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THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



June 16, 1917. 



DOWN THE ISLANDS. 



ITEMS OF LOCAL INTEREST. 



work in the 

 Plant distri- 



DOMINICA. During the month nf May, 

 Experiment Station was of a routine nature, 

 bution totalled 456; in addition, 237 packets of vegetable 

 seeds were sold. In regard to staple crops, Mr. Joseph Jones, 

 the Curator, states that a good careme crop of cacao was 

 gathered on estates along the Leeward coast. The local 

 price paid for green limes dropped from iOs. to 8s. per b^irrel. 

 Over i acres of coco-nuts were planted at the Experiment 

 Station, the plants being presented by Messrs. Rowntree 

 & Co. Twenty thousand lime plants were advertised for sale 

 at the rate of 4s. [ler 1 00. 



The cacao at the Botanic Gardens'and on estates on the 

 Leeward coist yielded heavily. The careme crop alone at 

 the Gardens amounted to 3u bags of 200 lb. each, or at the 

 rate of SOD lb, ol cured cacao per acre. Vet the trees looked 

 badly, there bein.! many dead branches and dead tops. This, 

 observes Mr. Jones, is to be expected after experiencing two 

 hurricane^^ in thirteen months. How far the large crop was 

 due to injury by the wind is not po.ssible to state, but the 

 high yields would appear to be of the nature of a dying effort, 

 asit is known that diseased and severely .shaken trees yield 

 very heavily. On the.se grounds the rough treatment 

 ■which the trees received in August last may account for the 

 increase of yield. Manures should now be liberally applied 

 in order to assist the trees to stand the strain <:if heavy 

 bearing, and to restore them to good condition. Rainfall 

 for the month was 294 inches. There were signs of the 

 weather breaking at the end nf the month after nearly three 

 months drought. 



ST. Luoi.A. The Agricultural .Superintendent, Mr. A. J. 

 Brooks, reports that continuous drought during the month of 

 May stopped all planting operations in the Experiment 

 Stations. The work for the most part was of a general 

 routine nature, excepting the making of farine and starch 

 for local consumption. The following plants were distributed: 

 lime plants 400, Julie mango 2, economic seeds 2,110 packets, 

 economic cuttiniis 183, cassava cuttings 8, -500, decorative 

 plants 3-5, vegetable seeds 91 packets, ornamental seeds ti 

 It is added that 2,-JOO seeds of star apple were for- 

 warded from tlie Hotanic Gardens to Egypt. In regard 

 to staple crops, cacao was flowering, limes flowering and 

 fruit setting, and the sugar rrop was finished. New areas 

 were being cleared for planting lime trees. The Agricultural 

 Officer visited l)eniiery district from the 8th to the 20th in 

 connexion with the sugar industry; estates and small holdings 

 in several districts mentione<l were also visited. Special 

 eflforts are contemplated in connexion with the planting of 

 ground provisions, shield the rains set in. Rainfall for the 

 month was, at the Botanic (Janlens, Castries, 3-49 inches; at 

 the Agricultural and Botanic Station, Choiseul, I'lO inches. 

 NEVIS. The following inioimation. which is a recapitu- 

 lation of matters already .supplied in the monthly reports 

 for the period covered, is contained in the Eeport of the 

 Agricultural Instructor, .Mr. W I. Howell, for the .juarter 

 ended March 31 last. Work in the Experiment Stations con- 



tinued satisfactory; crops on several plots were all reaijeJ and 

 giKid returns obtained; the other crops were doing fairly 

 well. Cotton in the demonstration i)lot was reaped and a return 

 of 134 Bi). of lint to the acre obtained. The old cotton was 

 being pulled off and preparation for next crop had commenced. 

 The onion crop was reaped during the latter part of the quarter 

 and a return of about 6,000 lb. of onions obtained from the 

 plot of i-acre. The crop was handled by the Onion Growers' 

 Association. The plot of castor seeds was doing fairly well, 

 reaping had begun, but the returns from this picking would 

 not be very good as tlie plants were not very large, having 

 been put in rnly on December 28, 1916. A plot 1 acre in 

 .size was planted in sweet potatoes, one-half on 4-feet banks, 

 1 foot apart on the bank, the other half 1 foot apart on i 



4-feet banks and cross holes dug 4 feet apart between the ^ 

 banks, and two holes planted on each cross hole. The object 

 of the experiment was to ascertain whether larger yields 

 would not be obtained from closer planting. The plot, on 

 the whole, was doing well but had been damaged several 

 times by stock pastured on the adjoining fields. 



The folli)wing plants, seeds, etc., were distributed during 

 the quarter: sweet potato cuttings 9,850, Guinea corn 213 lb., 

 Indian corr. 30 lb., black-eye peas 8 lb., Lima bean 4 It).; 

 yams 354 Bb., Para peas 34 lb., cotton seed 56 tt). 



The cane crop, though not so good as last year's was still 

 fairly good, and large yields were obtained in some places. A 

 much greater proportion of the crop this year was sold to the 

 St. Kitts Factory. The question of better transit of canes 

 across to St. Kitts was being discussed and it was hoped that 

 something would be done in this direction. The second growth 

 of cotton throughout the island gave fairly good returns, the 

 average yield being about 1001b. of lint per acre The old 

 cotton trees were being pulled off and preparation made for 

 next crop. It was estimated that no less than 3,000 acres 

 would be put. undei cotton cultivation this season, but there 

 might be some difficulty in handling the crop on accouat of 

 shortage of labour. The onion crop throughout the island was 

 a success. Over 36 000 lb. were handled by the Association, 

 and the price in the local market continued good iliroughout 

 the season. Shipnien's were made to Xew "^'ork, Barbados 

 and Trinidad, where fairly good prices were obtained. The 

 provision crops, on the whole, continued satisfactory, but on 

 account of the high price of cotton there was a tendency to 

 neglect the crop, hence special efforts were being made to 

 induce the small groweis to continue planting provision crops 

 as in the past. The vanilla at Maddens estate continued to 

 do well. The curing under glass proved quite a success, and 

 better results were obtained from it than from curing directly 

 in the sun. Mr. P. U. Shepherd, the acting Superintendent of 

 Agriculture for the Leeward Islands, visited the island 

 on several occasions during the quarter and advised on 

 agricultural matter.s in general. The rainfall for the quarter 

 was 7 '24 inches. 



The influence of the composition ^nd concentration of the 

 imtrient solution on i)lants grown in sand cultures is dealt with 

 in the University of (California PulAkations in Agricultural 

 Sciences (Vol. I, No. 11, pp. 341-94). It is stated that 

 flower yields in Xicotiana as well as vegetative vigour are 

 inrtuenced by the compositiDn and concentration of the 

 nutrient solution From this, it would appear to follow 

 that one of the advantages of manuring lies in the 

 increased production nf flowers. But it does not necessarily 

 follow that all of these flowers will produce fruit Hence 

 the value of manuring should not be gauged by fruit yield 

 alone. 



