August, 1912.] 



grow, while in the Virgin Islands 

 attempts are being made to foster the 

 growth of a small industry. 



Cacao. 



In Dominica the cacao crop amounted 

 to 11,012 cwt, valued at £23,769, a small 

 increase over the exports of the previous 

 year. Small exports of cacao were again 

 made from Montserrat. 



Interest continues in the possibility of 

 cacao production in suitable localities in 

 St. Kitts and Nevis. The plantations are 

 small in area; that in St. Kitts has been 

 slightly extended, but the total amount 

 of land suitable for this form of culti- 

 vation is relatively small. 



, Rubber-Growing 

 is now attracting considerable attention 

 in Dominica. Trials have shown that 

 the Para rubber tree (Hevea Brasiliensix) 

 grows well under the conditions obtain- 

 ing in many localities ; an appreciable 

 area has already been established under 

 the crop, and this is being considerably 

 extended. It is hoped that this form of 

 cultivation may prove especially suitable 

 to the conditions obtaining in the in- 

 terior lands of the island. 



The Cultivation op Coconuts 

 continues to attract attention in Anti- 

 gua and Nevis. About 200 acres have 

 already been established under the crop 

 in each of these Islands, and the area is 

 being extended. The older trees present 

 a promising appearance, especially in 

 Nevis, where they are now coming into 

 bearing* Should these pioneer planta- 

 tions prove financially successful, it 

 appears probable that they may lead to 

 considerable further developments in 

 this direction in the future, as the 

 Colony possesses considerable areas of 

 land at present in waste, which appear 

 likely to be well adapted to this form of 

 cultivation, 



Vanilla. 



The possibilities of vanilla cultivation 

 on a systematic basis are now engaging 

 some attention in Nevis and Dominica, 

 and small trial plantations have been 

 established ; the development of these 

 Attempts will be watched with interest* 



Onion cultivation for export continues 

 to be carried on with success as a small 

 industry in Antigua. The onions are 

 chiefly grown as a catch crop on land 

 prepared for cane planting. In the other 

 islands onions are raised in small quan- 

 tities, chiefly for domestic use. (From 

 Colonial Repor ts— Annual No. 711, p, 10.) 



EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PROPOR- 

 TIONS OF LIME AND MAGNESIA 

 IN SOME SOILS. 



An account of a large number of ex- 

 periments dealing with this matter, 

 conducted during 1907, 1908 and 1909 on 

 six different types of soil and with eight 

 different crops receives attention in the 

 Experiment Station Record for Decem- 

 ber 1911, p. 725. 



As regards the yield from the plants 

 grown, it was found that, even when 

 the proportions between the lime and 

 magnesia were varied largely, there was 

 no effect on the return. Thus the in- 

 vestigations did not give support to 

 Loew's supposition that the power of 

 plants to produce crops depends in a 

 very definite way on the ratio between 

 the amounts of lime and magnesia in the 

 soil. It may be stated, in passing, that 

 information concerning this theory, and 

 details of other matters connected with it, 

 may be found in the Agricultural News, 

 Vols. IX, p. 95 and X, pp. 60 and 328. 



THE BEHAVIOUR OF PLANTS TOWARD 

 LIME AND MAGNESIA 



varied with the kind of plant, and even 

 when these substances were added to 

 soils containing very small amounts of 

 them, no increase in yield was obtained 

 so that the conclusion is reached that 

 the same plants must be studied in the 

 same soil for several consecutive years 

 before definite results can be gained. 

 Another interesting conclusion of a 

 general nature was to the effect that, 

 although substantially the same yields 

 may be obtained from plants on different 

 occasions, the amounts of lime, mag- 

 nesia and phosphoric acid contained in, 

 them may vary greatly. 



