279 



Canes grow fairly well, and the people were much interested when 

 told of the new canes at the Gardens, the more so as the Selangore* 

 almost the only cane now grown in the district, was obtained by them 

 from the Gardens. 



A few orange trees were observed in the district, nearly all of which 

 are in good health, free from borer or white ants. 



Stewart Town District of St. Anns and Tbelawny. 



The subjects dealt with, were, structure of plants and the uses of their 

 several parts; the composition of soils, the uses of manures, particularly 

 of stable and pigstye manure, and the value of vegetable matter in 

 changing the physical character of the soil ; the curing of produce and 

 the enhancement of its value by the curing being well done ; pruning 

 of coffee and orange trees, the necessity of freeing them from parasitic 

 growths, the desirability of shading coffee at low elevations, how to bud 

 sweet oranges on to sour trees and the advantages of doing so. 



February 25th. Lectured in the Watt Town School Room to about 

 70 adults and about double that number of School Children, the people 

 here were keenly alive to the importance of the subject and for an 

 hour and a half after the lecture, kept up astriDg of sensible questions. 



February 26th. At 7 o'clock in the morning nearly 20 of the "Watt 

 Town people appeared at Cheri Magna to see the pruning of coffee, 

 cocoa, oranges and the budding of the latter, three hours were spent in 

 the fields explaining the various operations. 



At 12 o'clock a meeting with lecture took place at Gibraltar, about 

 an equal quantity of adults assembling and about the same number of 

 School Children. A great number of questions were again asked and 

 after the lecture the whole of the adults repaired to the fields, and a 

 long time was spent in demonstrating as at Cheri Magna. 



February 27th. In consequence of the meeting of the people in- 

 terested in the formation of an Agricultural Society at Browns Town 

 being fixed for the 28th, Mr. Webb had altered the meeting at Keith 

 to Thursday at eleven o'clock. The audience consisted here of about 

 forty people fairly interested. At 7 o'clock in the evening a meeting 

 of 200 people was addressed in the Chapel at Stewart Town. The 

 people here seemed also much interested and a number of them asked 

 most pertinent questions. 



February 28th. A demonstration was given in the field of Mr. 

 Webb, about half a dozen persons only turning up. 



A visit was paid to the West wood Girls School, and an address deli- 

 vered chiefly on the structure of plants. 



This tour should prove useful to the people of Watt Town and Gib- 

 raltar, a large district of coffee cultivators, mostly freeholders. 



The soil in this district is chiefly of a light, very porous nature, 

 particularly liable to be affected by drought, being on a subsoil of a 

 honeycomb limestone formation ; the remainder being of a sour boggy 

 nature, the acidity of which renders the life of any plant of short dura- 

 tion on it. 



The chief points to which cultivators on the light soils should give 

 their attention, are the addition of humus rendering the soil heavier 

 and more retentive of moisture without rendering it sour or acid ; this 

 will be best brought about by heavy dressings of vegetable matter, mul- 



