THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 6, 1906. 



COTTON PROSPECTS AT ST. VINCENT. 



The fullowiiig is an extract iVoui a letter from the 

 Agricultural Superintendent, St. Vincent, to the 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West 

 Indies, dated December 9, 1905: — 



Cotton prospects continue bright, and I expect to have 

 seed-cotton equal to upwards of 90 bales of lint stored at the 

 factory by the end of next week. 



A good sign is the adjusting of the picking business. 

 Last season considerable difficulty was experienced in getting 

 labour to pick the cotton, but this season the difficulty has 

 almost disappeared. One [ilanter, who had trouble from this 

 cause last season, tells me that people are leaving other work 

 to pick cotton this season, and had he known this earlier he 

 would have put in a much larger acreage. The three or four 

 small growers who planted this j'ear are getting excellent 

 returns and will do well. This fact is also encouraging. 



ANTIGUA COTTON GINNERY. 



The Hon. Dr. Francis Watts has addressed to the 

 Colonial Secretary, Antigua, a report on the working 

 of the cotton ginnery in that ishind. The following 

 information is extracted from this report : — 



The Antigua cotton ginnery having now been at work 

 for two seasons, a time sufficiently long to have carried the 

 work beyond the experimental stage, it appears desirable to 

 review the position. 



The ginnery was opened by Lady Edeline Strickland 

 on December 11, 1903, and has ginned 1.5.5 bales (of 200 Vk) 

 for the crop of 190-34, and 304 hales (of ISO ft.) for the 

 crop of 1904 5. 



The equipment of the ginnery is as follows : — • 



There are two single-action roller gins and one 

 double-action, converted into a single-action gin. During 

 the first season the ginnery was run by means of a portable 

 steam engine lent by the Government of Dominica : for the 

 second season's work a petroleum engine (Cundall type) 

 was substituted and has worked very satisfactorily. Two 

 hand power baling presses are in use, and a [ilunger press 

 for the production of bags, of the Sea Island type, has 

 been erected, but not yet used. A disintegrator, with 

 self-feeding and bagging attachments, is provided for 

 seed crushing. 



The full cost of ginning a pound of lint has been 

 1'1497(/., or 9.'i. 7d. per 100 ft. The charge for ginning 

 has hitherto been 1-Jr/. per ft. of lint (12.s. 6(/. per 100 ft.). 



In view of the above facts, I propose to make a reduction 

 in the charge for ginning, but, i]i order to reduce the 

 trouble in collecting accounts, I propose that this reduction 

 shall be by way of discount for prompt payment. 



It is probable that, in future, the cost of working may 

 be cheapeneil as the result of ex[ierience, but I see little 

 justification for the reduction of the charge of ginning below 

 that stated above. It is to be remendaered that the cotton 

 has been ginned, baled, shipped to the British Cotton-growing 

 Association, and accounted for without any trouble on the 

 part of the owner. 



Proposals have been made for handing over the business 

 of the ginnery to a local company, if a suitable company can 

 be formed. The foregoing affords a basis for the discussion 

 of terms. As matters now stand, I think it will be best, in 

 the interest of the industry, for the ginnery to be worked 

 under Government management for another season ; but 

 I see no reasons why immediate steps should not be taken to 

 endeavour to form a company to acquire the business as soon 

 as the crop of 1905-6 has been dealt with. 



COTTON CROP AT ST. KITT'S. 



The following interesting report on the cotton 

 industry at St. Kitt's has been communicated by 

 Mr. F. R. Shepherd, the Agricultural Superintendent 

 in that island : — 



I have the honour to report that on December 12, 

 I paid a visit of inspection to the estates growing cotton 

 on the leeward side of the island, viz., West Farm, Stone 

 Fort, Wingfield, Lambert's, and Con Phipp's. 



The factory at Stone Fort was ginning, and although 

 the wind was light the aermotor was working and the gins 

 were doing good work. Seventeen bales of 240 ft. each had 

 been ginned up to date. At Wingfield estate the cotton 

 fields were full of ripe cotton and about 100 women and 

 children were to be seen picking in one field. The return 

 from this estate will be over the average, and I was pleased 

 to find that the damage done by the worm had not in 

 any w^.y affected the yield of cotton. On this estate the 

 cotton is planted rather wider apart than is the custom, 

 the trees being 5 feet by 4 feet. At Lambert's the yield is 

 not so good, but yet better than last year, and the cotton 

 in store was well sorted and of a good character. At 

 Con Phipii'.s, the gre<iter ))ortion of the crop has been picked 

 and there were some 30,000 ft. of seed-cotton in store ready 

 to be ginned. 



On all these estates the cotton is being grown as a catch 

 crop, and as the first picking is over, the trees are cleared off 

 to get the land ready for cane. The leaf-blister mite could be 

 seen on some of the older trees, but generally speaking the 

 condition of the field was healthy. 



I am informed that the factory at Spooner's will start 

 ginning on December 18, and shipments of this season's 

 cotton will soon be made. Samples of some of the cotton 

 grown this season have been forwarded by this mail to 

 Mr. E. Lomas Oliver. 



