Vol. XVI. No. 400. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



263 



The Suiierintendent of Agriculture in his report for the 

 month of July states that, in the Experiment Stations, plant- 

 ing operations were delayed by dry weather until June, but 

 were completed early in July. The following plant distribution 

 from the Botanic Gardens is recorded: lime seedlings 8,8.50, 

 budded orange 12, grafted mango 16, timber 23, ornamental 

 41; also 1 lot cane plants and 3 packets seeds. Routine work 

 progressed satisfactorily. Regarding staple crops, Mr. Moore 

 states that the July rains caused some dropping of young 

 cacao pods; the tree.s, however, were still flowering heavily, but 

 the crops would be late. The main lime crop would be late 

 through the dropping of the first fruits during the dry weather. 

 The condition of ground provisions was satisfactory. There 

 had been sporadic outbreaks of caterpillars on corn antl peas, 

 but no serious damage had been done. There had been a 

 continuation of work on the native food crop campaign, and 

 public demonstration with spraying apparatus in St. Davids. 

 Arrangements for prize holdings comp«titions in Grenada 

 and Carriacou were still in progress. The weather was 

 exceptionally wet, the rainfall recorded at Richmond Hill 

 being 1708 inches in twenty-six days, while 283.5 inches at 

 Belvidere and 3 1 47 at Plaisance were registered in twenty- 

 nine days. At Carriacou 16 10 inches was the record, also 

 in twenty-nine days. 



ST. LiH lA. According to the Agricultural Superintend- 

 ent the ordinary work in the Experiment Station has been 

 continued during July. We note that seeds of Cofea rohusta 

 have been sown. There have been distributed 13,2.50 lime 

 plants and 40,500 potato cuttings, 61 ornamental and decora- 

 tive plants, and 73 packets of vegetable seeds. The condition of 

 the cacao crop is stated as normal, the sugar crop was 

 growing well, and large areas have been planted up in limes. 

 Dr. .1. C. Hutson, Entomologist on the SiafF of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture, paid a visit of two weeks to 

 the island for the purpose of making observations in connex- 

 ion with certain pests. 



Mr. C. Williams, Entoniohjgist in charge of the frog- 

 hopper campaign, attached to the Trinidad Department of 

 Agriculture, visited the Cul-deSac Valley in connexion with 

 this pest; no signs of its presence were found. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture landed in 

 St. Lucia twice during the month, and discussed matters of 

 agricultural interest with the Agricultural Superintendent. 

 A large amount of travelling agricultural work was done 

 during the month. Visits were made to eight estates and 

 to a number of small holders. The crop of limes from 

 peasant cultivators is now coming into the Government Lime 

 Juice Factory. Eighteen casks of concentrated juice await 

 shipment. 



DOMINICA. Mr. Joseph Jones, Curator of the Botanic 

 8tation, states that in the lime experiment plot green dress- 

 ings were sown during July, and the application of manures 

 was completed. In the cacao experiment plot the trees were 

 pruned, and the plots were manured completely. Thirty-six 

 bags of cacao and 2 biigs of kola nuts have been shipped to 

 London. .\ total number of 8,152 plants have been distri- 

 buted during the month consisting of limes 7,850, eucalyptus 

 210, budded citrus 85, grafted mangoes 7, vegetable .seed 169 

 packets. Heavy .squalls were experienced during the first week 

 of the month, and again on the 18th instant, which brought 

 down considerable quantities of immature lime fruit. The 

 local price paid for green liines has dropped from 8s. to 5s. 

 per barrel. During the month 22,000 cane plants of good 

 seedling varieties have been imported for some estates. The 

 green scale was in evidence on lime trees on a number of 



estates, and much black blight was also present. The Perma- 

 nent Exhibition Committee has shipped 4 1 boxes of limes and 

 2 boxes of oranges to London for the u.se of wounded .soldiers 

 in hospital. The month has been wet; the total rainfall being 

 137 inches. 



.MONTSEKKAJ . The experiment plots in the Station were 

 all in good order according to Mr. Robson in his remarks for 

 the month of July, Seed of onions from Kew and from 

 California have been sown; the former are germinating 

 splendidly. The plants distributed from the station have been 

 2,660 bay trees, 900 limes, 21 fruit trees, together with 

 117 B). of seed corn, and 20 packets of beans. Profuse 

 growth has been made by the bay trees in the experi- 

 ment plots as the result of rains in the past two 

 months. The ccmtinued damp weather and high winds have 

 been responsible, probably, for some damage to the cotton 

 crop, but the area planted in cotton will most likely be 

 a record one. Two more ginneries will commence work in the 

 present season. The price offered for seed-cotton from small 

 growers is !<d. per lb. Thanks to the rains of June and July, 

 the limes now being reaped are of good size and appearance. 

 Cotton worms have appeared in a few places, and dusting 

 has been necessarj-. A stock of about 1,000 R). of Paris green 

 is on hand at the Botanic Station for .sale to small planters. 

 Observations have shown the as.sociation of cotton stainers 

 with silk-cotton trees that have borne pods, while the 

 connexion between the insects and malvaceous lierbs is not 

 so definite. A con.siderable quantity of the leaves of Datura 

 Me.tel have been collected and drietl, to forward to the 

 Imperial Institute for examination. The question of 

 Agricultural Credit Banks has been discussed at a meeting of 

 the Agricultural Society. 



ANTIGUA. The sugar-cane plots at Skeretts have been 

 planted with green dressings. Plants distributed from the 

 station consisted of 662 bay trees, 25 coco-nuts, 89 miscel- 

 laneous economic, 65 decorative, 33,600 sweet potato cuttings, 

 and 377 lb. cottonseed. The general condition of the Botanic 

 Garden is very good, \\ith regard to the cane crop the 

 young plants require some more rain; the young cotton crop 

 has made normally good grnwth. A large quantity of corn 

 has been planted in the island, a part of which will be reaped 

 during the next few weeks. There will be a second payment 

 of profits in connexion with onions received from planters by 

 the Antigua Onion Growers' Association, which should be 

 cons iderably better than that of last year. During the month 

 of July, 422 inches of rain fell, making a total for the year 

 of 21 17 inches. 



ST. KiTTs. Among the work carried on during the month 

 of July at the Experimeiu Station by Mr. F. R. Shepherd, the 

 Agricultural Superintendent, has been that of experiments 

 with reckoning flowers on plants in cotton manurial plots, and 

 measuring the growth ol joints of young cane plants. As 

 regards the cane cultivation, th'' crop for 1917 is now 

 practically all taken ofl'; the growth of the young canes for 

 next crop is very backward on many estates, there having 

 been no heavy rains. The cotton crop is well advanced, 

 and the plants are boiling well; so far there has been no 

 appearance of the cotton worm or any other pest. The 

 cotton in the experiment plot at La Guerite is very 

 promising. At a meeting of the Agricultural and Commercial 

 Society held on July 9, notes were read by the Acting 

 Chemical Assistant on the food value of white velvet beans. 

 There was a discussion on means to be adopted to 

 meet the shortage of imported foodstuffs. Rainfall for the 

 month was 2'29 inches, making 1978 inches for the year. 



