Vol. V. No. lOi. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



117 



AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. 



Dominica Agricultural Show. 



The following Report of the agricultural show 

 held at Dominica on March 2 and 3, 190(i, has been 

 contributed by Mr. F. E. Everington : — 



The eighth Dominica agricultural show, under the 

 auspices of the Imperial Depirtment of Agriculture for the 

 West Indies, and the Dominica Agricultural Societj', was 

 held at Melville Hall, Lasoye, on Friday and Saturday, 

 March 2 and .3 last. 



Owing to the movements of the R.M.S. 'Yare,' it had 

 been necessary to postpone the exhibition for a week ; and, 

 although such a postponement generally proves disastrous, 

 the show was a very good one. 



There were 6-30 exhibits which were displayed in four 

 marquee tents, and other tents were allotted for refreshment 

 booths, and for the use of the committee. 



Stalls for cattle, horses, sheep, etc., were constructed of 

 bamboo, and a pretty effect was secured by attaching tree 

 ferns to the tops of the bamboo posts, thereby creating 

 a shady avenue. 



Estate owners had been particularly requested to 

 support the show, with the result that some interesting and 

 instructive displays were made. 



The St. Aroment estate exhibit was especially well put 

 up, and Mr. J. 11. Robin, of Marigot, sent a siilendid collec- 

 tion of Dominica products comprising thirty diflerent exhibits. 

 Both Londonderry and Melville Hall estates made excellent 

 displays. Mr. Skeat, of Londonderry', sent in a good sample 

 of Castilloa rubber, which attracted much attention. 



A noticeable exhibit of much interest, as showing the 

 revival of an old Dominica industry, consisted of some hogs- 

 heads manufactured from native wood, split and sawn locally. 

 The question of packages for lime juice, both raw and 

 concentrated, is an important one to most of the Dominica 

 planters, and now that the white troops have been removed 

 from the West Indies, malt hogsheads are difficult to procure. 



There was a large number of exhibits of starches made 

 from cassava, yams, tannias, and other starch-bearing plants. 

 If this industry could be encouraged, it would prove of great 

 help to small proprietors, whose lands were originally planted 

 in sugar-cane. 



Owing to the proximity of the Carib Reserve, a goodly 

 number of Caribs were present, and half of one of the tents 

 was specially devoted to the display of the handiwork of 

 these aborigines. 



The exhibits in the vegetable section were excellent, the 

 yams being generally large. 



An interesting paper was attached to an exceptionally 

 fine sample of concentrated lime juice (containing 104 oz. 

 of citric acid to the gallon), sent from the Hampstead 

 estate. The juice used in its preparation was allowed to 

 settle after the essential oil had been distilled from it, and 

 the supernatant clear juice was syphoned off — a method 

 which is simple, economical, and thoroughly efl'ective. 

 Reporting on a shipment of 37 hhds. prepared in this way, 

 Messrs. Ogston and Moore, Analytical Chemists, London, 

 say, ' This is an excellent sample of juice. We do not think 

 that lime juice can be better made.' 



In reference to this juice, the following remarks by 

 Messrs. Scrutton, Sons & Co. furnish a conclusive reply to 

 the question frequently a.sked — ' Does it pay to improve 

 your juice ^ ' Writing under date December 29, 1905, they 

 say: 'There is no doubt about the advantage of making 



good juice, as we have had practical evidence in the price 

 obtained this year.' The only disappointment was the small 

 number of people that took advantage of the special excur- 

 sion by the R.M.S. 'Yare.' But, as the sea was rough, 

 some intending visitors were doubtless deterred from under- 

 taking the journey. 



Antigua Agricultural Show. 



The following account of the Antigua agricultural 

 show has been furnished by Mr. R. H. Malone, the 

 Honorary Secretary of the Antigua Agricultural 

 Society : — ■ 



The Antigua agricultural show was held on February 22. 

 On account of the very dry weather, it was not expected 

 that the show would be a success ; but, in spite of the lack of 

 rain, the number of exhibits was greater this year than ever. 



On account of the delay of the Royal Mail, the 

 Hon. Sir Daniel Morris, the Imperial Commissioner of Agri- 

 culture, who had expected to attend the show, was unable to 

 be present. The Hon. E. St. John Branch opened the 

 .show at 12 o'clock, and spoke commendingly of the number 

 and quality of the exhibits. He particularly mentioned 

 the splendid exhibits from the elementary schools, and the 

 vegetables grown at the Presbytery gardens in St. John's. 



The greatest improvement was shown in the cotton 

 exhibits, which were more than twice as many as last year; 

 and in the school exhibits, the number and quality of which 

 were greatly in advance of last year's show. It may reasonably 

 be expected that the school exhibits will be even better in 

 1907 than they were this year, as the late Sir C. C. Knollys 

 has presented a cup, which the committee of the society 

 decided might most appropriately be offered as a challenge 

 cup for competition among the elementary schools, to be 

 awarded for excellence in gardening work. The cup has 

 been won, this year, by the Cathedral school. It will be 

 offered for competition next year, and will become the 

 property of the school winning it for three consecutive years. 



The exhibits of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 which occujiied an entire room, were extremely interesting. 

 Diagrams and drawings were hung on the walls of the room. 

 One diagram showed the fall in test of muscovado sugar 

 caused by fermentation ; another showed the rainfall in 

 Antigua for the past thirty-two years ; and a third, the 

 advantage of soaking cane tops and cuttings in Bordeaux 

 mixture before planting. Close to the last-mentioned 

 diagram were bottles containing the constituents of Bordeaux 

 mixture, and samples of well-prepared and badly-prepared 

 Bordeaux mixture. There were drawings of mosquitos — the 

 ordinary mosquito, the malarial mosquito, and the yellow 

 fever mosquito, all shown in the various stages of their 

 development. A collection of the current literature of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture was e.xhibited in a gla.ss 

 case. Perhaps the most interesting exhibit in the room was 

 one showing the various stages in broom making, from the 

 uncleaned broom corn to the finished broom. 



Some twenty-five varieties of yams, eddoes, cassava, 

 sweet potatos, etc., were exhibited from Scotts Hill and 

 Skerrett's, and a glass jar with a large number of the little 

 fish known as ' millions ' was sent from the Botanic Station. 

 These fish were obtained from Barbados, and are being 

 distributed in Antigua for the purpose of reducing the 

 number of mosquitos, by their habit of feeding on the 

 mosquito larvae. 



The exhibits, except the minor product-s, showed an 

 increa.se in number in each class, from last year, the total 

 number in 1905 being 578, and in 1906, 718. 



