31 G 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October G, 190G. 



With a view to obtaining authentic information as to the- 

 probable results to be obtained from Castilloa rubber trees 

 in Jamaica, a planter in the parish of Portland has offered 

 to allow the Agricultural Society to carry out tap[iing 

 ex|>erinients on trees on his estate. 



GLEANINGS. 



According to the Cotton Tnide Journal, the ex|iorts of 

 Sea Island cotton from San Juan, Porto Rico, for the year 

 ended June 30 last, amounted to 976 bales (297,080 lb.), of 

 the value of $95,21.5. 



The Colonizer says, in regard to the proposal to start 

 a lemon industry in Dominica : ' if they could be shipped so as 

 to arrive here in the summer, when the market is understocked, 

 they should find a good opening.' 



Jlr. William Gray, of Edinburgh I'niversity, has been 

 appointed Normal and Agricultural Master in British Guiana 

 in succession to Mr. E. G. Chamberlaine. (Demerara .4»-jfosy, 

 September 19, 1906.) 



The American Breeders' A,ssociation will hold a meeting 

 at Columbus, Ohio, from January 15 to 18, 1907. At most of 

 the sessions there will be two sections, for animal breeders 

 and plant breeders, respectively. 



It has been decided by the Government of Trinidad to 

 distribute 500 copies of this Deiiartment's paniiihlet (No. 41) 

 'Tobago, Hints to Settlers,' among headmasters of public 

 schools in England. 



A special meeting of the St. Lucia Agricultural Society 

 was held on Monday, October 1, at which Mr. H. A. Ballon, 

 M.Sc, Entomologist on the staff of the Imperial Department 

 of Agriculture, gave an address relating to insect pests. 



The Agricultural Superintendent at St. Vincent reports 

 that arrangements have been made to carry out a scheme of 

 seed selection for cotton on four estates in the island. On 

 each of these estates 100 plants will be selected by 

 Mr. Thornton and Mr. Sands. 



It is stated in the Report on Agricultural Investigations 

 in Porto Rico during 1905 that small seedlings of Ceara 

 rubber {Manihot Glatiovii) in the station nursery have been 

 attacked by the cassava bud maggot, which, however, does 

 not damage larger trees. 



The boys of the Dominica Agricultural School devote 

 much of their leisure time to the budding of oranges. Some 

 of them have as many as 100 stocks in their gardens at the 

 present time, all of which will be readily sold at 6d. each as 

 soon as they have been budded. 



During the period June 5 to August 13, 1906, the 

 Agricultural Dei>artment at Barbados shipped to the United 

 Kingdom 103 bunches of bananas, all of which, with two 

 exceptions, arrived in good condition. The prices paid to 

 planters have varied from 63c. to 76c. per bunch. 



Apparently but little interest is being taken in cotton 

 cultivation in Jamaica. According to Mr. John Barclay, the 

 Secretary of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, there will 

 probably be about 250 acres planted in Vere, 50 acres at 

 Inverness, and of small cultivators about 50 acres. He 

 estimates that the area under cotton in Jamaica will not exceed 

 300 acres. 



The bark of the We.st Indian and South American man- 

 grove tree {Rhhophora Man;ile), which has for years been in 

 use locally as a wound remedy and febrifuge, has, by the long- 

 continued experiments of 'SI. Duque and A. Moreno, been 

 shown to be a specific for leprosy. (Merck's 'Annual Iteports.') 



The Agricultural Instructor for Nevis reports that 

 a fairly general rainfall of about 8 inches accompanied the 

 cyclonic disturbance of August 31-Septeniber 1. This has 

 relieved the great tension that existed among sugar and cotton 

 planters. Some of the early-planted cotton was badly lodged 

 by the heavy wind, but, on the whole, the damage was not 

 great. 



His Honour the Acting Administrator of St. Kitt's- 

 Nevis has appointed the Hon. C. A. Shand, Dr. J. N. Rat, 

 and Messrs. M. Evelyn, Malone, and Greaves to be 

 a committee to receive and consider the particulars submitted 

 by the .several cotton growers in connexion with the award of 

 the gold medal ottered by Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.M.G., for the 

 best cotton grown in the island of Nevis. 



The shipments of sisal hemp from Turks Island are all 

 made to New York, and vary yearly in quantity. For 1905 

 the weight was 398,281 lb., valued at .?28,3I0. All the 

 sponges exported in 1905 also went to New York and were 

 valued at .^10,814. Turtle shells were exported to the extent 

 of $2,595. The salt industry has been a disastrous one for 

 past two seasons. (U. S. Monthly Consular Riports.) 



According to the U. S. Monthly Consrdar Reports, 

 considerable interest is being taken in the discovery of the 

 occurrence in Formosa of a new rubber vine belonging to the 

 order Ajxjcynarnic, which has been designated Ecdysanthera 

 uiills. It grows profusely in the valleys in the northern and 

 middle parts of the island. It is believed that the discovery 

 will lead to an industry of considerable dimensions. 



WEST INDIAN AGRICULTURAL 

 CONFERENCE. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the- 

 West Indies is making a further effort to hold the next 

 \Vest Indian Agricultural Conference in Jamaica. 

 ^Vith that view the Commissioner is in communication 

 with the Governor of Jamaica, and it is hoped that it 

 may be possible to arrange for steamer services so that 

 the conference may meet in Jamaica in the second week 

 of January next. 



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