194 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



JuxE 30, 1906. 



In the article in the Argosy referred to above, it 

 is stated that, for the first time in the history of the 

 industry, rice had been exported from the colony. Two 

 shipments, amounting to 2,500 bags, had recently been 

 made to Barbados, where good prices had been realized. 



In addressing a large meeting of farmers and 

 villagers on the East Coast on May 28, Mr. H. Gaskin, 

 of the Clonbrook Rice Factory, spoke of the possibilities 

 of the rice industry' and of the benefits that might be 

 derived from its pursuit. ' Rice was a product,' he 

 said, 'w-hich would not perish quickl}', would not too 

 soon glut the market, and could be exported. The 

 same could not be said of ground jDrovisions. Besides, 

 at the present moment there was a scarcity of rice in 

 India.' The meeting pledged its hearty support to 

 the industry. 



The question of the extension of the rice cidtiva- 

 tion, pai'ticularly among the peasantry, has received 

 considerable attention from the Subsidiary Products 

 Committee of the British Guiana Board of Agriculture, 

 which has all along been convinced of the suitability 

 of the low-lying coast lands of the colony to this crop. 

 Experimental tests of selected varieties of rice imported 

 from Ceylon have been carried out bj- the Board during 

 the last few years. These tests indicate that the imported 

 varieties mature in a shorter time than the 'Ci'eole' rice, 

 and also give a larger return. The yields of paddy from 

 most of the imported varieties were from 20 to 30 cwt., 

 as against 14'6 cwt. per acre from the local kind. With 

 the latter, five to six months elapse irom ihe time the 

 farmer prepares his land to the reaping season, but in 

 these trials the imported varieties were found to mature 

 in four months. Seed of these varieties has been dis- 

 tributed, free of cost, to those making application for it. 



It is evident that the yields ordinarily obtained 

 from rice in British Guiana vary very considerably. 

 The average has been placed by competent authorities 

 at about 28 bags of paddy to the acre; as a bag weighs 

 i.20 lb., this would be 30 cwt. per acre. In a paper on 

 this subject read at the last West Indian Agricultural 

 Conference, the Hon. B. Howell Jones mentioned that 

 in certain places, in comparatively new land, he had 

 seen as many as 38 bags produced by a single acre. 

 So far, species of 'hill' rice, grown in India without 

 water, had, he said, grown far better in the swampy 

 lands of British Guiana than many other varieties. 



It may be mentioned that rice is also cultivated, 

 though not to a very large extent, in Trinidad and 

 Jamaica. In St. Lucia between 50 and 100 acres are 

 under cultivation. 



It has sometimes been suggested that ' Upland ' 

 rice might be more extensively cultivated in the West 

 India Islands. But this kind of rice gives a much 

 smaller return than swamp rice. Rice is a plant that 

 shows considerable power of adaptability, and many of 

 its varieties will thrive under dry cultivation, but it is 

 stated that the yield, under such conditions, is rarely 

 more than one-third of the amount produced on the 

 same area under irrigation. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Java. 



The following extract from the Consular Rc^iort 

 on the trade of Java for the j'ear 1905 reviews the 

 position of the sugar industry in that island. A similar 

 review for the previous year appeared in the Agri- 

 cultural Xews, Vol. IV, p. 227 : — 



Xotwithstanding the fact that the planted area wa.s 

 slightly larger, the 1 905 sugar crop only yielded a produc- 

 tion of 1,028,357 tons, or a decrease of 36,398 tons, as 

 compared with that of the previous year. This must be 

 attributed to the unfavourable weather experienced during 

 the planting season ; at the time when copious rains were 

 most required there occurred periods of drought, which had 

 an injurious eflect on the canes and resulted in the juices 

 being of inferior quality. The satisfactory prices obtained 

 by planters, recorded in my last report, were not only well 

 msintained but later in the season rose to a level which has 

 not been approached for some years. 



With regard to cane diseases, Mr. Vice-Consul Rose 

 reports as follows : — 



' Progress is noticeable in the endeavours made to 

 eradicate the many diseases to which sugar-cane is liable, 

 the success being due, in great measure, to the process of 

 careful selection. The best results were again obtained from 

 the seedlings, the popularity of which increases annually. 

 The foreign cane has fallen into disfavour and is likely soon 

 to be entirely abandoned, while the indigenous cane, 

 although yielding good results, proves expensive through 

 having to be nurtured in gardens in the hills.' 



As foreshadowed in my last report, the profits made by 

 mills on the lOOi working were in most cases expended on 

 new machinery, and the majority of the mills in Java may 

 now be said to be up to date as far as installation is con- 

 cerned. Many are now capable of ]:iroducing, in addition 

 to the usual qualities, superior sugar, which in shade and 

 grain most nearly approaches the retined article and finds 

 a ready market in India. 



With the exception of the United Kingdom, which only 

 took 9,230 tons, as against 55,511 tons in 1904, the exports 

 to various countries have been much on the same scale as 

 during the preceding year. 



The results obtained from the free use of sulphate of 

 ammonia and ground-nut cake on .sugar plantations continue 

 to be most beneficial. 



