222 



compiled some two years ago by Mr. A. B. C. Francis, at that time 

 Secretary to the Governor, from figures collected wherever in existence. 

 From this chart and inspection of all available returns it may be said, 

 that, while the East Coast has a fairly clearly defined wet season from 

 October or November until March or April, the West Coast and In- 

 terior have no very definite wet or dry seasons. A combined curve 

 for all stations falls slightly from January till June, rising again to- 

 wards December. 



No abnormal temperatures were recorded. 



Estates. 



The returns submitted with the Protector's annual report shew- 

 that there are 2Q Estates planting Rubber only, and 8 Tobacco only. 

 Three plan both these products. Five confine their attention to Coco- 

 nuts, and one to pepper and gambler. In addition 4 companies were 

 employed in cutting timber, in 10 Camps, two companies worked 

 mangrove for cutch, one prospected for oil and one for minerals. 



Labourers. 



On January 1st, there were in the State 10,842 persons working 

 on verbal or written contracts under the Labour Laws ; this number 

 had increased to 17,594 by the end of the year, the nationalities being 

 as follows: — Chinese 10,683, Javanese 3,726, Malays and Natives 3,185. 

 The total number of labour contracts signed during the year was 

 11,877. 



DISEASES OF PINE-APPLES. 

 Part I. 



In the last number of the Agricultural News, some account was 

 given of the fungus Thielaviopsis paradoxa, which causes diseases of 

 the pine-apple, as well as of other host plants. It is proposed to 

 give, in this and a subsequent article, an account of the pine-apple 

 diseases due to this parasite, and of certain other diseases of different 

 origin found on pine-apples in Hawaii. These are described in Bulletin 

 10 of the Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' 

 Association. The matter is believed to be of some interest, as most 

 of these diseases would appear to occur in the West Indies also, 

 more particularly in Antigua, where they have been made the subject 

 of one or two preliminary investigations; the latest of these was 

 conducted during the pine-apple season of last year. This investi- 

 gation yielded some information as to the insects commonly found 

 on pine-apples in Antigua, and on their distribution throughout the 

 parts examined. Owing however, to the fact that the black heart 

 disease, which was that especially under investigation, cannot be 

 detected form the outside of the fruit, and to the fact that this was 

 much rarer in that year than it had been for some time, nearly all the 



