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statistics, it would be useful if they could plant a square chain ot 

 each kind at Hope Gardens and follow the growth of the seed 

 through to the final results. The Acting Director was willing to 

 carry out the proposed experiment. This experiment was then 

 authorised. Mr. Watson said that it had been proved that there 

 were great differences in the growth of seed, even from the same 

 plantation. That kind of seed with the tuft of cotton remaining on 

 the end was superior in results to the clean black seed, and it 

 might be as well to have a special experiment in this direction 

 also. 



Instructors — 2. Intimating that the Board of Management of the 

 Agricultural Society had adopted a report of the Instructors' Com- 

 mittee, who had before them recommendations from the Acting 

 Director of Public Gardens, letters from Mr. Cradwick containing 

 suggestions, and information from the Secretary, all as represent- 

 ing the Board of Agriculture — and which recommended a new 

 Instructor's district to be formed consisting of St. Catherine and 

 Clarendon, thus relieving Mr. Cradwick of St. Catherine, Mr. Arnett 

 of upper Clarendon, and Mr. Palache of Lower Clarendon ; and 

 that Mr. J. Hirst, who was resident at Mocho in Clarendon, and who 

 was formerly one of the local instructors in the employment of the 

 Society, be appointed for the new district at a salary of £200 a year 

 for eleven days actual travelling work per month ; that he would 

 arrange with Mr. Cradwick and Mr. Briscoe to define their bounda- 

 ries in those localities which overlapped ; that he would arrange 

 with the Instructors to meet each other in those districts so 

 that they might confer jointly on the system of the work to be fol- 

 lowed, so that there might be more continuity and homogeneity in 

 the work than now exists. 



These arrangements were agreed to as regards Instructors, and 

 sanction was given that Mr. Briscoe, arrange an itinerary for 

 visiting cotton growers in St. Andrew on condition that such 

 arrangements could be made without withdrawing from any 

 arrangement or promise previously made with other districts. 



Drought in St. Elizabeth — The Archbishop asked leave to bring 

 up a matter that he was interested in. He said he thought it was 

 an opportune time to bring forward the matter of impressing the 

 value of Cassava Farine as a food, more especially with relation 

 to the people in St. Elizabeth. Surely something could be done 

 to prevent anything like a famine occurring in that district. After 

 the last attack by drought ten years ago the Agricultural Society 

 did something in this direction. 



For the information of the Chairman and Mr. Watson who were 

 not in the Island then, the Secretary explained what had 

 been done by the Agricultural Society and the cause of their 

 efforts falling through, not only in regard to Cassava Farine, but 

 also encouragement in growing a drought-proof money-yielding 

 crop, the grape vine, which flourished with little attention on those 

 same plains, and bore best in the driest weather. After discus- 

 sion, Mr. Watson said that in some of the other West Indian 

 Islands that he was familiar with, the people baked cassava bread 



