7oL. XVI. Xo. ^7. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



61 



THE HINTERLAND OF BRITISH GUIANA. 



Mrs. Cecil Cleinenti contributes to The Geoyraphi- 

 cal JoarncU for December 1916, n very interesting and 

 readable account of a journey through the hinterland 

 of British Guiana, and to the summit of Mount Roraima. 

 Mrs. Clementi was accompanied by her husband Hon. 

 Cecil Clementi, C.M.G., Government Secretary, British 

 Gniana, and by Mr. Menzies, one of the few pioneers of 

 the interior of the colony. The f/llovving is what Mr. 

 Clementi adds to the story, with regard to Mr. Menzies' 

 land. It indicates the great agricultural possibilities of 

 the interior, a matter on which considerable scepticism 

 exists even in Georgetown, the capital of the colony: — 



Mr, Menzies' tableland is a flat .grassy plateau some 

 2,4-OOfeetabove sea-level. Zeis bounded on the east by the Kovva 

 River, on the north-west and south-west by the Chiung River, 

 both flowing in rifts far below the plateau level, and on the 

 south-east and north by hills which divide the Kowa from the 

 Chiung Valley. Its extreme length from north to south is 7 

 miles, and its extrerae width from east to west is some S miles. 

 Its are* is roughly .50 square miles; and the distance aorcss the 

 plateau by our trail, which ran in a tolerably straight line, I 

 estimate at -5 miles. The whole tableland form.s an excellent 

 grazing ground; and although there was at the time of our 

 visit no water on the central part of the plateau, there were 

 many streams at its edges falling into the Kowa and the 

 Chiung, while across it ran a few dry channels, which are no 

 doubt full of water in the rainy season. An Indian village 

 named Kbirto, stands at the north-west corner of the plateau, 

 not far from Mr. Menzies' banaboo. Its provision fields are 

 partly in the tree-clad hills fringing the plateau on the 

 north and partly down in the fertile Kowa Valley, near 

 the point of our crossing, where an extensive area 

 is covered with fruit trees — banana and papaw growing wild. 

 We saw no cattle on the tableland, but the Karto villagers 

 told us that there was a herd on some very attractive-looking 

 pasture-grounds near the head of the Chiung E,iver; for it 

 must be understood that the highlands suitable for grazing 

 are by no means confined to the tableland which we cros.sed, 

 and from which we could see the savannahs round the upper 

 reaches of the Chiung only a little below our level, while 

 across the valley of the Chiung, lower in its course, we looked 

 up to a yet higher and apparently not le.ss extensive .savannah 

 plateau, which Mr. Menzies, to whom it is well known, 

 considers suitable for sheep farming. I may perhaps here 

 suggest that much of the country on the elevaied savannahs 

 would be well adapted for growing tea. These attractive and 

 spacious highlands deserve to be developed, and would support 

 a considerable population. They would, as it is, make an 

 admirable hill station. The scenery is beautiful. The climate at 

 the season of our visit was delightful. The locality could be 

 made easily and cheaply accessible from town, and would, 

 I venture to think, prove much superior as a health resort to 

 the West India islands. If however cattle and sheep farms are 

 to be established here, it is very <lesirable that steps should be 

 taken without delay to putastop to the pernicious habit, preva- 

 lent among both the Mokusis and the Arekuna.s, of setting the 

 prairies on fire. They do this partly in order to make clearer 

 their trails in the savannahs, where high grass is apt both to 

 conceal the path and to impede progress, partly as a measure 

 of precaution against snake-bite — a somewhat remote danger, 



for we only saw two snakes during the whole of our march 

 over the savannahs; partly as a signal of approach; and 

 partly, I believe, merely for the joy of watching a good 

 blaze. The effect of these frequent burnings is to impoverish 

 the land and to facilitate the action of water in eroding the 

 hillsides; but, without doubt, as cattle farming extends in 

 these localities, the aborigines will realize that it is contrary 

 to their own interests thus to devastate their splendid 

 pasture-lands. 



GRENADA PRIZE-HOLDINGS COMPETI- 

 TION. 



Increased activity has characterized work connected' with' 

 the recent prize-holdings competition in Grenada. In .June 

 last the Agricultural and Commercial Society approached the ■ 

 Government with the request that Mr. W. M. Malins-Smith, 

 Agricultural Instructor in the Department of Agriculture,' 

 might be allowed to do the judging, as the entries on the 

 present occasion of the competition were so numerous that 

 it would not be possible to obtain the services of honorary 

 judges, as heretofore. The proposal of Mr. J. C. Moore, 

 Superintendent of Agriculture, that the cacao holding.s 

 in the eastern half of the island should be judged by 

 Mr. Malins-Smith, and the provision garden in the Western 

 half of the island by Mr. W. O'Brien Donovan, Second Agricul- 

 tural Instructor, was approved by His Excellency the. 

 Governor, and the Agricultural and Commercial Society 

 informed accordingly. 



The total number of entries was .362, of which 2-59 were 

 in the cacao section and 103 in the garden section. Of the 

 total, 286 or 79 per cent, became actual competitors and 

 worked. About 60 per rent, of the entries were obtained by 

 Mr. Malins-Smith, who between February and August and 

 prior to the judging, visited all the competitors once, and 

 1 90 of them a second time to instruct and encourage them. 

 Departmental visits totalling 735 were therefore made in 

 connexion with the cacao section alone. In the provision 

 garden section Mr. Donovan visited all the competitors once 

 previous to judging, thus, including judging, a total of 19.5 

 visits were made. 



The new rules which came into operation this year 

 have worked well and their fairness is appreciated by the 

 competitors. The very sound progress reported is distinctly 

 encouraging and must be largely credited to the energetic 

 action on the part of the Agricultural Department. 



As to prizes awarded, the total value expended in this 

 connexion in the cacao section was £81 los, representing the 

 value of fifty seven prizes; in the case of the gardens £3t) 

 was expended representing the value of twelve "prizes. The 

 total value of the prizes awarded therefore in this the 1916 

 competition was £120 l-5,s. 



Some interesting correspondence has been appearing in 

 The Tillies (London) on the question of the effect of the export 

 of sulphate of ammonia from England on that country's 

 agriculture. It is maintained that the country's food supply 

 could be considerably increased if more sulphate of ammonia 

 were kept in the country and applied to the soil. It is point- 

 ed out however that a large amount of the sulphate exported 

 goes to sugar-producing countries, where it is considered 

 necessary for the successful cultivation of canes, and it is 

 argued that a great deAl of the sulphate of ammonia finds its 

 way back to Great Britain, so to speak, in the form of sugar 



