3 26 



Vincent and the measures taken for the protection of the 

 industry have been under closer governmental control than in 

 any other island; and 



(c) The highest degree of success has been obtained in the 

 production of fine cotton. 



The soil of St. Vincent is of volcanic origin throughout, and 

 may be classed as a dark sandy loam. With the exception of 

 St. Kitts, the soils of other islands are, as a rule, heavier in 

 character. The rainfall of St. Vincent is ample and often 

 excessive, and exceeds that of the other Colonies. 



Mention has been made of the introduction of the River's 

 and other fine types from South Carolina, and it is from these 

 that the successful local industry has been built up. Great 

 care had to be exercised at the outset to ensure that only seed 

 from the best fields of plants true to type was planted. The 

 seed now used for planting is all obtained from nurseries or 

 selected crop lots, and is tested, selected, and sterilized before 

 being sown. The seed selected must be heavy and sound with 

 a tuft of green fuzz at one or both ends. Arrangements are 

 made with planters by the Agricultural Department to grow 

 special fields from seed from selected plants at the 

 Experiment Station in order to keep up the standard of cotton 

 grown by small growers. Most of the large estates now main- 

 tain their own nurseries. The methods adopted in plant 

 selection are based on desirable field characters of the plant, 

 yield of seed-cotton, length, fineness, strength, uniformity, 

 and lustre of the lint. Plant selection for resistance to certain 

 bacterial and 1 fungoid diseases is also largely carried out and 

 with promising results. 



The work of maintaining the quality and yield of cotton 

 in St. Vincent has been greatly facilitated by the enacting 

 of certain legislative measures. Under the Ordinance for the 

 prevention of the introduction of pests and diseases, power is 

 given the Agricultural Authority to destroy, fumigate, or 

 sterilize all seed-cotton or cotton seed brought into the Colony, 

 and the provisions of the Ordinance are strictly enforced. 

 Under the Agricultural Products Protection Ordinance all 

 sales of seed-cotton of a less amount than 100 Ib. in weight 

 have to be made to the Government Central Ginnery, but lots 

 up to 4,000 may be sold. The object of the action thus taken 

 was to prevent cotton stealing, but as the Government wisely 

 purchases the cotton on a profit-sharing basis there are few 

 sales to licensed dealers. At the present time there is only 

 one licensed dealer in the Colony, and the licence is held by 

 a responsible firm who do not sell seed for planting purposes 

 to the peasantry. As a result the seed supply is under close 

 control. 



