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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 15, 1906, 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Very heavy rains have been tailing in Barbados 

 for some time past, and at the time of writinc; the 

 fields are in a sodden condition. This is very unfortu- 

 nate as many fields are now ready for picking, and 

 v.ith the plants in their present condition light showers 

 would have been much more useful. 



It is iiniiortant tn note that tho.'^e fields which were 

 ])lanted according to the recommendations of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture have withstood the heavy rains 

 nuich better than those in which the plants have been 

 crowded, ilore than one large cotton planter is now 

 emphatically convinced that the best results are obtained by 

 planting in single straight rows from 5 to 6 feet apart. 



As a result of the wet conditions, the seeds in many 

 instances have germinated before the .seed-cotton could be 

 picked. It is very desirable that the attention of planters 

 .should be drawn to this. When the seed-cotton is brought 

 in from the fields it should be very carefully assorted ; all the 

 .seed-cotton in which the seeds have germinated should be 

 separated from the rest, and on no account should it be 

 mixed with the good seed-cotton. 



There is a very important cjuestion being asked by 

 planters, namely : If the worms should appear in a field of 

 eotton after the bolls have commenced to open, is it advisable 

 to dust with Paris green and lime ( The answer is decidedly 

 in the artirmative. During the development of the bolls 

 a very larjre cjuantity of food material is being drawn to these 

 parts, and if the leaves should be removed the food material 

 is likely to run short, and as a consequence the bolls must 

 .suffer. The amount of Paris green and lime which will fall 

 on the lint in the bolls is very small and is not likely to do 

 any damage. In any case the damage caused by allowing the 

 leaves to be eaten off will be much greater than could 

 ])ossibly be caused by the Paris green and lime falling on the 

 lint in the open bolls. 



CULTIVATORS IN COTTON FIELDS. 



In most cotton fields in the West Indies, the land 

 will have to be kept clean by means of the hoe. 



Where the system of cane holing, and the forming of 

 cross bars is adopted, it is impossible to use any machine ; 

 but where cotton is planted on the fiat, or where only ridges 

 and furrows are formed, it becomes an easy matter to keeii 

 the land free from weeds by the use of the cultivator 



In St. Croix cultivators are used with great success. 

 The machines used are light, they can be drawn by one mule, 

 and are capable of going over 3 acres per day. The cost of 

 these machines is about $10 each. 



In i)laces where there is a deficiency of labour the use 

 of these machines may be worth considering. 



INSURANCE OF COTTON SHIPMENTS. 



The Secretary of the British Cotton-growing 

 Association has written to the Imperial Commissioner 

 of Agriculture as follows, under date November 27, in 

 regard to the insurance of .shipments of cotton from 

 the West Indies : — 



Now that the shipments of the new season's cotton crop 

 have connnenced, or will shortly do so, we think it would be 

 advisable to draw the attention of the ]>Ianters in the West 

 India Islands to the arrangements made for insuring consign- 

 ments, as expressed in our letter of May 29, in order that no 

 misunderstanding or confusion may arise, and we shall 

 therefore be glad if j'ou will kindly refer to same in the next 

 issue of the Agricultural News. 



The letter referred to above contains the following, 

 which was published in the Aqriciiltarul JS'etus, 

 Vol. V, p. 198 :— 



We are prepared to insure any shipments of cotton from 

 the West Indies, which are consigned to us, where same have 

 not already been insured by the consigners, under our open 

 policy with the Marine Insurance Company. 



As, however, we cannot tell whether the insurance has 

 been effected or not, unless it is stated in the consigner's 

 letter of advice, or on the bill of lading, we shall be glad if 

 you will kindly inform the planters in the West India Islands 

 that, if they wish us to attend to the insurance of any cotton 

 they may ship, they must specially request us to do so when 

 they advise the shipment, and give us as many particulars as 

 possible respecting same, such as the weight of the cotton, 

 its approximate value, etc. Unless this is done, we cannot 

 undertake any responsibility in the event of the cotton being 

 lost or damaged. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



Keporting on November 17, Messrs. Henry W. 

 Frost & Co., of Charleston and Savannah, state with 

 regard to Islands cotton as follows : — • 



There was a good demand for all the limited offerings 

 of the odd bags, classing fine at 29c., fully fine 30c., extra 

 fine 32c., the buying being for England and France. But 

 as the receipts continue small, nnd with unfavourable crop 

 advices, the Factors conferred and agreed among themselves 

 not to sell further except on a basis of fine 30c., fully fine 

 32c., extra fine 3.5c. At this advance the market is quiet, 

 but there is some inquiry which may result in some demand 

 over prices ruling the earl}' part of the week. 



Several planters' crop lots have been sold for France at 

 prices ranging from 3i^c. to .50c. 



