33^ 



NA rURE 



[February 6, 1902 



factories a( Barbados and Antigua were gradually taking shape. 

 The diseases of cacao were receiving careful attention, and 

 amongst subsidiary industries the best method of converting 

 lime juice into citrate of lime was being investigated ; attempts 

 were being made to establish a trade in sweet polatoes between 

 Barbados and London, to grow Irish potatoes for the London 

 market, and to develop the onion industry in Antigua, Mont- 

 serrat and Dominica ; and plantations of the Central American 

 rubber {Castilha elaslica) had been started at Trinidad and 

 Tobago. A bee expert had been employed for several months 

 to visit and advise bee-keepers, and lately an illustrated pamphlet 

 containing information respecting bee-keeping in the West 

 Indies had been published. Very favourable conditions existed 

 in many of the West Indian colonies for raising horses, cattle 

 and small stock, and efforts were being made to improve native 

 breeds by the importation of stallion ponies, Maltese jacks and 

 iennies, pedigree bulls, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry. The 

 direct fruit trade recently established between Jamaica and the 

 United Kingdom by means of a subsidised steamship service 

 had proved entirely successful, and it was difi'icult to over-estimate 

 the possibilities in this direction, in which many of the smaller 

 West Indian islands might participate. 



Agricultural education had formed an important part of the 

 work done ; tourses of lectures in agriculture were being de- 

 livered in all parts of the West Indies to school teachers, and 

 by this means the subject was being introduced into the primary 

 schools. In the higher grade schools and colleges it was sought 

 to establish lectureships in agricultural science; a lecturer had 

 been provided by the Department at Barbados and Jamaica, 

 and favourable reports had been received upon the results of 

 their work. Seven agricultural scholarships had been founded, 

 and it was hoped soon to be able to increase the number in 

 order to afford opportunity to the most promising boys in the 

 smaller islands to obtain sound agricultural teaching. Agri- 

 cultural schools at St. \"incent, Dominica and St. Lucia had 

 been established, at which seventy boys were being maintained 

 for three or four years free of cost to their parents and care- 

 fully trained in the science and practice of agriculture. At- 

 tached to the schools were experiment stations, where the boys 

 carry on all light operations and raise a portion of their own 

 food. A series ot lectures to planters had been given in 

 Barbados the full text of which would shortly be published. 

 Agricultural shows under the auspices of the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture were now regularly held at .seven of the 

 islands, and these shows were gradually drawing attention to the 

 better cultivation and preparation of produce and bringing 

 prominently into notice the varied resources of the islands. 



Besides the journal of the Imperial Department . if Agriculture 

 ( West Indian Bulletin), of which the last number of the second 

 volume was in the press, twelve pamphlets, containing in the 

 aggregate 417 pp., had been published since the last con- 

 ference. These pamphlets contain information specially ap- 

 plicable to tropical conditions, ami 30,000 copies are in course of 

 being distributed. The principal subjects dealt with are : — 

 "The General Treatment of Insect Pests" (fust and second 

 editions), "Scale In.sects of the Lesser Antilles "(parti.), "Cul- 

 tivation of Vegetables," " Hints for cooking Sweet Potatoes,' 

 " Bee-keeping in the West Indies," " Manures and Leguminous 

 Plants at Barbados, 1S98 1901," " Hints for School Gardens," 

 " Seedling and other Canes in the Leeward Islands, 1900-1901," 

 "Seedling and other Canes at Barbados, 1901." Of " Nature 

 Teaching " (pp. 12 and 199) 2000 copies have been published and 

 nearly all distributed. The Department contemplates the 

 publication of a fortnightly paper, to be called the Agriciilliiral 

 News, containing hints and advice on ajl points of interest to 

 the West Indies. 



The sugar industry was the first subject taken up for dis- 

 cussion by the Conference ; short papers were read by those 

 engaged in sugar-cane experiments in the various colonies, 

 summarising the progress made during the past year ; a dis- 

 cussion ensued in which the agricultural representatives took 

 an important part. While no seedling could be put forward 

 at present to displace the old and well-tried varieties, it was 

 felt that the progress made encouraged the view that the 

 production of seedlings was destined to play an important 

 part in the future existence of the sugar-cane industry in the 

 West Indies. The accounts given of recent manurial experi- 

 ments confirmed the importance of active nitrogenous manures, 

 but tended to show that in many soils phosphatic manures did 

 not increase the yield. The general consensus of opinion was 



NO. 1684, VOL. 65] 



in favour of supplementing the experimental station plots by 

 trials upon a large scale on the estates, and this method has been 

 already adopted in several colonies. 



The proceedings included important papers by Mr. H. H. 

 Cousins (Government chemist, Jamaica) and .Mr. Joseph Shore 

 (Jamaica), on " The Sugar Industry of Jamaica," and accounts 

 of the life-history of the lady bird borer {Sphenoptiorus sacchari), 

 by Mr. Maxwell Lefroy, and of "The Field Treatment of Cane 

 Tops in reference to Fungoid Disease," by Mr. A. Howard. 



On the second day, papers on agricultural education were read 

 by Mr. A. B. McFarlane (principal of the Teachers' Training 

 College, Jamaica), Mr. W. K. Buttenshaw (lecturer in agri- 

 cultural science, Jamaica) and Messrs. J. K. Reece, J. A. 

 Harbin and C. M. Martin, inspectors of schools at Barbados, 

 Grenada and the Leeward Islands. An educational section, 

 with the Bishop of Barbados as chairman and Mr. C. M. Martin 

 as secretary, reported upon questions connected with agricultural 

 teaching at primary schools. A chemical section, with Prof. 

 J. B. Harrison (British (luiana) as chairman and Prof. J. P. 

 d' Albuquerque (Barbados) secretary, reported upon chemical 

 methods in sugar-cane work. 



Papers were also read on " Suggestions for Regulating the 

 Quality of Exported Fruit," by Mr. Sydney Olivier (Colonial 

 Secretary, Jamaica), "The Preparation of Citrate of Lime," 

 by Mr. Francis Watts (Government chemist. Leeward Islands), 

 " Scale Diseases," by Mr. H. Maxwell Lefroy (entomologist to 

 the Department), "Agricultural Boards," by Mr. Sydney 

 Olivier, "The Preparation of Essential Oils," by Mr. Hart 

 (Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens, Trinidad), "The 

 Removal of Epiphytic Vegetation on the Stems of Cacao and 

 Lime Trees," by Mr. A. Howard (mycologist to the Depart- 

 ment), and "The Aloe Industry of Barbados," by Mr. W. G. 

 Freeman (technical assistant to the Department). 



J. P. d'Albuquerque. 



THE LEONID SHOWER OF 1901. 



T T now seems possible to give a brief review of the character 

 ■'■ of the Leonid shower which occurred last November, a 

 considerable number of reports being available for the purpose. 

 Certain other results obtained in various quarters of the globe 

 doubtless still remain unpublished, but it is not likely that they 

 will materially differ from those already before us. 



In England the display of Leonids cannot be said to have 

 been a conspicuous or a plentiful one, though it was decidedly 

 stronger than in either of the years 1S99 or 1900. Fortunately, 

 the sky was clear on the nights following November 14 and 15, 

 and a large number of observations were secured in different 

 parts of the country. On the morning of November 15, Mr. 

 H. Corder at Bridgwater watched the firmament for an hour 

 and a half and saw 50 meteors, three-quarters of the number 

 being Leonids, so that the horary rate of their apparition 

 was about 25. Mr. E. C. Willis, of Norwich, found the 

 hourly number 22 on the same morning, while on the 

 following morning it was iS. Mr. J. R. Henry, of Dublin, 

 observing from ih. to 3.30, saw Leonids as bright as 

 the first and second magnitude falling at the rate of 12 

 per hour. The maximum was apparently attained just 

 before the morning twilight began to overpower the fainter 

 -Stars. The horary numbers quoted above may be fairly con- 

 sidered to approximate the truth. It is true that some other 

 observers saw fewer meteors, but as they were engaged in 

 recording the individual paths, a considerable number must 

 have altogether escaped their notice. 



But the real maximum of the shower certainly occurred after 

 sunrise in England ; this is proved by observations from America, 

 where the meteors were far more numerous, though the display 

 was only of secondary importance. Mr. E. L. Larkin, at the 

 observatory on Echo Mountain, S. California, counted 297 

 meteors on November 15, 4h. tosh, a.m (local time), so they were 

 falhng at the rale of 5 per minute. The maximum was at about 

 4h. 20m. -25m. a.m. One fireball left a streak for 14 minutes, 

 and the meteors generally were very brilliant, two being esti- 

 mated twenty times as bright as Venus, three ten times as 

 bright, twelve five times as bright, and twenty-five equal to 

 Venus. Forty were equal to Jupiter. At Ladd Observatory, 

 Providence, the number seen w.is 2 per minute on the morning 

 of November 15, while at several other pKices in the States the rate 

 was 3 or 4 per minutel>et«cen about 3h. 30m. and 5h. 30m. a.m. 



