302 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 22, 1906. 



VIRGIX ISLANDS: ANNUAL REPORT ON 

 THE EXPERIMENT STATION, TORTOLA, lOOoO. 



The total expenditure on this station for the year ^vas 

 .£574 4s. Id. The receipts from the sale of produce, amounts 

 paid towards the purchase of lands, etc., totalled £.^2 Is., an 

 increase of £10 lis. IJ. on last year's receipts from the same 

 sources. 



While the primary object of the station is the experi- 

 mental cultivation of economic plants, attention has also been 

 paid, with some measure of success, to the imin-ovement of 

 its appearance. The planting mit of useful and ornamental 

 trees was continued. 



Plants of cacao, limes, and Castilloa rubber, tops of 

 seedling canes, and pine-apple suckers were distributed from 

 the nurseries ; also some 200 lb. of Sea Island cotton seed. 

 It is gratifying to observe that the peasants are, though 

 slowly, realizing the advantage of planting permanent crops 

 like cacao, limes, and rubber. Considerable interest is being 

 taken in the cultivation of cacao. Various crops were grown 

 in the experiment plots with fairly satisfactory results. 



Reference has already been made in the Agricultural 

 News (Vol. \, p. 281) to the progress that has been made in 

 the e.stablishment of the cotton industry. 



Considering the groat ditliculties under which work of 

 this kind is carried on in the A'irgin Islands, it would appear 

 that satisfactory progress is being made in the iiromotion of 

 agriculture through ilr. Fishlock's efforts. 



DOMINICA : ANNUAL REPORTS ON THE 

 BOTANIC STATION, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, 

 AND EXPERIMENT PLOTS, 190.-,-i;. 



Botanic Station. — The expenditure on the Botanic 

 Station for the year under review was £708 lis. lOd. The 

 local Government provided the sum of £1.50 for expenditure 

 in connexion with nursery work and the upkeep of the 

 ornamental grounds. The sales of plants and produce yielded 

 £219 12s. 6d., or £46 12s. 9(7. more than in the previous year. 



The number of jilants distributed from the station 

 (65,731) is the largest in any year since the station was 

 started. Last year 46,736 plants were distributed. This 

 large increase of nearly 20,000 plants is mainly due to 

 a great demand for lime and cacao plants. 



Considerable interest attaches to the manurial e.xperi- 

 nients with cacao at the station. The report contains 

 a summary of the results, which has been prepared by 

 Dr. Watts. This summary should be of great value to cacao 

 planters as a guide to the methods which are likely to give 

 the best results. The crops gathered from the 6 acres under 

 cacao experiments at the station have continued to show 

 increases during the past three years. The crop for the year 

 ended June 1906 amounted to 56 cwt. 



During the year under review 72-06 inches of rain were 

 recorded at the station. This is 7-22 inches below the 

 average for the past twelve years. The mean rainfall for tlie 

 whole island was 118'93 inches. 



It is impossible to deal with all the interesting points 



raised in this report. Much useful work of an experimental 

 nature has been carried on bj' Mr. Jones, which is likely to 

 prove of considerable value to the planting community. 

 Several of the references to the cultivation of various 

 economic plants will form the subject of separate notes in the 

 A'jricultund Nnvs. 



Agricidtund SchooL — The expenditure on the school 

 during the year under review was £590, an additional £40 

 having been granted to meet extra expenses. The receipts 

 (£16 14s. 9d) from the sale of vegetables, eggs, service of 

 stallions, etc., show a decrease as compared with last year's 

 receipts. This is due to a falling off in the demand for the 

 services of the stallions. 



There are nineteen boys in the school. The reports of 

 the examiner on the^ two half-yearly examinations were 

 satisfactory. Every effort is being made, by means of 

 observation lessons, to develop an intelligent interest in the 

 school work, and the teaching is being made as practical as 

 possible. In the field the boys have received instruction in 

 budding, grafting, pruning, etc.; cultural experiments were 

 carried out with a large variety of crop.s with more or less 

 satisfactory results. More land is being cleared for the 

 cultivation of cro[is, whereViy it is hoped, in time, to make 

 the school self supporting 



Considerable pains have been taken by 'Sir. Brooks to 

 render this institution as useful as possible by endeavouring 

 to train up a class of intelligent young agriculturists. 



E.iyeriment Ploi^. — ilanurial e.xperiments with cacaa 

 were conducted by the Department at Clark Hall, Point 

 ^lulatre, Moore Park, Picard, and Riversdale ; at Corona there 

 is an orange experiment plot, and at St. Aroment a lime plot, 

 while the line of rubber trees along the Imperial lioad has 

 received attention. 



Interesting and useful results have been obtained by 

 the application of manures in the cacao plots. Tliese go to 

 show that the output of cacao can, by intensive cultivation, 

 be quickly increased ; the importance of an efficient drainage 

 system has also been demonstrated. It is of special interest 

 to ob.serve that, in the case of the Picard plots, good results 

 have been obtained with cacao in lands which were regarded 

 as of doubtful value for cacao growing when the experiments 

 were laid out. The surrounding fields are now being culti- 

 vated in cacao with promising results. 



SCHOOL GARDENS IN JAMAICA. 



The Annual Report on the working of the Educa- 

 tion Department in Jamaica for the year 1905-0 

 contains the following reference to the teacliing of 

 agricultural science in elementary schools and to the 

 establishment of school gardens : — 



Many of the obstacles to the establishment of school 

 gardens have been removed. The total amount of time to 

 be devoted to practical agriculture has been reduced, and 

 half of it can be given in ordinary school hours. An initial 

 grant is now given for tools ; and the requirement that 

 application for the grant must be made and all conditions 

 met at the inspection next before that at which the first 

 grant is awarded has been relaxed. On the other hand, as 

 half the time given may now be in school hours, the 

 maximum special grant, wliich was only given for the time 

 spent on the work out of school hours, has been reduced to 

 one-half its former amount. There has been a very great 

 increase, in consequence of the changes, in the number of 

 school gardens ; and in spite of the reduction in the 

 individual grants, the total amount of grants may not fall 

 off, but may even show an increase. 



