YoL. V. No. 99. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



45 



THE GRENADA HANDBOOK, DIRECTORY 

 AND ALMANAC /'O A' i.W6' .• By the Hon. E. Drayton, 

 C'.M.G. 



This interesting handbook is an unofficial contribution of 

 the Colonial Secretary of Grenada, and gives excellent 

 information about that colony. It is always issued with great 

 regularity, and should be appreciated not only by the 

 inhabitants of Grenada, but also by those interested in the 

 West Indies generallj'. 



The information is compiled and arranged in a care- 

 ful manner. The articles on the geology and agriculture 

 of the island are particularly interesting. In the latter 

 -article it is pointed out that the present prosiierity of 

 Grenada depends upon the products of the soil. The staple 

 product is cacao, and this receives valuable assistance from 

 coffee, nutmegs, and other spices to form the jirincipal exports 

 of the colony. A brief outline of the cultivation of cacao 

 and nutmegs, and of their preparation for export as practised 

 in the island, is clearly written, and it is interesting to note 

 that a certain quantity of ground provisions have now to be 

 imported, on account of the gradual absorjition of the land 

 by cacao and nutmegs. 



A short account is also given of the good work that is 

 being done at the Botanic and Experiment Stations, which 

 were established in 1880 on the recommendations of the 

 Hon. Sir Daniel Morris, exactly twenty years. 



Another part of the work contains a list of the birds 

 and animals of Grenada, and of some of the valuable fishes 

 that swim in its waters. There is also a list of some of the 

 principal trees and shrubs of the colony, with their scientific 

 •and local names, as well as short remarks on their economic 

 importance. 



LEEWARD ISLANDS.- REPORT ON SUGAR- 

 <:ANE experiments, lOOi-S, Pan I. By the 

 Hon. Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc., F.I.C., F.C.S., Govern- 

 ment Chemist, and Superintendent of Agriculture. Price Is. 



This part of the report treats of the experiments made 

 ■with selected varieties of sugar-canes, with the object of 

 ascertaining which of these are likely to prove useful to sugar 

 planters. 



Whilst under experiment, the canes are cultivated in 

 the same manner as the ordinary crop of the estate, and, 

 therefore, close conqiarisons can lie drawn between these 

 selected varieties and those ordinarily grown. 



In the introduction to the report an important point is 

 placed on record. It is this. Not only among the canes 

 under experimental cultivation is there an almost complete 

 absence of rotten canes, but the same condition prevails in 

 most of the fields throughout the colony. It is also 

 mentioned that cane diseases now cause the sugar planter 

 little anxiety. 



The results olitained in Antigua show that the first six 

 canes are: B. 156, Sealy Seedling, B. 306, B. 201, D. 74, 

 and D. 95. It is interesting to note that these canes 

 occuiiied a similar position last year. The writer states that; 

 one of the points a cane must possess before it can be 

 confidently recommended for cultivation in Antigua, is that 

 it must be capable of resisting drought, and that after the 

 experience of the disastrous drought of last year, the canes 

 above-mentioned should receive considerable attention from 

 planters there. 



In St. Kitt's, the White Transparent or Caledonian 

 Queen takes the lead in plant canes. Of the newer seedlings 

 B. 208 merits attention, for a yield of 15 tons of muscovado 

 sugar from 4 acres of canes has been reported. (See Aijri- 

 cultural Neirg, Vol. IV, p. 194.) 



In ratoons, B. 208 heads the list, and, therefore, would 

 occupy a useful position when introduced into the general 

 cultivation of St. Kitt's. 



The report ends with the recommendation for planters 

 in St. Kitt's to substitute B. 208 and B. 147 for Caledonian 

 Queen, where the latter shows any tendency to disease. 



INOCULATION FOR ANTHRAX. 



The following lettei- in reference to anthrax 

 vaccines has been addressed by the Chief of the Bureau 

 of Animal Industry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, to 

 the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture. Previous 

 articles on this subject will be found in the Agri- 

 eultund A^ews (Vol." V, pp. 7 and 23):— 



Washington, December 27, 1905. 



Dear Sir, —I am in receipt of your letter of the 12th. 

 instant, in which you request information concerning the 

 value of Sclavo's anti-anthrax serum, and the names of Krms 

 who manufacture this or any other anthrax vaccine. 



In reply, I beg to inform you that Sclavo's serum has 

 not been investigated by this Bureau nor have we any 

 knowledge of its sale in this country. The only anthrax 

 vaccine on the maiket in the United States is prepared after 

 the uiethod of Pasteur. It has been claimed that the use of 

 such vaccine has reduced the mortality in the affected 

 districts from an average of 10 per cent, with sheep to less 

 than 1 per cent., and from 5 per cent, with cattle to less 

 than one-half of 1 per cent. 



The firms having this vaccine for sale are : — 



H. Mulford & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. : Pasteur Vaccine 

 Co., Chicago, 111. ; and Parke, Davis & Co., Detroit, Mich. 



A. D. MELVIN. 



The Staple Agricultural Industry of Fiji is 



the cultivation of sugar. There are at present six sugar mills- 

 in the colony, four of which are owned by the Colonial 

 Piefining Company, Ltd., of Sydney. The total area of land 

 under cane cultivation is estimated at 36,543 acres, from 

 which were produced 550,740 tons of cane in 1904. The 

 total area of cultivated land in the colony (exclusive of native 

 cultivation), is estimated at 68,084 acres. There is a Botanic 

 Station at Suva, from which 1,540 Para ruljber plants and 

 500 cacao plants w-ere distributed free of charge during 1904. 

 {Annual Report on Fiji, 1904). 



