Vol. V. No. 101. 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



71 



COTTON IN ST. VINCENT. 



The Agricultural Superintendent at St. Vincent, 

 in a recent letter to tlie Imperial Commissioner of 

 Agriculture, reports as follows : — 



Up to February 6. 1906, 74, '201 Iti. of lint have been 

 ginned at the central cotton factory, which is equal to over 

 206 bales, of a net weight of 360 lb. each. 



So far, 171 bales have been .shipped to the British 

 Cotton-growing Association, but pver 200 would have been 

 shipped had the S.S. ' Naiiarima ' been able to take 30 bales 

 which Mr. Alex. Smith had ready on Thursday last. 



The following notes have been received from the 

 Agricultural Superintendent, in a letter dated Feb- 

 ruary 20, 1906. With regard to cotton cultivation on 

 the windward coast of St. Vincent he states: — 



Cotton-picking is almost finished, but a good deal yet 

 remains on hand to be sorted for the factory. The yield 

 generally has been much better than last year. At Grand 

 Sable, where the volcanic ash is still very noticeable, the 

 return has been much better, although not so large as on 

 estates where little or no ash fell. Only good cultivation 

 and manuring, and the adoption of a system of green-dressing 

 will bring the lands with a good deal of ash, back again to 

 their original standard of fertility, and capacity for producing 

 good average crops of cotton. 



He sa3-s, further : — 



To date, 87,6-49 R. of lint have been ginned since work 

 was started; this is equal to over 243 bales. This total is 

 far in excess of last year's, notwithstanding that only about 

 half the acreage was planted this season. 



Seed-cotton is now giving a nnich better percentage of 

 lint, owing I think, in some measure to the adoption of the 

 recommendations as to the sunning, bagging, etc., of the 

 seed-cotton before being sent to the factory. 



Six estates gave the following percentages of lint to 

 .seed-cotton, respectively: 29-9, 29-2, 29-1, 27-8, 27-62, 27-1. 



COTTON IN TOBAGO. 



The following notes on cotton in Tobago have 

 been received from the Curator of the Botanic Station 

 in that island : — 



Several small holders of land in this island planted Sea 

 Island cotton, and are just now reaping the crop. Some of 

 the samples are of good quality, and there appears to be no 

 reason why cotton should not be grown in Tobago, with as 

 good results as in years gone by. Sometime ago, the Bi'itish 

 Cotton-growing Association sent out machinery for cleaning 

 and baling cotton, but as the cultivation was taken up by 

 only a few persons at that time, the machiner)- was not 

 erected. It is hoped that the interest in cotton growing 

 will be sufficient to warrant the erection of the ginning and 

 baling machinery. The knowledge that opportunities are 

 at hand for ginning and baling the cotton, when it is grown, 

 would serve to encourage the industry. 



COTTON IN THE LEEWARD ISLANDS. 



The following reference to the cotton industry in 

 the Leeward Islands appears in the Textile Mercury 

 of January 20, 190G :— 



The Acting Governor of the Leeward Islands reports 

 that cotton growing is making fair headway in the islands. 

 In 1903-4 cotton was grown in a tentative manner over 

 a considerable area, while in St. Kitt's and Montserrat the 



cultivation was conducted on a somewhat large scale. The 

 results were variable, but such as to lead to a considerable 

 extension of the industry, so that in the latter part of 1904 

 it was estimated that the following acreage was under 

 cultivation in Sea Island cotton : Antigua and Barbuda, 

 •500 acres; St. Kitt's, 1,000 acres; Nevis, 1,050 acres; 

 Anguilla, 300 acres ; jNIontserrat, 500 acres. Future 

 developments will largely depend upon the prices realized. 

 The Acting Governor says that the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture has been at great pains to afford assistance in 

 every branch of the industry, providing seed, assisting to 

 combat pests and diseases, and affording information and 

 advice at every stage. 



NOTES ON COTTON SEED AND LINT. 



The character of the lint reaped depends to a great 

 extent on the seed planted. This has frequently been 

 pointed out in the Agricultural Ifeu's. Now that the 

 seed is being procured for next season's planting, it is 

 of importance that the planters should be most careful to 

 obtain seed which is known to have been produced by 

 plants that have given the finest quality of lint. Those 

 who are anxious to use their own seed may send samples of 

 seed-cotton to the officer of the Department in their own 

 island, who will forward them to the Head Office, where 

 they will be examined, and a report prepared as to their 

 respective merits. A note on the selection of cotton seed,, 

 which appears on p. 54 of this volume, gives further inform.a- 

 tion on this point. 



In the crop now being reaped, seeds are found which 

 are undesirable for planting purposes. They are clean and 

 black, without any indication of fuzz at either end. These 

 particular seeds produce only a small quantity of lint at the 

 apex, which makes the proportion of lint to seed very low. 

 The proportion of weak fibre, on the other hand, is 

 exceptionally high. Before planting is commenced, these 

 seeds should be picked out, and only seed with a green fuzz at 

 one or both ends should be u.sed. 



The lint on different parts of the seed varies in 

 quality. At the apex of each seed, there is a bunch of very 

 wealc fibres which are only one-third the strength of those 

 from other parts of the seed. The proportion of these is 

 very variable ; neglected fields, and those with heavy soil, 

 producing more than others. The individual plants in the 

 same field vary considerably. 



Drying Sea Island Cotton. Planters are again 

 reminded that quality in Sea Island cotton is all important, 

 and that in preparing it for the market the greatest care 

 should be exercised. It must be properly dried, or it will 

 become matted when ])ressed in the bale, and in this condition 

 will not bring so good a price as when it is more carefully 

 prepared. The loss maybe as much as 2d. perBb., which is of 

 such importance as .should induce planters to make every 

 eflfort to put their cotton on the market thoroughly dried 



A Barbados planter, who kept his old cotton last year 

 until the new crop had been planted, is now advocating 

 a closed season when there shall be no cotton plants growing 

 in the island, so that it will not be possible for old plants to 

 be kei't from one season to another. 



The results obtained in the various islands show that it is 

 not advisable to grow any other crop along with the cotton. 

 Some planters have tried Indian corn and potatos between the 

 cotton rows but the results are not favourable to this practice. 



