Vol. XVI. No. 398. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



229 



rainfall for the month was 682 inches; this has done a consid- 

 -erable amount of good: it gave to planters a much needed 

 opportunity to plant provision crops, of which there is a fair 

 quantity now being established in Antigua. 



MONTsEREAT. Mr. W. Robson writes to say that the 

 weather duiing the month of June was, on the whole, favour- 

 able for work in the Experiment Station and most of the 

 plots are now occupitd with crops. Plant distribution 

 included, .50 Do. pigeon peas for planting purposes, 200 bay 

 plants, 24 tt). breadand cheese seed. 4 B). sword beans and 

 8 packages of cowpeas. Further tiial is being made with 

 pigeon peas as a support to beans of the Stizolobiura cites, as 

 well as Lima beans. Two tew bonavist beans as well as 

 seeds of the American horse mint, were received and sown. 

 Two distillations of bay leaves were conducted and a start 

 was made to collect and sow seeds of the bay trees. Five 

 pounds of onion seed were received for trial, part of which 

 will be grown in the station and the remainder distributed 

 for trial. Regarding staple crops, Mr Robson states that the 

 ample rains at the end of the monthlef t the position as regards 

 the cotton crop very much improved, and first pickings had 

 been made from some of the March-planted fields. Dull 

 weather prevailed on a considerable number of days and this 

 had a bad effect on growing cotton plants the growth then 

 being attenuated and soft. It is to be feared that a large 

 number of cotton planters, especially small growers, are 

 f rowint! cotton on the same land year after year without 

 any raanura The rains have come in time to benefit the 

 lime crop now on the trees. Little new planting of limes is 

 being done, the cultivation of cotton coming before other 

 crops at the present time. The collection of cotton stain- 

 eti was necessary on one area, in which the pests, as 

 a rule, are troublesome. Legislative action is being considered 

 in connexion with the destruction of the host plants of the 

 cotton stainers. On the whole, the activity shown 

 in the planting of vegetables is satisfactory. At a special 

 meeting of the Agricultural Society the question of providing 

 a continued supply of local-grown foodstuffs was considered. 

 At this meeting a resolution was adopted, urging the 

 Government to take action to prevent the emigration of 

 labourers from the island, San Domingo at the present time 

 having particular attractions. The Government propo.sed 

 taking action to prevent the exportation of the whole of the 

 sugar crop, in view of the scarcity of the foodstuffs. The 

 rainfall for the month at Grove Station was 8-56 inches. Most 

 of the rain fell in the first and last week the weather from 

 the .5th to the 23rd bemg comparatively dry. Total rain- 

 fall for the year was 25 26 inches. 



ST. KiTTS. In the month of .June plants distributed 

 included 2,300 sweet potato cuttings, 52 ft) peanut?, 50 lb. 

 Indian corn, and 43 Mazzagua corn. In addition 300 ft), of 

 Indian corn seed were procured and forwarded for planting in 

 Anguilla. Work in the Bot-\nic Gardens was of a routine 

 nature. Touching staple crops, Mr. Shepherd says that the 

 estates in the Central Factory had all finished reaping and the 

 Factory closed down at the end of the month. The total crop 

 will not be far short of 1 1,800 tons. .Many of the estates were 

 below their original estimate owing to the dry weather in the 

 early part of the year, while the large cane fires were also re- 

 sponsible for some loss. The muscovado estates are still grind- 

 ing. The young cane crop is very backward , on, many estates, 

 but the recent showers will bring them on. A large area is being 

 planted on estates in provisions of all kinds in c6nset|uence 

 of scarcity of imported foodstuffs, and a fairly large area lias 

 been put under corn in the Sandy Point district. A large 

 acreage has been put under cotton, and the ybung;plaTits are 

 lof'kina strong and vigorous in all districts. S inie cqUonl'iad 

 been a'ready picked from seed sown in February' iVV the 



Northern district. Leaf-blister m-ite has been observed in 

 the earlier planted cotton, some of which had to be prilled up 

 to prevent the spread of the pest. An invasion of Efoph- 

 thalmus esuriens beetles was met with at the Experiment 

 Station and large numbers were killed in the hearts Of the 

 young cane. Considerable attention has been paid to raising 

 crops of cowpeas and Para peas supplied irom the Experi- 

 ment Station, and the results are satisfactory. Rainfall for 

 the month was 613 inches, for the year 1679 inches. 



TOETOLA. Mr. W. C. Fishlock, reporting for the month 

 of May, states that in the Experiment Station the work of 

 preparing land for cotton and other crops was pushed on as 

 far as weather conditions permitted. The last season's cotton 

 crop had come to an end and so far as dealings at the 

 station were concerned, it was the smallest on record sine* 

 1907. Prospects for the coming crop were somewhat doubt- 

 ful. During the month the weather was dry. Rain fell in 

 measureable quantity on nine days of the month, the total 

 fall at the station being 264 inches. The average tor the 

 same month for the previo is sixteen years wis 4"79 inches. 



Reporting for the month of June, it is stated that with 

 favourable weather conditions, the work of preparing land 

 and planting crops in the Flxperiment Stations was being 

 pushed on. Plant and seed distribution consisted of: sweet 

 potato cuttings 300, ornamental 3, cotton seed 234 ft) , vege- 

 table seed 12 packets. The general condition of crops had 

 improved with the coming of good rains; the peasantry were 

 busily planting food crops and a certain amount of cotton 

 was being planted. A meeting in connexion with the food 

 problem was held on 13th instant. The total rainfall 

 recorded at the Station was 6'43 inches. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial (.'omniissioner of Agriculture return- 

 ed recently to Barbados from an official visit to 

 Antigua in conne.xion with various matters pertaining 

 to the agriculture of the Leeward Islands. 



Dr. J. C. Hutson, B.A., Ph.D , Entomologist on the 

 Staff of the Iinperial Department of Agriculture has 

 returned from an official visit to St.Lucia where he has 

 been conducting investigations connected with insect 

 pests in that island. 



Mr. S. C. Harland, B.Sc, Assistant agricultural 

 Superintendent, St. Vincent, called at the Head Office 

 on his way to St. Vincent after three months vacation 

 leave in Canada. 



The Order-in-Council, dated March 31, 1917, published 

 in the Canada Gazette oi April 14, 1917, specifies the new 

 standards of quality for flavouring extracts, and defines lemon 

 extract as: the flavouring extract prepared from lemon peel, 

 or from oil of lemon, and containing along with more or les.s 

 of the terpenes of lemon oil, not less than two-tenths (-2) 

 of 1 per cent, of citral derived from oil of lemon. Terpene 

 lemon extract is the flavouring extract prepared as above 

 described and contains not less than .5 p;r cent, of oil of 

 lemon and not less than two-tenths {-2) of 1 per CH;nt. of 

 citral derived from oil of lemon. 



