Vol. V. No. 122. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



409 



Exports of St. Lucia. 



The rejjort of the Treasurer for the year 1905-6 

 states that the total value of the exports of St. Lucia, 

 exclusive of bunker coal, was £109,028, an increase of 

 £7,578 as compared with the previous year. 



The value of the sugar exported (4,513 tons) was 

 £42,754, against £40,100 (4,607 tons) in 1904-5. The 

 output of cacao was 845 tons (value, £38,041), as 

 against 604 tons (value, £29,007). 



The products of the colony exported to the 

 British colonies during the year amounted in value to 

 £8,258 ; of this amount Barbados received produce to 

 the value of £2,057, the principal items being molasses, 

 wood, mangos (£408), and cacao. 



Banana Fibre in Jamaica. 



It is stated in the report on the Government 

 Laboratory in Jamaica, for 1905-6, that a banana fibre 

 company is commencing operations in the parish of 

 St. Mary. Steps were taken during the j-ear to ascertain 

 what loss the planters would sustain by selling the 

 banana stems to the company instead of returning 

 them to the soil. To estimate their manurial value, 

 analyses were made of stems in various stages. 



As a result, Mr. Cousins estimates that the manu- 

 rial value of 300 stems from an acre of land is about £2. 

 Potash was the most important item, viz., 180 ft. per 

 acre, the losses of phosphates and nitrogen being small 

 in comparison. On some lands the loss of humus 

 resulting from the removal of the stems would serious- 

 ly affect the productive power for bananas, especially 

 when a spell of drought occurs. 



Mr. Cousins concludes : 'If a good yield of commer- 

 cial fibre can be obtained, the industry should be 

 a sound one : on the other hand, a low yield of inferior 

 fibre would prevent the factory from paying a price for 

 the stems adequate to their agricultural value to the 

 planter. ' 



Exports of Trinidad. 



The Annual Colonial Report on Trinidad for 

 1905-6 states that the sugar crop of 1905 was a very 

 good one — on many estates the largest on record. 

 Low prices, however, discounted the heavy return of 

 produce, most of which was not shipped until after the 

 close of the financial year. The number of tons 

 actually exported was less than in the previous year, the 

 figures being 36,241 tons (£452,866), as against 47,578 

 tons (£723,048) shipped in 1904-5. The value of sugar 

 exported was thus £270,000 less than in 1904-5. 



The cacao crop was also a very fine one, the value 

 of the exports being £1,196,450, as compared with 

 £1,053,880 for the previous year. The total amount of 

 cacao produced in Trinidad was 432,288 cwt., as 

 compared with 363,873 cwt. in 1904-5. As in the case 

 of sugar, however, the prices obtained were low. 



The number of cocoa-nuts shipped during the year 

 was 483,363 greater than in 1904-5, the value being 

 £29,228, as against £21,832. There was an increase 

 of £37,000 in the value of the balata gum exported. 



Exports of Grenada. 



The Annual Colonial Report on Grenada for 1905 

 states that the trade of the colony experienced a sharp 

 recoil from the satisfactory conditions of the pi'evious 

 year. The value of the exports fell from £321,766 to 

 £283,955. The principal cause of this was the 

 unexpected c^oUapse of the crop of the chief staple, 

 cacao (which contributed 85 per cent, of the exports), 

 both in quantity and prices. The crop for the year ended 

 September 30, 1905, was only 64 "19 bags (of about 

 180 ft).), as compared with a recori' rop of 67,225 bags 

 in the preceding year. This shortai;^ was probably due 

 to unequal incidence of rainfall. Further, prices were 

 unsatisfactory on account of the largely increased 

 influx of West African cacao into the market. The 

 value of the exports of cacao was £243,790, as against 

 £272,226 in 1904. 



The spice crop was satisfactory in quantity but not 

 in pecuniary result. The value of the exports fell from 

 £33,767 in 1904 to £27,992 in 1905. 



The other leading product of the colony is cotton, 

 the growth of which is practical !}■ confined to Carriacou, 

 where there is a hopeful future for it. In consequence 

 of unfavourable weather, the steady increase of the 

 output, which had obtained up to the end of 1904, was 

 rudely interrupted in 1905, when only 1,899 cwt. of 

 raw cotton and 4,849 cwt. of seed were exported, as 

 compared with 2,807 cwt. and 6,844 cwt., respectively,, 

 in the preceding year. 



Agriculture in British Central Africa. 



According to the Annual Colonial Report for 

 1905-6, has always been in British Central Africa 

 a fluctuating export ; 773,919 ft), were exported in the 

 year under review. 



The amount of cotton exported is increasing every 

 year. In 1901-2 experimental shipments were made. 

 In 1902-3, 692 ft. were shipped ; in 1903-4, 26,577 ft).- 

 in 1904-5, 285,185 ft).; and in 1905-6, 776,621 ft. The 

 cotton is mostly Egyptian and American Upland. Sea 

 Island does not succeed. The average price is *ld. to 

 9(7.. per ft). The yield varies on the estates from less 

 than 100 ftj. to 320 ft. (in some small areas) of lint per 

 acre. A greatly increased output is predicted, if there 

 is no fall in prices. The natives are taking up the 

 cultivation of cotton for themselves in increasing 

 numbers. In 1905, 22 tons of selected Egyptian and 

 American seed were distributed to the natives by 

 the British Cotton-growing A.ssociation and the 

 Government. 



The amount of tobacco grown this year (198,994 ft).) 

 is nearly quadruple that in the year before. Most of it 

 is exported to the Transvaal. 



The export of chillies has decreased since cotton, 

 tobacco, and food stuffs have been found more profit- 

 able ; 20,291 ft. were exported. 



Of rubber, 852i acres, mostly Landolphia and 

 Munihot, have been planted in all; but only 523 ft), were 

 exported from plantations last year, while the v/ild 

 rubber collected was 16,758 ft). Mauritius and sisal 

 hemp are being planted on an estate scale. 



