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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Febeuaey 3, 190C. 



GLEANINGS. 



According to the Demerara Arr/osi/ of December 30, 

 1 905, ' the area under rice cultivation extends to about 

 20,000 acres.' 



In the Aiinnal /^f/ioj? on Somaliland, for 1904-5, it is 

 .stated that cattle are fattened on date stones, ground into 

 meal, and milch animals fed on such a diet are said to 

 produce better and more copious milk. 



Copra and cacao continue to be the [irincipal products 

 of Samoa. The copra crop in 1903 was somewhat less than 

 in the preceding year, the natives producing about 4,-1:30 

 tons. {Diplomatic and Consular Report on the German 

 Colonies, 19034) 



In the report on the Cameroons for 1903-4, it is stated 

 that palm kernels, palm oil, India rubber, cacao, and ivory 

 remained the principal items, and the only notable advance 

 occurred in the production of kola nuts, the e.xportation of 

 which increased ten-fold. (Dip/omatic and Considiir Eep»>rt 

 on the German Colonies, 1903-4.) 



The Annual Repiort on Uganda for 1904-5 states that 'the 

 trade in Sanseviera and Itaphea fibres is growing. Exports 

 totalled £1,711, showing an increase of £893 on the 

 preceding year. The industry is a new one and is capable 

 of large clevelopment. The local value of these fibres is 

 about "is. 4,7. for 15 lb.' 



During the fortnight ended December 28, 18 bales of 

 "West Indian cotton were imported into the United Kingdom. 

 I\Iedium fine is quoted in Liverpool 6-4^. per lb.; West 

 Indian Sea Island, medium fine, 13,/. per lb.: fine 14,?. per 

 tt).; and extra fine, \bld. per tt). {West India Committee 

 Circular.) 



According to the statements in the Annual Jieport of 

 British Guiana for 1904-5, the amount of sugar exported 

 during the year was 106,716 tons as against 125,949 tons 

 for the previous year. The total area of canes at the end of 

 March, exclusive of land cultivated by cane farmers, was 

 70,8t0 acres, as compared with 13,837 acres at the close of 

 the iirevious year. Two estates went out of cultivation 

 during the year. 



Trinidad fruit, according to the Port-of-iSj^ain Go-.ette, 

 Las been well received in the United Kingdom, arriving 

 sound and in good order. An individual, resident in the 

 north of Ireland, reported that the oranges he received were 

 in fine condition, and that a fruiterer of his acquaintance 

 declared that he had never seen better fruit. These reports 

 are undoubtedly encouraging to shippers, and must give 

 a decided impetus to the fruit industry of the colony. 



At the first general meeting of the St. Kitt's Agri- 

 cultural and Commercial Society, held on January 4 last, 

 his Honour F. S. Wigley, I.S.O., in the Chair, the Hon, 

 Sir l)aniel Morris, K.C.M.G., and the Hon. Francis Watts, 

 C.M.G., were unanimously elected honorary members of the 

 society. 



In the Gardeners Chronicle, for December 16, 1905, it 

 is stated that the post of Assistant Director at the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Kew, is to be revived. It is also expected 

 that consideiable developments will be made in the Depart- 

 ments of Forestry and Agriculture, and, it is hoped, in the 

 stud}- of plant diseases. 



In the Annuid Report on Fiji for 1904 it is stated that 

 ' at present the three principal exports — sugar, copra, and 

 green fruit (chieHy bananas)— represent over 97 per cent, of 

 the total export trade of the colony. It is hoped that the 

 Agricultural Department, recently established, will tend to 

 foster minor products, such as cacao, vanilla, rubber, etc' 



In the Annual Report on Uganda for 1904-5, referring 

 to the cotton industry, it is stated that 'a commencement 

 has been made with an export of £236. The present year 

 will show a large increase, and before long it is hoped that 

 this product will be one of the princi[ial articles of export 

 from the Protectorate. Locally it fetches about l.s. 4,i. for 6 tti.' 



Messrs. Elder k. Fyffe.s, Ltd., state that during 1905, 

 4,722,796 bunches of bananas were imported into the 

 United Kingdom, which is an increase of 1,749,088 bunches 

 as compared with the previous year. Three million, two 

 hundred and sixty-three thousand, nine hundred and 

 thirty-four bunches were received from Jamaica and Costa 

 Rica, and 1,458,862 bunches from the Canary Islands. ( Trc-i? 

 India Committee Circular.) 



Messrs. Holger Petersen, F. Lassen Landorph, and 

 Captain H. U. Ramsing, members of the Danish West India 

 Estates Directorate, recently called on the Imperial Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture. These gentlemen, who are 

 interested in the prospects of Sea Island cotton, had 

 come from St. Croix where certain estates are partially 

 cultivated with this variety. In Barbados they have visited 

 estates where cotton is being grown on a large scale, and 

 have also inspected the central cotton factor}-. 



Messrs. Samuel Pontual and Santos Dias, who have 

 been sj^ecially commissioned by the Brazilian Government 

 to visit the West Indies with the oliject of studying the 

 sugar industry, recently visited Barbados. In an interview,, 

 the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture carefully explained 

 to them the experiments carried out in the West Indies in 

 connexion with the sugar industry. Special reference was- 

 made to the work of the Department with regard to the 

 development of seedling canes, and the results of manurial 

 experiments. 



The Pliarmnceutical Journal for December 30, 1905,. 

 contains a note on useful plants in Togo and Cameroon, from 

 which the following is extracted : 'The kola tree {Cola 

 acuminata), the seeds of which possess four cotyledons, is 

 common in Cameroon, and its seeds are universally chewed, 

 the author himself deriving much relief from them. For 

 cultivation. Cola vera, which yields seeds with two cotyledons, 

 is to be preferred, as the seeds realize a higher price in 

 Africa, but those of C. acuminata, properly dried, form 

 a valuable article of export.' 



