294 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 22, 1906, 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messr.s. Wolstenholnie & Holland, of Liverpool, 

 report as follows, under date of August 2S, in regard to 

 West Indian cotton : — 



Since our last report on the 14th. instant, there has 

 been more business doing in West Indian Sea Island descrip- 

 tions, and sales have reached a fair total at steadj- prices. 

 There is a demand for desirable equalities, viz., 13fZ. to lid. 



The business includes: St. Thomas, lO^-rf. to 15d; 

 Barbados, 13rf. to 1.5rf.; St. Kitt's, 12JfZ. to iSd.; Antigua, 

 12(7. to I5id.; Nevis, 11</. to 14<7.; Anguilla, 1.3|d; and 

 Montserrat, lid. 



Sea Island crop accounts from America are somewhat 

 better but still unsatisfactory, and the general opinion is that 

 the crop must be smaller than the last; against this it must 

 nnt be forgotten that spinners hold good stocks. 



COTTON PROSPECTS IN NEVIS. 



Mr. J. S. Holling.s, the Agricultural Instructor, lia.s 

 forwarded the following brief report on the prospects 

 of the cotton crop in Nevis; — 



In consequence of the severe drought, the cotton of last 

 season was allowed to stand much longer than usual, in the 

 hope that the second picking would result in giving a yield 

 that would at least save the planter from actual loss on the 

 j'ear's expenses. But although, in some places, a plentiful 

 show of blossoms appeared, very few bolls came to maturity, 

 and it seems quite clear now that it was a mistake to allow 

 the cotton to remain, and that it would have been far better 

 to have cleared it off after the fir.st picking was finished. 

 Much valuable time was wasted, and the opportunity for early 

 preiiaration lost, with the consequence that, when good rain 

 fell early in May, very few were ready for planting their seed; 

 tho.se who had their land prepared soon had the .satisfaction 

 of seeing a nice stand of young cotton, whilst tlie others have 

 had no such seed-starting rain since. 



As usual there is a wide diversity of cultivation, ranging 

 from very good to very bad, and the resulting growth shows 

 the care, or otherwise, bestowed on the preparation of the land. 

 The writer estimates that there are fully 1,200 acres already 

 planted, but the fields are so scattered that it is very difficult 

 to form an accurate estimate. The Government loans-in-aid 

 have been allotted within the last two weeks, and this will 

 probably enable another 500 acres to be planted, thereby 

 bringing up the area to last year's figure or thereabout. But 

 the fields are much more distributed over the island than 

 they were last season, when an almost continuous block, of 

 close ui)on 1,000 acres, occupied the level lands to the south 

 and south-west of the island, and very little was to be seen 

 fit the east. 



So far, the general opinion is that this season's plants are 



more health}- and vigorous than last, and show a better growth 

 altogether. Tbe worms have already made two or three attacks 

 but have been met promptly and vigorously with Paris green. 

 The leaf-blister mite is also in evidence in many places, and 

 although the greatest care is exercised in picking off the infected 

 leaves and in dusting the plants with sulphur and lime, it can 

 only be kept somewhat in check, it cannot be exterminated. 



Last year plants were so stunted and poor in consequence 

 of the want of rain that they did not cover one C[uarter of the 

 space allotted to them, and this year, as a consequence, there 

 are instances of what I feel sure will prove to be too close 

 planting, not so much in the rows of cotton as between 

 them ; not only will the plant get insuflicient light and air, 

 but it will be almost impossible to ])ick the cotton without 

 brushing off many bolls in passing through the rows. 



So far, the weather has not been very propitious and the 

 growth has been .slow. A few acres of cotton that were planted 

 abnormally early are now ripening their cotton, but the 

 result does not encourage this very early planting, as many 

 bolls fall oft" long before maturity. 



Many attempts have been made this year to establish 

 wind-breaks, but most have proved failures ; neither pigeon 

 peas nor Guinea corn has been of any use. It is clear that 

 permanent wind-breaks will have to be established of wind- 

 resisting trees such as Lonclwcarpus, or other quick-growing 

 but hardy trees. 



COTTON PROSPECTS IN ANTIGUA. 



j\[r. J. Jackson, Curator of the Botanic Station, 

 has forwarded the following brief report on the 

 j)rospects of the cotton crop in Antigua ; — 



Owing to the dry weather experienced, cotton planting 

 in Antigua has been retarded to a considerable e.xtent. 

 During the month of July, the rainfall was 3 '5 7 inches, for 

 the month of August, up to the date of writing, 1'2.5 inches. 



At the present time, about 500 acres of land are planted 

 with cotton in Antigua, and it is probable that another 

 1,100 acres will be planted, should the weather prove at all 

 favourable. Twelve thousand jiounds of cotton seed have 

 been selected and distributed to the planters in Antigua by 

 the Botanic Station. From this it would appear that it is 

 proposed to plant a much larger area than stated above ; but 

 in some cases, many of the seeds have failed to germinate on 

 account of the drought. 



Many peasants and small holders are going in for the 

 cultivation of cotton, and I am sorry to .state that, in spite of 

 repeated warnings, a quantity of seed has been sown that had 

 not been disinfected or selected. 



There is a small amount of leaf-blister mite ou some of 

 the young cotton, but in all the instances that have come 

 under my observation, either old cotton was growing in the 

 vicinity, or the seeds had not been disinfected before sowing. 



