188 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 16, 1906. 



GLEANINGS. 



It is proposed to continue for another season the 

 assistance oflfered by the Government of the Leeward Islands 

 to cotton growers by means of the Cotton Industry Loan Bill. 



At a meeting of the .Jamaica Board of Agriculture held 

 on Jlarch 12 last, it \Yas intimated that Mr. T. F. Teversham 

 had, on account of ill-health, resigned his position as Lecturer 

 in Agricultural Science. 



To the list of gentlemen elected to form a Permanent 

 Exhibition Committee at Dominica, published in the last 

 issue of the Agricultural Neius (p. 168), the name of 

 Mr. F. E. Everinstou should be added. 



His Excellency the Governor assented on June 1 to an 

 ' Ordinance to prevent the introduction into this colony 

 [Grenada] of diseases of plants.' The Governor may, by 

 proclamation, absolutely prohibit the importation of any 

 plants, etc., from places named in the proclamation. Provi- 

 sion is also made for the fumigation and disinfection of plants 

 imported into the colony. 



The article by Professor J. P. d'Albuquerque, published 

 in the last issue of the Agricultural Keu's, on the use of 

 cotton seed and cotton-cake-meal as a feeding stuff on West 

 Indian plantations, will be issued shortly as Pamphlet 

 No. 43. Cotton growers and stock owners will thus have, 

 in a convenient form, full information as to the most 

 economical way of utilizing this valuable by-product. 



The Queensland Agricultural Journal says: 'Lender 

 the provisions of the Food and Drugs Act, arrowroot made 

 from tous-les-mois (Canna edulis) may be sold in Great 

 Britain only when labelled " Queensland arrowroot." 

 A sample of a bulk lot was recently examined by the Agri- 

 cultural Chemist, who pronounced it to be a starch of 

 excellent quality and high purity. " This arrowroot ditiers 

 from Bermuda arrowroot chietiy in containing much less 

 insoluble iibre in its composition." ' 



Because the banana is so easily digested, doctors have 

 recommended the use of this fruit for patients recovering from 

 enteric fever. Dyspeptic sufferers also benefit exceedingly 

 from its systematic use, since the enfeebled stomach-coats 

 have no ditficulty at all in assimilating the substance of this 

 .splendid natural remedy. 



In his opening addresses at the annual session of the 

 Legislative Board in Surinam on May 8, his Excellency the 

 Governor expressed the opinion that the establishment of 

 a central sugar factory would be very beneficial to the 

 industry. The production of rice in the colony, he said, 

 showed an increase of 30 per cent. 



The Journal iT Agriculture Tropicale (January 31, 1906) 

 states that there is an improvement in the prices of all fibres, 

 partly in consequence of a probable reduction in the output 

 of Russian hemp on account of the political state of that 

 country. The latest quotations for sisal were £39 13s. -id. 

 per ton. Manila, New Zealand, and ilauritius hemp have 

 also advanced in price. 



In an article on !MoIe Crickets in the Agricultural Neivs 

 (Vol. V, p. 122) it was mentioned that the cheapest and most 

 effective method of controlling these pests in Porto Rico was 

 with poisoned baits made of a grass known as ' Yerba dulce.' 

 Specimens of this grass have been received from Mr. D. W. 

 ^lay. Special Agent-in-charge, and it appears to be Eleusine 

 indica, which is reported from most of the West Indialslands. 



Mr. Christopher Head, whose visit to the West Indies, 

 in connexion with Mr. Hesketh Bell's scheme for insurance 

 against hurricanes, was mentioned in the Agricultural Neios 

 (Vol. V, p. 129), was interviewed by a representative of the 

 Jamaica Gleaner on May 2. Mr. Head expressed his 

 appreciation of the kindness and assistance he had received 

 .from ' Government officers, and particularly from the various 

 branches of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and 

 from the Agricultural Societies at the jjlaces he had visited.' 



In a letter, dated May 1, 1906, addressed to the Agri- 

 cultural Superintendent, Grenada, Captain M. Short, of 

 Richmond, Tobago, writes : ' I can supply at least 300,000, 

 Castilloa rubber seeds. The seed will be available from the 

 latter part of this month to about the middle of July. The 

 price of the seed is 10s. per 1,000, or 62 per 1,000 for any 

 quantity over 20,000. I may mention that I supplied, two 

 years ago, 200,000 for export outside the West Indies.' 



The following is an extract from the ' Medical Journal ' 

 of the St. Lucia Agricultural School, signed by the Medical 

 Officer: 'The sanitary condition of this school is excellent. 

 The dormitory is large and well-ventilated — one of the best 

 I have seen. The latrines are well looked after and the 

 rooms and subsidiary buildings are kept scrupulously clean, 

 and reflect great credit on the staff". The drainage is good. 

 The effect of this is shown in the absence of any but the 

 most trivial ailments amongst the pupils. The dietary is 

 ample and of good quality.' 



At a meeting of the Zoological Society held in London 

 on April 10, !Mr. C. Tate Regan read a paper on the fresh- 

 water fishes of the island of Trinidad. According to Katurt, 

 ' the author's remarks were chiefly based on a collection 

 made by ilr. Lechmere Guppy, Jnr., and presented by him 

 to the British Museum. The collection was accompanied by 

 natural history notes and by a series of beautifully executed 

 water-colour drawings. Forty species of fresh-water fishes 

 were now known from the island ; these were enumerated in 

 the paper, and four of them described as new to science.' 



Messrs. Henrj' W. Frost k Co., of Charleston and 

 Savannah, report as follows on the Sea Island cotton crop 

 for the week ending May 12: 'The weather has been 

 unseasonably cool during the week, but throughout the Sea 

 Island cotton belt not sutficiently so to have done any injury. 

 There have been good rains in all three States, which, in some 

 sections, were needed, so that the crop has now made a good 

 start.' A week later the same firm reported : ' The weather 

 has been favourable throughout the week, and the advices 

 from all sections are that the crop is making fair progress.' 



