Vol. XVI. No. 400. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



265 



of the history of the velvet bean family {Stizolobiu.m). 

 their uses in agriculture, and their value as a table 

 legume, with personal notes on Trinidad experiences. 

 Mr. Collecs further addressed the society on agricul- 

 tural activities in the West Indies, more particularly in 

 Antigua. 



Fish Meal for Stock Feeding. 



At a recent meeting of the Aberdeen Chamber of 

 Commerce the vice-President in the course of an address 

 on Aberdeen's fishing industry, reported in the Veterin- 

 ary Record of .June l(i, l!tl7, remarked that previous 

 to the outbreak of the war nearh' the whole of the value- 

 able food for live stock in the form offish meal had been 

 utilized by German farmers. In 1!I14 well over .S,()()0 

 tons offish meal was manufactured, and was e.xported 

 to Geimany where the farmers had discovered its value, 

 and used it profitably in feeding stock, chiefly pigs, 

 cattle, and poultry. It was no uncommon thing to find 

 upwards of a thousand pigs being fattened on one 

 German farm, and fish meal was one of the chief 

 ingredients in the feeding stuffs. Most satisfactory 

 results in pig feeding had been found where a judicious 

 proportion of fish meal was used. Being very rich in 

 albuminoids it was specially suitable for mixing with 

 hay, straw, anrl almost all cereals and offals which 

 contained a large proportion of carbohydrates. It was 

 found to be considerably cheaper as a food unit than 

 maize or bran. Carefully conducted- experiments had 

 dispelled the prejudice against fish meal entertained 

 by some on the ground that it would give an unsavourv 

 flavour to the flesh of animals fed upon it. 



Irrigation as Crop Insurance. 



Although an experiment in irrigating sugar-cane 

 at Bendals estate resulted, according to the Report 

 of the Agricultural Department, Antigua, 1!U.5-1(J, 

 in the irrigated plot giving 4- tons of cane per 

 acre less than the plot which did not receive water, 

 this was probably due to the fact that the experiment 

 was carried out in an exceptionally wet season. Even 

 in regions which cannot be described as arid or semi- 

 arid, irrigation may be of great value merely as 

 a safeguard against unfavourable weather. Full crops 

 are rarely obtained more frequently than once in five or 

 six years, and HO per cent, of failures may be assigned to 

 droughts. Irrigation, therefore, eliminates the great 

 element of chance from planting opeiations, and 

 together with good drainage makes the planter nearly 

 independent of the freaks and idiosyncrasies of the 

 weather. We cannot control the weather, but the etfects 

 of drought are mitigated by giving crops abun Jantwater 

 by irrigation. When it is realized, as it should l)e, that 

 water is the most essential chemical ingredient supplied 

 to plants, and is needed for the transportation of all 

 other ingredients through rhe plant, then will better 

 provision be made to supply it in needful (juantities 

 when rain is withheld. 



Food Economy. 



With reference to the advertizing campaign now- 

 being carried on to promote economy in the consump- 

 tion of bread, the Ministry of Food has issued a circular, 

 dated May 22, 1917, which emphasizes the grave im- 

 portance of attention to observing economy in thia 

 particular; and in an addre-ss to the Legislative Council 

 of Antigua on May 29, 1917, the Acting Governor said: 

 'In the name of His Majesty the King I call upon all 

 lo3-al subjects to waste nothing. It is only by conserving 

 all our supplies and by increasing our local production 

 to the utmost possibiliiy that we shall be able to bear 

 our part of the burden supported by our fellow subjects.' 

 The Board of Agriculture in England has issued the 

 following poster: 'Grow all the food you can. Save all 

 the food you can. Do not give things men can eat, 

 such as oats barley, or maize, to f;\rm animals, except 

 when absolutely necessary. You must do with far 

 less corn, meal, and cake than you have been accus- 

 tomed to give to your live-stock. Ships cannot be 

 spared to bring you the usual supplies. Every handful 

 grawn or saved is a bullet used to good purpose in the 

 great fight for freedom and justice.' 



Coaling in the West Indies. 



In the Collier (/ (hiardian, Vol. CXIII, No. 2,945, 

 appearsa long articledealing with the British and foreign 

 coaling stations of the West Indies. In the introduc- 

 tory remarks it points out that these islands occupy 

 a prominent position on the important shipping routes- 

 between Europe and the Mexican Gulf ports. Central 

 America, and the Northern ports of South America, 

 also on the route of vessels between the eastern ports 

 of the United States and Canada, and the northern and 

 eastern coast of South America. The prosperity of the 

 British West Indies reached its zenith, it is stated in 

 the article, abouc forty years back, the trade gradually 

 declining to less than half twenty years later. A slight 

 recovery has occurred since, which can be greatly 

 extended in view of the resources available in the 

 islands — cotton, sugar, and other industries, as well 

 as petroleum. Moreover, the West Indian islands are 

 on the direct route of the Panama Canal, a fact which 

 cannot fail to have an important bearing on their future 

 prosperity, provided that ample facilities are afforded 

 for their development. With regard to their status 

 as coaling stations, American coal has. almost entirely 

 secured the market owing to geographical position and 

 the advantage po.ssessed in distance and freight rates over 

 supplies from England, but it is in the British interest 

 to improve the coaling facilities at the islands, under the 

 British flag, even if American coal has to be handled 

 at those islands. It remains to be seen whether the 

 policy of immediate action or of delay is adopted in the 

 direction of meeting the competition not only of the 

 coaling stations at the Panama Canal, but of stations at 

 others of the West Indian islands, such as .St. Thomas, 

 which are possessions or under the protection of the 

 United States, and in which great improvements have 

 alreadv been eft'ected. 



