5 



Name. Height. Name. Height. 



Laxton's Alpha ... 4 " Tall Sugar ... 8 " 



Prolific ... " Ne plus ultra ... 8 " 



*' Supreme ... 5 " Early Sunrise ... 3 " 



Sturdy ... 4 " Champion of England ... 7 " 



Duke of Albany ... 6 " William the First ... 5 " 



British Qiieen ... 8 " Emperor of tha Marrows ... 7^ " 



The following can be recommended as producing good crops : — 



Name. Height. Name. Height. 



Bishop's Long Podded ... 2^ feet Sturdy ... 4 " 



Princess Eoyal ... 6| " Carter's Telegraph ... 7 " 



Kentish Invicta ... 5 " " Balmoral Castle ... 5 " 



Laxton's Alpha ... 4 " Abundance ... 2| " 



" Prolific ... 5 " Emperor of the Marrows ... 7| " 



Duke of Albany ... G " Ne plus ultra ... 8 " 

 The following can be specially recommended for excellence of quality : — 



Name- Height. Name. Height. 



♦Abundance ... 2^ feet * Duke of Albany ... 6 " 



* Carter's Balmoral Castle ... 7 " British Queen ... 8 " 



* " Telegraph ... 5 " * Princess Eoyal ... 6J " 

 " Telephone ... 6 " Champion of England ... 7 " 

 " First Crop ... 3^ " * Laxton's Prolific ... 5 " 

 " Dignity ... 6 " " Supreme ... 5 " 



Strawberries. — These should, and would no doubt, succeed well here, if they could be protected from 

 the ravages of the larva; of a beetle (Praspodes amabilis) which makes its appearance in large numbers 

 during the summer months. "When the larva) are hatched, they burrow in the loose earth and feed on 

 the tender roots of plants. "They are particularly fond of the cultivated strawberry, eating up into the 

 hearts of the plants and eventually killing them. 



Applications of fresh lime well dug into the soil checks them for a time, but it is not always 

 practicable to apply lime in this state, for instance when crops are growing, and besides the quantity 

 of lime which would be required to exterminate the caterpillars would be too much for the constitution 

 of most garden crops. During the coming season a small reward will be offered the work-people for 

 catching and destroying the beetles, and it is hoped by this means to lesson in some measure the evil 

 complained of. 



Onions. — Seeds were received from the Botanical Gardens, Saharanpur, Northern India, of two 

 kinds, " red onions" and " white Patna," and they promise well. A small packet of seed of the variety 

 known as " White Queen" was sown by the Director, and the onions give promise of being exceptionally 

 fine. This variety has been grown by Mr. Stephens, of Radnor, for some years and he speaks highly of 

 it. The onions seldom fail to bulb, and grow to a large size often weighing as much as 16 ounces. 



Fodder Plants. — The question of suitable fodder plants for high elevations in Jamaica is an im- 

 portant one, and has been engaging the attention of this Department for some time. Experiments are 

 now being carried out and will be continued with all the grasses, clovers, &c., likely to succeed at this 

 elevation, and it is to be hoped that one or more kinds will be found of sufficient merit to warrant their 

 introduction on a much larger scale, and that in time they will become naturalized and prove as useful 

 in the highlands as the indispensable guinea grass now is at lower elevations. 



Guinea grass ceases to grow spontaneously at elevations from about 4,500 feet upwards. At 5,000 

 feet it requires to be planted by hand, in sheltered spots, to be kept free from weeds, and, if possible, 

 manured, and even then it has a stunted appearance, and can only be cut about three times in the year. 

 A Himalayan Grass (Pennisetum triflorum) grows well here, and animals are very fond of it, but un- 

 fortunately it does not appear to produce fertile seeds freely, so that there is not much likelihood at 

 present of its spreading, unless it is planted. When it becomes thoroughly naturalized, however, it 

 may produce good seed, and the question of its spreading would then be only one of time. 



Red top grass (Agrostis vulgaris), Kentvicky blue grass (Poa pratensis), and Texas blue grass 

 (Poa arachnifera) are growing well and are much relished by stock, and I have reason to hope for good 

 results from them, but they have not been for a sufficient length of time under trial to enable me to 

 state whether they will produce fertile seeds and spread naturally. Of Clovers the following are 

 satisfactory : — Scarlet (Trifolium incarnatum), Red Medium (Trifolium pratense). Cow grass (Trifo- 

 lium pratense, pcrenne), and Japan (Lespedeza striata). Alfalfa, or Lucerne has also done fairly well, 

 but it requires a good deep soil. These plants are not being treated as Garden subjects : beyond clear- 

 ing the bush off the land and loosening the surface of the soil no cultivation has been attempted so that 

 they are having a fair test as to their capabilities of holding their own in a poor soil. 



Potatoes. — A small lot each of twelve varieties were received from Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Read- 

 ing, once a month for eight months for trial, but each lot was attacked by a fungoid disease and killed 

 to the ground. 



Fruit Trees. — A consignment of fruit trees was received at the end of the financial year from Mr. 



* Also included in the list of varieties producing the best crop. 



