396 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 15, 1906. 



The three jKirislies to be dealt with during the current 

 year under the prize-holding.s scheme of the Jamaica Agri- 

 cultural Society are St. Ann, Trelawny, and Manchester. The 

 rules of the scheme are [jublished in the society's Journal, 

 for November. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Curator of the Botanic Station at Montserrat 

 reports that two persons are planting -J acre each in broom 

 corn. A |-acre plot has been sown at the Botanic Station. 



It is announced that there will be held in February next 

 at Grenville an exhibition of the Agricultural and Commercial 

 Society of Grenada, under the auspices of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture for the West Indies. 



Trojncal Life, for November, contains a portrait of the 

 Hon. William Fawcett, B.Sc, F.L.S., Director of Public 

 Gardens and Plantations, Jamaica. A brief sketch of 

 ]\Ir. Fawcett's career is given, and reference is made to the 

 work carried on by him in .lamaica. 



In the November number of the Journal of the Nnu York 

 Botanical Garden, the Chairman of the P)Oard of Managers of 

 that institution. Professor S. M. Underwood, of Columbia 

 University, reports on the tropical laboratory and station at 

 Cinchona, Jamaica, leased in 1903 for ten years from the 

 Jamaica Government. 



The Trinidad Mirror for November 2-1, describes the 

 San Fernando School Horticultural and Needlework Show. 

 In addressing those present, his Excellency the Governor 

 said that the ' rule of thumb ' methods were of very little 

 use to agriculture. In agriculture thej' must keep on improv- 

 ing all the time. There was a peasant proprietors' and an 

 animal section at this show. 



It is stated in the report of the Government Analyst in 

 British Guiana for the year 190-5-6 that 1,747 samples of 

 sugar and molasses, and 567 samples of sugar-canes were 

 submitted for examination during the year. The unsatisfac- 

 tory feature during the year is the high rate of adulteration 

 among samples of milks purchased in Georgetown.' 



The same report, dealing with ' substances suspected to 

 contain poison,' states that examination of two samples of 

 ' Rough on Rats ' showed that this substance is ' a carelessly 

 made mixture of white arsenic and powdered witherite 

 coloured by a small quantity of charcoal or similar product. 

 Its .sale appears to be a direct contravention of clause 21 (5) 

 of the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.' 



The Port-of-Sjxiin Gazette, of November 21, gives an 

 account of a School Vegetable Show, held at Arima, Trinidad, 

 on November 20. His Excellency the Governor welcomed 

 the new exliibit from the peasant proprietors and hoped 

 for imiJrovement in this section, as an evidence that the 

 teaching of the schools had been carried on in after life. 



The members of the agricultural science class in 

 Trinidad, says the Port-of-Spain Gazette, of November 20, 

 went to the Government Farm for a practical lecture on 

 ' Management of Live Stock and Poultry,' by the Manager of 

 the farm. Their next lecture will be delivered by the 

 Government Veterinary Surgeon. 



To ensure that the cotton seed is well preserved from 

 one season to another, a large St. Vincent planter is making 

 a special seed house. Large trays have been made 20 feet 

 long, 7 feet wide, and 7 inches deep. These are placed one 

 above another with a good space between each to admit of 

 a free circulation of air. The seed is also to be well turned 

 at definite periods. It is expected that an arrangement of 

 this kind will prevent any heating of the seed. 



An editorial of the Maritime Merchant, Halifax, N. S., 

 points out that the West Indies produce besides sugar other 

 important products such as cotton, cacao, and rice, which 

 may in fifteen or twenty years be greatly increased. Closer 

 commercial relations between Canada and the West Indies 

 must precede any thoughts of political union. The free 

 passage offered by Messrs. Pickford i Black to delegates of 

 the Boards of Trade of the principal Canadian cities is fraught 

 with po.ssibilities as to this ' market of the future.' 



Referring to the use of polished rice (see Agricultural 

 News, Vol. V, p. 285), the Journal of the Jamaica Agri- 

 cuhu7-al Socicfi/ says : ' readers will have noticed how carefully 

 we always define what kind of rice should be used to feed 

 chickens. We have always stated that it should be the 

 brown rice, to be bought in the small country shops or the 

 .shops of the Chinamen in town.' The figures given to show 

 the superiority of unpolished over polished rice appear to con- 

 tain some unexplained inaccuracy. We may state, however, 

 that Wiley (Bulletin 45, Division of Chemistry, U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture) states that unpolished rice (mean of six 

 samples) contains 8-02 per cent, of albuminoids, as compared 

 with 7'18 per cent, (mean of fourteen samples) in polished rice. 



The Tro2}en2y/lanzer (October 1905) gives the following 

 analysis of a sample of rubber obtained from five-year-old 

 trees of Funtimiia elastica grown in the Cameroons : moisture, 

 3'5 per cent.; caoutchouc (best quality), 87'2 per cent.; 

 caoutchouc (inferior quality), 0'5 per cent.; resin, 7'1 per cent.: 

 sand, bark, etc., 1"7 per cent. Considering that this .sample 

 was obtained from such young trees, it is of a remarkably 

 good quality. 



At the instance of the Grenada Agricultural Society, the 

 West India Committee in June last requested the Secretary 

 of State for Foreign Affairs to advise His Majesty's Consuls 

 in the chief cacao-producing countries of the world to procure 

 the fullest and most complete information possible regarding 

 the production of cacao and the methods of cultivation 

 prevailing, the destination of exports, and other such matters 

 which could prove of value to cacao planters in British 

 possessions. As a result, the first of a series of special 

 reports, viz., from Bahia, Brazil, appears in the last issue of 

 the West India Committee Circular (November 20, 1906), 

 This report will be reviewed in a future issue of the Agri- 

 ndlural News. 



