66 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 10, 1917. 



department, particularly in an island, is its isolation, 

 and its inability to employ scientific experts. This 

 troTible has been got over to a large .extent in the 

 islands of the Windward and Leeward groups of the 

 West Indies, through the existence of the Imperial 

 •Department ,of Agricultuie. 



The striking fact to be recorded is that the Reports 

 to which we have previously alluded clearly demonstrate 

 that the agricultural establishments in the smaller 

 West Indian islands have grown out of the narrow 

 Botanic Station atmosphere into the wider atmosphere 

 of Departmental activity. 



Reference to the reports of earlier years will at 

 once make this manifest. Indeed it is hardly necessary 

 to go back more than five or six years to detect a distinct 

 transformation. 



Reviewing the course of events in the different 

 colonies, we note, first of all, several marked developments 

 in Grenada. Previous to 1»0.5, agricultural work 

 consisted principally in the raising and distribution ot 

 plants. On the appointment of Mr. R. D. Anstead 

 as Superintendent of Agriculture, the work became 

 -of a broader character, but no definite attempt to 

 oro-anize a Department was made until 1910 when 

 Mr. G. G. Auchinleck succeeded to the ottice. The Depart- 

 ment at the present time, under the direction of Mr .J. 0. 

 Moore, is associated with several well defined and impor- 

 tant lines of activity. Work in the nurseries is more 

 active than it has ever been in the past,chiefiyon account 

 of the increased demand for lime plants. The work 

 of the Department in regard to peasant instruction has 

 been very considerably extended, and prize-holding 

 schemes have been conducted. While the chemical 

 ■ and other scientific investigation work started by Mr. 

 Auchinleck is for the present in abeyance, useful work 

 continues to be carried on in regard to the control of 

 ..pests and diseases, and in the matter of plot experi- 

 -ments with different crops of economic importance. 

 A scheme of agricultural education for cadets has also 

 been adopted by the I lepartment. 



In St. Vincent, the development of departmental 

 work has been very pronounced. It would be impossi- 

 ble in the space available even to refer to all the various 

 lines of activity that have arisen during the last fifteen 

 vears. Reference, however, may be made to Mr. W. N. 

 Sands's work in connexion with cotton selection and 

 the cotton industry generally. ^fore noteworthy 

 perhaps has been the work of the Department in 

 regard to land settlement and peasant instruction. 

 In this Colony systems for facilitating the sale of cotton 

 aad corn have been instituted for the benefit of the 



peasant, and credit societies have been formed in some 

 districts, under the auspices of the Government. 

 Daring the last year or two, scientific wori of a valu- 

 able character was started by Mr. S. C. Harland, the 

 Assistant Superinterident, and this work is becoming 

 widely recognized. Selection and manurial experiments 

 with cotton have been placed upon a scientific basis, 

 and important entomological results have also been 

 obtained. The Department is at present conducting 

 a vicrorous campaign, under a special Ordinance, to 

 eradicate the cotton stainerby means of the destruction 

 of its native food-plants. 



Agricultural affairs in the neighbouring colony of 

 St. Lucia have undergone notable changes too, within 

 the last few years. In liUS a new Botanic and Experi- 

 mentnl .Station was established at Choiseul, on an estate 

 especially bought for the purpose by the Government. 

 Part of the estate has been converted into a land settle- 

 ment. Considerable credit is due to .Mr. A. .T. Brooks 

 the Agricultural Superintendent, for successfully carry- 

 ing out this scheme. To assist the small lime grower, 

 the Government in 1913 established a model lime juice 

 factory which was successfully put in operation by 

 Mr. -J. C Moore, and has not only proved iiself ot 

 great benefit to the growers but a source of revenue to 

 the Government, ^[uch attention is now being given 

 in .St. Lucia to the encouragement of minor industries, 

 to the settlement of Crown lands, to the provision of 

 agricultural credit and of agricultural instruction. 



In Dominica, the work of the Department has 

 extended very considerably in recent years. Formerly 

 the agricultural establishment consisted principally of 

 the Botanic Gardens and plant nurseries. Now special 

 cacao and lime experiment stations have been formed, a 

 chemical laboratory has been established, and the activi- 

 ties of the Department extended in several directions. 

 A considerable amount of useful work has been done in 

 regard to methods of plant propagation, such as graft- 

 ing and budding, and, in conjunction with the Impe- 

 rial Department of Agriculture, the more destructive 

 diseases of orchard trees have been successfully brought 

 under C(jntrol. Manurial experiments with cacao have 

 been carried on for many years. Other activities 

 include an excellent system of agricultural education 

 at the Gardens, and frequent visits to estates in the 

 country. The report recently prepared by Mr. Joseph 

 .Tones, the (Jurator and Superintendent, and his Assist- 

 ant and Chemist Mi-, G. A. Jones, clearly testifies to 

 the valuable and \ aried character of the work of this 

 Department. 



Notable progress is to be recorded in the case oi 

 the next island, Montserra% where Mr. W. Robson has 



