123 



19th, transmitting a copy of a despatch from the Governor of 

 Bahamas respecting the " Todd" Machine for extracting Fibre from 



Sisal Hemp. ■ 



2. This Machine is described in Report No. 5 " Fibre investiga- 

 tions in the United States," issued by the Department of Agriculture, 

 pp. 25, 26. The Governor's despatch gives the first information as to 

 its practical working which has reached Kew. As the success of the 

 Sisal Hemp enterprise in Bahamas entirely depends on a satisfatory 

 Machine being found for the purpose of cleaning the Fibre, the in- 

 formation contained in the Governor's despatch is decidedly encourag- 

 ing. The price of Sisal Hemp is just now lower than it has ever 

 been. It is quoted at £16. 10s. per ton, compared with <£54 three 

 years ago. 



3. Sir Ambrose Shea correctly points out that " it does not neces- 

 sarily follow that the " Todd" Machine will be suitable where the con- 

 ditions of the plant are not similar." In Fiji the _ most plentiful 

 species is Furcrcea gigantea, or Mauritius Hemp. It is possible that 

 the " Todd" Machine may clean Furcrcea leaves, but it cannot be as- 

 sumed. 



4. The attention of the Governor of Fiji should be drawn to the 

 Mauritius Machine as likely to answer his purpose. It is described in 

 the Kew Bulletin, 1890, pp. 98-104. It is very cheap, can be easily 

 worked by a low horse-power, and attended by Indian coolies. 



I am, &c, 



(Signed) W. T. Thistleton-Dyer. 

 Edward Wingfield, Esq. C.B., 



Colonial Office, Downing Street, S. W. 



TREATMENT OF DISEASED SUGAR CANES IN 

 THE WEST INDIES. 



[From the Kew Bulletin for June, 189^.~\ 

 In consequence of the appearance of disease affecting sugar-cane in 

 the West Indies, great attention has been devoted to the subject at 

 Kew, and in the course of official correspondence with the Colonial 

 Office, and with local authorities in the islands concerned, various 

 recommendations have been made with the view of enabling the sugar 

 planters to deal effectively with it. 



Fungoid Diltease. 

 The diseases chiefly engaging attention at the present time are the 

 rind-fungus ( Trichosphceria sacchari), and the root-fungus ( Colleto- 

 trichum falcatum.) It is possible that these may eventually prove to 

 be different forms of one and the same species, but the investigations 

 on this point have not yet been completed. 



There is apparently a danger that attention is being diverted in the 

 West Indies over too wide a field, and that the few, but really destruc- 

 tive enemies of the sugar cane are likely to be overlooked. The re- 

 commendations made from Kew have, therefore, been confined to cer- 

 tain well-established facts, and to precautions and treatment calculated 

 to improve the industry generally. For instance, it has been sought 

 to impress upon those engaged in sugar growing, in the first place, to 

 select only the best and strongest canes for planting purposes. This 



