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BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The usual monthly meeting of the Board of Agriculture was 

 held at Headquarter House, on Tuesday July I2th, 1904, at 1 1. 15 

 a.m. : present, His Excellency, Sydney Olivier, Esq., Chairman, 

 the Director of Public Gardens, the Archbishop of the West Indies, 

 the Island Chemist, the Superintending Inspector of Schools, Mr. 

 J. W. Middleton and the Secretary, John Barclay. 



With regard to the plough steers at Hope, — on the recommenda- 

 tion of Mr. Cork, who had inspected them and pronounced them 

 to be past their best, it was ordered that they should be fattened 

 and sold and a pair of fresh steers broken to Cuban yoke bought 

 in their place. 



An estimate for the providing of proper appliances for curing 

 Sumatra tobacco to be grown at Hope again was submitted. The 

 Director of Public Gardens was instructed to get all the informa- 

 tion he could as to the methods used in Florida, as the conditions 

 there are somewhat similar to those of Jamaica. 



A letter from the Colonial Secretary was submitted informing 

 the Board that the Hon. Thomas Capper, Superintending Inspector 

 of Schools, and Mr. J. W. Middleton had been appointed members 

 of the Board. 



The report of the Sub-Committee appointed to enquire into the 

 cotton industry was submitted. It recommended that the Board 

 should do all in its power to bring strongly to the notice of the 

 Government the advisability of pushing this industry with all the 

 resources at its disposal, and especially to foster cotton growing 

 in the plains of St. Elizabeth where little, that can be exported, is 

 grown at present. The Committee also recommended that the 

 Board should get into closer connection at once with the British 

 Cotton Growing Association and impress on them the capabilities 

 of Jamaica for growing cotton, that the people were awakening to 

 the importance of the industry, the results of experiments so far 

 made and the price of Jamaican cotton already marketed. The 

 Chairman said that it might be a good plan to recommend that a 

 small patch of cotton be planted in school gardens, so that children 

 might see its growth, know when it was fit and learn how to pick it. 

 As regards the grant given by the Board of Agriculture, the 

 Superintending Inspector of Schools reported that school gardens 

 were being started in about eleven schools under the Board's 

 scheme. The Chemist said he had taken the Board's scheme to 

 mean that there should be four model school gardens in four dif- 

 ferent parishes, as centres which all other school teachers and 

 scholars could see, and visit as models. The Superintending In- 

 spector was asked to map out six or seven schools in good centres 

 to be cared for by the school masters, but to be under the super- 

 vision of Agricultural Instructors, as far as possible. 



Papers on the cost of cassava growing and the manufacture of 

 cassava starch were submitted and directed to be circulated. 



