ToL. V. No. IIG. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



313 



fashion of wearing Panama hats in Europe has advanced 

 at such gigantic strides as to render the native labour 

 unable to keep pace with the demand. 



An interesting account of the manufacture of these 

 hats appeared in the Agrieidtwral A^eivs, Vol. Ill, 

 p. 310. 



Panama hats are made from the leaves of a palm- 

 like plant, Carhulovica palmata ; the Jamaica jippi- 

 jappa hats from a closely allied plant, C. jamaicensis. 

 Several references have been made in the Agricultural 

 News to the great possibilities of the jippi-jappa hat 

 industry in Jamaica. 



Rubber Planting in the Gold Coast. 



It is stated in the A\nnmd Report on the Gold 

 Coast for 190.5 that there has been an increased demand 

 ■for seeds and plants of Para rubber (i/erea bras Hie as is), 

 indicating a wide-spread interest in this product. 



During the year, 13,000 plants of this species were 

 raised at the Botanical Gardens at Aburi, and were 

 eagerly bought at the price of l.y. (kl. per dozen. There 

 were also distributed from the gardens 168,000 Para 

 rubber seeds. In a plantation under European super- 

 vision at Bonsu, 48,000 seedlings were raised last year 

 and are ready for planting out. Further, 500,000 Para 

 rubber seeds ha\e been ordered from Ceylon for 

 delivery during the present yeai\ 



In addition nearly two million seeds of Funtumia 

 ■elastica were distributed. 



The Para rubber seedlings, planted at the Botanical 

 Station, Tarkwa, have made good progress and are 

 exceptionally healthy trees: some of them have attained 

 a height of 20 feet and a circumference of 7 inches at 

 3 feet from the ground. 



Vanilla in Seychelles. 



References have previously been made in the 

 Agricultural News to the unsatisfactory condition of 

 the vanilla industry in Sej^chelles. The continued 

 collapse of this product is again referred to in the 

 Annual Report on the colony for 1905. 



' Vanilla may have a future : in no place are the 

 conditions of nature more favourable than in Seychelles ; 

 but, for the present, it is of little value, and the crop of 

 1906 is so small that it cannot be expected to exceed 

 44,000 lb.' 



The vanilla industry, which has long been at the 

 head of the products of Seychelles, has now been dis- 

 placed by the cocoa-nut products. During the last three 

 years the vanilla crops have shown a gradual falling off, 

 due to the drought in 1904, which destroyed one-third 

 of the vines, and reduced the vitality of the remainder. 

 This led to the reduction of the 1905 crop. Another 

 drought in 1905 led to an almost complete failure of 

 the flowering season for the crop of 1906. 



It is, however, reported that tlhere was, during 

 1905, a resolute effort on all sides to improve cocoa-nut 

 cultivation, and to develop new industries, especially 

 rubber cultivation, the desiccation of bananas, and the 

 exploitation of phosphates. 



School Children and Cotton Picking. 



In his Annual Report on primary education in 

 St. Vincent, the Inspector of Schools makes an 

 interesting suggestion with i-egard to the employment 

 of school children for picking cotton. 



Mr. Harbin refers to the objections made by 

 grown-up persons to picking cotton, who maintain that, 

 owing to the low growth of Sea Island cotton, this 

 occupation is better suited to children. He points out 

 that the scarcity of labour at the cotton-picking season 

 is made all the more serious by these objections, and 

 that, in consequence, much cotton was lost last season 

 from this cause. Considering the proud position 

 obtained by St. Vincent among the cotton-growing 

 islands of the West Indies, every effort should be made 

 to assist the industry. 



Mr. Harbin therefore suggests to the Board of 

 Education that the holiday arrangements should be so 

 amended as to admit of three weeks' vacation at 

 Christmas (which is the cotton-picking season), with 

 a view to allowing planters to secure the services of the 

 children in reaping their crop. 



It may be of interest to mention that a similar 

 arrangement is made in some of the rural districts of 

 England, to enable the children to participate in 

 certain agricultural operations, such as potato picking. 



The Inspector mentions that at one of the schools 

 he visited the teacher had prepared a large quantity 

 of loose and dirty cotton, which the pupils were 

 required to separate. 



Agricultural Industries in Fiji. 



The report of the Superintendent of Agriculture 

 for 1905 on agriculture in Fiji contains, in addition to 

 a record of exports since 187.5, interesting references to 

 the crops of the colony. 



At the present time the principal exports are 

 sugar, copra, and fruit. Out of a total export value of 

 £702,362 for the year 1905, the value of the exports of 

 sugar (58,487 tons) was £539,594, or about 77 percent. 

 Sugar-cane is grown by three large companies on their 

 own estates, by European planters on leased estates, 

 by coolies, and by natives. 



Next in the list of exports comes copra, the output 

 last year being 10,200 tons, of the value of £125,891. 

 The cultivation of cocoa-nuts appears to be largely on 

 the increase. Copra is dried by both artificial and 

 natural methods. The yield per acre varies much; 

 \ ton of copra is considered an average yield, and 

 6,000 nuts are calculated to yield 1 ton of copra. 



Fruit was exported in 1905 to the value of 

 £28,995. This is mainly bananas, of which 147,000 

 bunches were exported, chiefly to New Zealand. 



Formerly, cotton, coffee, pea-nuts, tobacco, and 

 other crops were grown on a fairly large scale. Among 

 new crops whose cultivation is being taken up, mention 

 may be made of cacao and rubber. The actual 

 cultivation of the former has been carried on only 

 during the last four or five years. It is likely that the 

 cultivation of rubber may be taken up. Para rubber 

 plants have been obtained from Ceylon. 



