326 
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! 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. 
