Vol. V. No. 110. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



217 



Exports of Trinidad. 



The Annual Report of the Collector of Customs 

 on the trade statistics of Trinidad for the year 1905-6, 

 recently issued, shows that the total value of the 

 produce of the colony was £135,373 less than in the 

 previous year. 



Su^ar, which in 1904-5 showed an increase over 

 the previous year of £286,000, finds itself in the 

 decrease column to the extent of £270,000. The total 

 exports of sugar were valued at £451,986. Asphalt 

 has fallen in value another £30,000. 



Cacao, on the other hand, shows the large increase 

 in value of £142,000 over the previous yeai-. The 

 total amount (local produce only) exported was 

 432,268 cwt., and the value £1,041,109. Cocoa-nuts 

 al.so show an increase, their value being £29,228, or 

 £7,000 more than in 1904-5. The exports of timber 

 were of the value of £12,951, as against £3,920 in the 

 previous 3fear. 



Agriculture in the Canaries. 



A note is published elsewhere in these columns on 

 the position of the banana industry of the Canary 

 Islands. The Consular Report on trade during 1905 

 states that 2,578,781 crates (valued at £451,286) were 

 shipped, as compared with 2,048,111 crates (valued at 

 £384,285) in the previous year. The exports of 

 bananas to Germany are increasing considerably, and 

 it is expected that these shijjments will go on increasing, 

 as shipping facilities to Hamburg have much improved. 



There was a small increase in the output of 

 tomatos. The crop was much affected by an unfortunate 

 distribution of the rainfall. The exports were of the 

 value of £244,054. 



There was a good potato crop, but the heavy 

 shipments to the United Kingdom failed to yield 

 profitable returns. 



Prize-liolding Scheme at Grenada. 



In reference to the scheme for prize holdings 

 among the small cultivators of cacao at Grenada, the 

 objects and provisions of which were set forth in the 

 Agricultund Neivs (Vol. IV, p. 375), it ma}' be of 

 interest to mention that thirtj'-two entries have been 

 handed in, which represent some 75 acres of land 

 situated in different districts. 



The Agricultural Instructor has been engnged 

 recently in visiting each competitor, inspecting the 

 holdings, and making notes on their condition, with 

 ii view to forming a basis upon which the judges may 

 estimate the amount of improvement brought about 

 during the year. 



Considering that the scheme is new to Grenada 

 and that a certain amount of preliminary prejudice 

 had to be overcome, the results, so far, appear to be of 

 a fairly satisfactory nature. 



At the same time the Agricultural Instructor is 

 taking the opportunity of trying to put a stop to the 

 disastroiis practice of firing the dry leaves in cacao 

 fields, and his advice to fork in and bed the leaves is 

 being adopted. 



Rubber Trees ia British Guiana. 



In a report on a recent visit to the north-western 

 district of British Guiana, Mr. A. W. Bartlett, B.A., 

 B.Sc, Government Botanist, makes interesting observa- 

 tions on the rubber-yielding trees of the colony. 



One large grant-holder visited by Mr. Bartlett 

 had a healthy plantation of trees of Sapium Jenmanii, 

 transplanted from the forest. Samples were seen of 

 rubber obtained by the Indians from this tree in the 

 forests. It sells in Georgetown for over 3.s. per lb. 



All the rubber of any value which has been collect- 

 ed in the colony has been obtained from trees belonging 

 to the genus Saj^iuvi, which appear to be uniformly 

 distributed throughout the forests not far from the 

 coast. Specimens of the rubber have been well report- 

 ed upon. The Indians wind the rubber off the tree 

 after it has coagulated in strings. As such a crude 

 method is scarcely likely to give satisfactory results, 

 Mr. Bartlett suggests the desirability of obtaining 

 particulars as to methods of tapping the trees and 

 preparing the latex. 



The true Para rubber tree (Hcreahrasiliensis) has 

 not been found in British Guiana, but other species 

 are plentiful. The native species of Hevea, however, 

 do not appear to contain sufficient latex to render 

 them of an}' value. 



^^ I — 



Agricultural Industries of Montserrat. 



In a recent report, published in the West Indian 

 Bulletin (Vol. VII, no. 1), the Hon. Francis Watts, 

 C.M.G., D.Sc, discusses the agricultural industries of 

 Montserrat. The island is at present passing through 

 a transitional period. For the past twenty years sugar 

 has been disappearing from the exports, and no other 

 industry has, as yet, taken its place. In 1892 the 

 value of the exports of sugar was £20,559 ; in 1904 

 this had dwindled to £3,656. 



Next to sugar in importance is the lime industry. 

 It has passed through many vicissitudes — the attacks of 

 scale insects and the destruction of plantations by the 

 hurricane of 1899. Now the export of lime juice and 

 limes has again assumed important dimensions, form- 

 ing, in fact, the principal item in the island's trade. 

 Their value in 1904 was £7,802. 



An interesting industry of recent introduction is 

 the preparation of papain, or the dried ' milk ' of the 

 papaw. If a market can be secured, this industry is- 

 capable of rapid growth. In 1903 papain was exported 

 to the value of £2,000. Recently the industry has 

 been in abeyance owing, it is stated, to the flooding 

 of the market with large supplies from the East. 



Cotton growing has now become an important 

 industry, and upon this, it would seem, the develop- 

 ment of the island in the immediate future directly 

 depends. The value of the exports of cotton from 

 Montserrat in 1904-5 was £4,114. About 800 acres- 

 were under cotton for the last crop. There are 

 large areas of land suitable for cotton still unutilized. 



Dr. Watts suggests that attention should be 

 devoted to the cultivation of cacao and the Castilloa 

 rubber tree. A successful sisal hemp industry might- 

 also be established. 



