juice Factory 

 wa-i continued. The boiler arrived from England nnd has 

 been placed in position and fitted ready for working. 

 Mr, Buekmire arrived io the colony and took up the duties 

 of Agricultural Assistant 



I 'onsiderable attention has been paid to the question 

 of manufact'iring potato flour on a large scale. Practical 

 results have been olitained, and palatable bread containing 

 2.'5 per cent, of potato flour has been made. A scheme has 

 been drawn up, and since approved by the Governor-in- 

 Council, to extend this work on a commercial scale. 



The Agricultural -Superintendent attended a meeting of 

 the Agricultural and Commercial Society on January 9, when 

 the Society approved the Prize Holdings Scheme for cacao 

 and limes, drawn up by that officer. A coming event of 

 interest is the proposed erection of suitable building and 

 machinery at lleunion for the manufacture offarine and 

 potato Hour 



NEVIS. Mr. W. I. Howell, Agricultural Instructor, in his 

 report for the month of January, says in reference to the Ex- 

 periment Stations, that the i rops all continue to do well, good 

 returns being obtained from those reaped during the month. 

 Second picking had commenced in the cotton demonstration 

 plot, but the crop will not be a large one, and there is a fairly 

 high percentage of stained cotton. The onion crop is ripen- 

 ing and reaping has begun; the curing house is ready, and 

 onions can now be received for curing. Plant distributiom 

 included 9,8.50 sweet potato cuttings, 188 fc. Guinea corn, 

 29 lb, Indian corn, 2 ft), black-eye peas, and 2 ft). Lima 

 beans. Regarding staple crops, .the reaping of the cane crop 

 is in progress throughout the island, but poor yields are being 

 obtained. Planting for next season's crop is still in progiess 

 and germination is fairly good; in some places however, the 

 crop is suffering from the dry weather. The cotton crop has 

 nearly all been reaped, and some of the old fields are being 

 cut down and preparation made for the new crop. The 

 provi-sion crops are being reaped, but the weather is too dry 

 just now for planting. Cotton stainers and leaf-blister mite 

 are very prevalent. The rainfall recorded for the month was 

 only 139 inches. 



VIRGIN isL.\NDs. Mr, W. C Fishlock writes to say that 

 during the month of January, in the Experiment Stations, the 

 work of clearing up wreckage left by the storm was continued. 

 Considerable work was done in connexion with weeding, 

 planting out and distribution of onion seedlings, the area 

 under cultivation being about ?, acre. Plant distribution 

 included 73,100 onion seedlings, 30 ft). Irish potatoes, and 

 1 4 tomato slips. There is little to report, adds the Curator, 

 as regards staple crops. Rainfall for the month was 

 1'87 inches, as compared with 3 00 inches, the average for 

 the list si.xteen years. 



TEPHROSIA PURPUREA AS A DYE PLANT. 



An interesting account of indigenous dye-producing plants 

 of India appears in the Tropical A;/rieultui-ist for November 

 191G, from which the following note on Tep/imsia, prirpurea, 

 well known as a green dressing plant in the West Indies, is 

 reproduced: — 



This is a small woody annual occurring in abundance in 

 the United Provinces, It does not contain any substance 

 yielding indigo, and its name 'Jangli Nil' is probably due to its 

 similarity to the indigo plant. 



Clarke' and Banerjee have examined the constituents of 

 the leaves of this plant. They found in it a colouring prin- 

 ciple allied to ijuercetin or quercitrin (vide Traiiswtioii.< 

 C/finiciil. Society, 1910, Vol. 97). Owing to ihe difiiculty of 

 separating the yellow principle from the chlorophyll, 

 efforts to obtain a puie yellow from Tephrosia have 

 only been partly successful The colouring matter is however 

 of great value, as it yields dyeings which are comparatively 

 fast to light washing and milling. The yellow principle was 

 separated by extracting the dry leaves with alcohol, diluting 

 the e.xtract with water, and washing away the chlorophyll 

 with petrol. The purified colouring matter gave excellent 

 shades of yellow in conjunction with various mordants. On 

 account of the abundance of the plant it may be worth while 

 devising a suitable process for extracting the yellow 

 colouring principle. It would, no doubt, be very welcome 

 wherever Fustic and quercitron bark are still in use. A 

 decoction of the leaves of Tephrosia dyes wool mostly dull 

 brown shades in conjunction with the various mordants, 

 the most brilliant shade being that on Tin Mordant. The 

 dyeings, however, possess very good fastness to milling. 



