Vol. V. No. 118. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



341 



TOBAGO BOTANIC STATION. 



The Tobago Botanic Station, off which Mr. H. 

 Uillen is in charge as Curator, is undk' the snperin- 

 -tendence of Mr. J. H. Hart, F.L.S., of the Trinidad 

 Botanical Department. Here nurseries We maintained 

 for raising economic plants for distribution in the 

 island. The following account of the station appears 

 in Pamphlet No. 41, Tobago, Hints to Settlers : — 



Situated quite near the town, with access from the bay, 

 is the Botanic Station, where the intending settler may obtain 

 information and instruction in tropical agriculture, and here, 

 when the time comes, he will get the best varieties of young 

 plants and seedlings for his estate. 



The station (until March 31, 1906) was under the 

 general direction of the Hon. Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G., 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies, 

 who has done so much to develop the agricultural resources 

 of these islands. In his covering letter on the report of the 



Fig. 23. View in Botanic Station, TouAeiO. Plant Shed and Nurseries. 



Curator for the past year (1904- .5), the Commissioner writes: — 



' As I had an opportunity of paying official visits to the 

 Tobago Botanic Station on May 24 and 26 last, I am in 

 a position to confirm, by personal observation, the satisfactory 

 condition of the garden, and the efficient work that is being 

 carried on there in assisting the development of the agri- 

 cultural interests of the island. 



' The garden is throughout in a high state of cultivation. 

 It is conveniently situated so as to be accessible from all 

 parts of the island, and its establishment and maintenance 

 during the last six years by the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture have been greatly appreciated.' 



The experiment plots at the station, and that established 

 at Mr. Harry Smith's estate, Caledonia, serve as useful 

 object-lessons, and should be carefully studied. 



The Annual Report on the Tobago Botanic 



Station, for the year 

 190.5-6, was reviewed 

 in the Agricultural 

 Neivs, Vol. V, p. 271. 

 As indicating 

 the useful work being 

 carried on at this 

 station, the following 

 extract may be 

 quoted : — 



The Curator is 

 again able to report 

 a .satisfactory extension 

 in the plant distribu- 

 tion work, necessitat- 

 ing the enlargement of 

 the nursery. The 

 number of plants dis- 

 tributed from the 

 station was the largest 

 since the station was 

 established, viz., 

 13,694 — a very credit- 

 able increase of 4,1-59 

 over last year's total. 



The rainfall at 

 the Botanic Station 

 during the year was 

 71 '29 inches, which 

 was well distributed. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Commissioner 



of Agriculture 



The Imperial 

 addressed a meeting of the St. Kitt's' Agricultural 

 and Commercial Society on October 19. He arrived in 

 Antigua from St. Kitt's by S. S. ' Korona ' on October 

 25, leaving for Dominica on October 27. From 

 Dominica, Sir Daniel Morris proceeded to Montserrat 

 by the R. M. S. ' Eden ' on October 31. It is expected 

 that he will leave Montserrat to-morrow for St. Lucia, 

 where he will remain till the arrival of the S. S. ' Ocamo,' 



by which he will travel to St. Vincent and Barbados, 

 arriving at the latter island on Friday, November 9. 



Mr. Thomas Thornton, A.R.C.S., Travelling 

 InsjDector in connexion with Cotton Investigations in 

 the West Indies, who, as previou.sly mentioned in the 

 Agricultural News, has been on a visit to St. Croix, 

 arrived at Montserrat on October 27, where he will 

 inspect cotton cultivations. 



