Vol. V. No. 103. 



THE AGRECULTUEAL NEWS. 



101 



AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. 



St. Vincent Agricultural Show. 



The following is taken from an account of the 

 agricultural show at St. Vincent, on March 1, contribut- 

 ed by Mr. W. X. Sands, Agricultural Superintendent:^ 



The tbii'd annual agricultural sliow, under the auspices 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and the Agri- 

 cultural and Commercial Society, was Iield at the Agri- 

 cultural School, on March 7. The exhihits, as a whole, 

 showed a high standard of excellence, although the entries 

 were not so numerous as last year. 



The stock exhibited formed a feature of the show. In 

 the poultry classes there was very keen competition ; the 

 e.xhibits of fowls were especially good, and showed that the 

 efforts nicide by the Department in introducing improved 

 breeds of fowls were meeting with success. The pens of 

 pure-bred fowls, belonging to the Agricultural School, were 

 exhibited, together with a number of pure-bred chickens 

 raised from them. Considerable attention was attracted by 

 the tine lot of Indian game fowls also exhibited by the 

 Agricultural School. 



A sample of ' Angora wool ' sheared from one of the 

 Angora goats raised on Katho-Mill estate, ajipeared to be of 

 good cpiality, clean, and bright, and pio\ed of great interest 

 to visitors. 



In the classes for estate products, competition was good, 

 and the exhibits of cacao, arrowroot, cotton, cassava starch, 

 nutmegs, and coffee showed much iniprovenient. A sample 

 of Queeusbury cacao beans, which was awarded the first 

 prize, demands special mention as being the best sample 

 from a commercial point of view. Other samples of cacao 

 showed that more attention should be given to preparation 

 for market, especially in the matter of curing. Some very 

 good samples of Arabian coffee were shown. An exhibit of 

 !Mt. Bentinck starch won the first prize for arrowroot in 

 a class where the competition was very keen. 



Seventeen commercial samples of Sea Island cotton were 

 on exhibition in competition for the silver medals offered by 

 Sir Alfred Jones, all of which appeared to be of first-class 

 quality. These exhibits will be judged by the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture at Barbados. Other exhibits in 

 this section deserving notice, were .samples of cured vanilla 

 beans, kola, and Stenophylla cotfee. Each was well prepared, 

 and would form a good marketable jiroduct. 



In the fruit and vegetable sections, the bananas and 

 plantains were very fine. The prize bunch of bananas was 

 a splendid one of twelve hands, for which a Dii)loma of 

 Merit was awarded. Two exhituts cjf white pigeon peas were 

 awarded equal fii'st prizes. These exhibits deserve attention 

 as being the nearest approach, from a cLdinary point of view, 

 to English peas. A supply of these peas will again be 

 distributed by the Department to be grown in each of the 

 other fslands, in order to encourage their cultivation 

 generally. 



In the section for miscellaneous exhibits, a very instruc- 

 tive exhibit of comb and extracted honej- and bees'-wax, from 

 the Albert Park apiary, was awarded a Diploma of Jlerit. 

 The honey was well prepared, clear and bright, and 

 demonstrated the reason why St. Vincent honey is fetching 

 such good prices in the English market. 



The school exhibits were very poor, and only the 

 Troumaka school, of which Mr. W. Clarke is teacher, showed 

 a creditable lot of plants and vegetables grown in the school 

 sardens. It is to be regretted that more interest is not shown 



in teaching agriculture in the elementary schools of the 

 island. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture and the 

 Administrator visited the exhibition during the day, and 

 closely inspected the exhibits. They also addressed the large 

 gathering of people on the objects of agricultural shows, and 

 on matters of agricultural interest to the island generally. 

 The Imperial Commissioner personally awarded Diplomas of 

 Merit to those exhibitors whose exhibits were of special 

 interest and value. Taken altogether the show was a .success. 

 The attendance was large, the weather fine, and the exhibits 

 of good quality. 



AGRICULTURAL TRAINING. 



On p. 95 of the present volume of the Agricultural 

 JS^etvs, will be found some remarks made by the 

 Archbishop of the West Indies on the subject of 

 agricultural prospects in Jamaica. It might be of 

 interest to quote from the Antigua Standard of 

 February 10, 190G, the following observations by the 

 Bishop of Antigua in his first charge to the Synod, on 

 the subject of agricultural training : — 



I shall be pleased if, before the Synod closes, you will 

 give me some idea of the condition of things in your schools, 

 more especially with regard to agricultural training. There 

 is, I understand, a good deal of quiet work in the way of 

 agricultural education going on in these islands, which is 

 slowly but surely altering the tone of thought for the better, 

 with respect to the whole matter. But there is, I find, 

 a feeling on the part of some who have knowledge of such 

 things, that neither its change nor its importance is recog- 

 nized by some of us. Hence the desire which I have 

 expressed. Po.ssibly, the interest which I feel in this subject 

 may rouse the interest of those who have not yet had the 

 importance of the matter brought home to them. 



COLOURLESS LABEL VARNISH. 



The following note on a colourless varnish for 

 labels, has been sent to the Imperial Commissioner of 

 Agriculture by Mr. R. Radclytfe Hall, B.A., Assistant 

 Professor of Chemistry at Barbados : — 



I have the honour to inform you, in continuation of my 

 letter published in the Agvii-idtunil Neios (Vol. IV, p. 382), 

 that I have been trying the varnish therein referred to, as 

 a label varnish. 



If the paper label is brushed over with a thin coating of 

 gum or 'size' and allowed to dry, a coat of this ' gum ' varnish 

 will not sink in and affect the paper, but will quickly dry 

 hard and bright, and afford good protection to the label 

 without affecting its clearness. I have tried it on a book 

 label, and find I can handle the label and get it wet without 

 affecting the varnish. 



The following is the recipe of the gum referred to 

 by Mr. Hall :— 



Gum mastic, 2 parts by weight, 



Gum sandarach, 3 parts by weight, 



Gum eleuii, 1 jiart liy weight. 



Camphor, 1 part by weight, 

 dissolved in about 20 parts of strong alcohol. The alcohol 

 should be 90 per cent, strength or over. The resins or gums 

 are shaken up in the alcohol until dissolved, which takes 

 place quickly, and the solution is allowed to settle for a day 

 before decanting. It evaporates very rapidly, and must, 

 therefore, be kept tightly corked. 



