194 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



June 30, 1917. 



cheap and ample supplies of food would alwa3S 

 flow from abroad, for few foresaw that developments of 

 naval warfare would inteiTupt that flow, and would 

 ■create a condition of positive scarcity and consequently 

 high prices such as at present exist. By bitter 

 privations everyone is being brought to recognize that 

 ■extreme dependence on imported supplies is a source 

 of national weakness, and that the greater the necessity 

 for buying in outside markets the less control can be 

 exeicised over prices. 



An account of the measures of agricultural recon- 

 struction that have recently been introduced in Great 

 Britain will be found on another page of this issue. 



Naturally the conditions of food supplies which 

 are engrossing the attention of the Home Government 

 as the most serious problem of thQ hour will react 

 upon the supply of foodstuffs into the West Indies. 

 There are clear indications that in some of the islands, 

 feced at present with the period of the year when 

 scarcity of local provisions is coincident with the earn- 

 ing of small wages and the minimum purchasing 

 power of the labourer, the necessity for increasing 

 the local production of foodstuffs has not been recog- 

 nized a moment too soon. Antigua and S^ Vincent 

 are wise in having erected corn driers: arrangements 

 have been made for placing these appliances at the 

 service of the growers or for purchasing, drying and 

 storing the grain on co-operative lines. In St. Vincent, 

 corn dried and stored since August of last year was in 

 March still in good condition and was converted into 

 meal for local consumption. ■ Had the whole of the 

 grain dried in St. Vincent been stored for future use, it 

 is estimated that there would have been sufficient to 

 meet the demands of three months food supply. In 

 islands dependent more or less on sweet potatoes and 

 other ground provisions which cannot be stored, the 

 situation in the West Indies has, of late, been aggra- 

 vated by the absence of rain necessary for planting, 

 so that the reaping of sweet potatoes will naturally be 

 abnormally late this year, too late in fact for the critical 

 months when dependence has to be placed mainly on 

 imported foodstuff^s. 



To maintain a sufficient supply of food in British 

 •Guiana the Government has pi'ohibited the exportation 

 of rice, and several West Indian islands have forbidden 

 ground and other provisions, deemed necessary for local 

 requirements, being shipped. In Barbados an Act 

 to make provision for increasing the production of 

 vegetable foodstufts during the current j"ear has been 

 passed. The Act, which is interesting, being the first 

 legislative attempt tu meet the situation in the 



West Indies, defines ground provisions, provides the 

 machinery for carrying out the purposes of the Act by 

 the appointment of seven commissioners, and makes 

 it the duty of every owner of three or more acres of 

 arable land to plant and cultivate ground provisions at 

 such times and in such manner as may be required by 

 the Commissioners, provided the area thus planted does 

 not exceed 10 per cent, of the arable land of the 

 ovvner. It is also recognized that, if its provisions are 

 to be etTective, pnedial larceny must be checked as 

 far as possible, and power is given to Magistrates, 

 during the years 1917 and 1918, to order the flogging 

 of, those convicted of stealing or abetting the theft 

 of ground provisions. 



Even after the war the question of a satisfactory 

 supply of local foodstuffs, especially of those suited 

 for storage, will have to be carefully considered in all 

 the West Indian island.s. In a paper on food supplies 

 contained in \'olume I (1900) of the West Indian 

 Bulletin, the present Imperial Commissioner gave a 

 note of sound advice and warning in the following words: 

 'This opens up a wide field of work for various officers 

 of the Agricultural Departments, who may be charged 

 with such duties as drawing attention to crops calcu- 

 lated to improve the dietaries, the inculcation of sound 

 ideas in conjunction with the food consumed, and of 

 watching generally the economic bearings in relation 

 to the food supply. These questions are of great 

 importance, for, on a proper solution of them the pros- 

 perity of many of the islands may depend, particularly 

 those where the struggle for existence is most keenly 

 felt. A proper use of food supplies must constitute an 

 important factor in the cost of production of the staple 

 commodities, and determine the ultimate success or 

 f'uihire of a country.' 



LOCAL FOOD SUPPLIES IN ST. VINCENT. 



In the above article the question of the local produc- 

 tion of food supplies in the West Indie.s has been dealt with 

 in a general way. In the present article will be recorded 

 certain information supplied by Mr. W. N Sands, Agricultural 

 Superintendent, St Vincent, concerning efforts made in 

 regard to the planting and preservation of local food supplies 

 by the Department in that island. Mr. Sands prefaces his 

 report by expressing the belief that this season far greater 

 care will be taken to conserve home-grown foodstuffs. The 

 warnings issued la.st year were in many cases unheeded, and 

 as a result the supply of corn, in particular, is short of local 

 requirements. Itecently the Government has prohibited the 

 export of corn and corn products, peas, beans and farine, but 

 the quantities left from last crop are small, find the new crops 

 will not come in until September. At the Ginnery, supplies 

 of corn and peas that remain are being stored for planters 

 free of cost. 



