29S 



October. 1909, 



FIBRES 



RECENT RESULTS IN THE CULTI- 

 VATION OF COTTON AT 

 BARBADOS. 



By J. R. Bovell, i.s.o., p.l.s., f.c.s., 



Superintendent of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



(From the West Indian Bulletin, Vol. 

 IX., No. 3, 1908.) 



In the paper on the cotton industry in 

 Barbados which I prepared for the last 

 Conference, I stated that, judging from 

 the results so far obtained, the best time 

 to plant cotton in Barbados in the black- 

 soil districts, that is on the lower levels 

 of the island, was from the middle of 

 June to the beginning of August, and in 

 the red-soil districts, on the higher 

 levels, from about the beginning of 

 August to the middle of September, 

 Another year's experience with this crop 

 confirms this statement. When cotton 

 is planted late in the rainy season, the 

 rainfall ceases before the plants are 

 sufficiently matured to bear an abundant 

 crop. On the other hand, speaking 

 generally, when the seed is sown suffi- 

 ciently early in the rainy season for the 

 plants to be benefited by the rainfall 

 and they are protected from the attacks 

 of the cotton worm, they are vigorous 

 and healthy when boiling time arrives, 

 and good crops are obtained. Occasion- 

 ally, cotton crops planted out of season 

 have given good results, but these are 

 exceptional. 



The manurial experiments, which were 

 instituted in 1902, a full description of 

 which was given in the above mentioned 

 paper {West Indian Bulletin, Vol. VIIL, 

 pp. 173-8), were carried out on two estates 

 during the season 1906-7. Unfortunately, 

 on one estate, owing to the fact that the 

 division stakes were stolen, the overseer 

 in charge of the gang picking the cotton 

 allowed them to cross the boundary line 

 between certain of the plots. The 

 results, therefore, cannot be taken into 

 consideration. On the other estate, 

 owing to the unfavourable weather 

 conditions which prevailed during the 

 time the crop was grown, and which 

 caused a number of bolls to drop, the 

 results are inconclusive. I may, how- 

 ever, state that the best results were 

 obtained on the plots which received 

 30 lbs. of nitrogen (N) as sulphate of 



ammonia, 60 lbs. of phosphoric acid 

 (PaOe) as superphosphate, and 20 lbs. of 

 potash (K2O) as sulphate. The value of 

 the increase over the plot which received 

 no manure was $7 77, and that which 

 received only phosphoric acid and potash 

 $13 32. It may here be stated that last 

 year the plots which received the same 

 quantities of manure gave the second 

 best results. 



In the paper prepared for the last 

 Conference, I gave the monetary results 

 obtained with cotton crops grown on 

 four estates, three in the parish of St. 

 Philip, in which the largest area is 

 planted with this crop., and one in the 

 parish of Christ Church. Through the 

 courtesy of the gentlemen in charge of 

 these estates I am again able to give 

 this year the results obtained during 

 1907. As will be seen therefrom, the 

 results, owing to the unfavourable 

 weather conditions, have been barely 

 satisfactory, and had it not been that 

 the price of cotton was above the 

 average, the cotton crop would probably 

 in two instances have resulted in a loss. 

 The following is a summary of the 

 results on these estates for 1907, com- 

 pared with the results obtained in 

 previous years : — 



Estate No. 1. 

 Three years ' (1903-6) crop. 



Average area ... 53 acres. 



Average profit per acre 



per annum ... ... £9 17s. 10d. 



Crop of 1907. A t ea ... 110 acres. 

 Average profit per acre... £2 Os. 3d. 



Estate No- 2. 

 Crop of 1906. Area ... 17 acres. 

 Average profit per acre ... £14 3s. 6d. 

 Crop of 1907. Area ... 46 acres. 

 Average profit per acre ... £2 19a. 7d. 



Estate No. 8. 

 Crop of 1906. Area ... 16 acres. 

 Average profit per acre ... £9 8s. lid. 

 Crop of 1907. Area ... 30 acres. 

 Average profit per acre ... £2 7s. Id. 



Estate No. J h 



Crop of 1906. Area ... 34 acres. 



Average profit per acre ... £11 3s. 8d. 



Crop of 1907. Area ... lOO acres. 



Average profit per acre ... £7 9s. 4d. 

 In spite, however, of the diminution in 

 the yields of cotton for the season 1906-7, 

 the area planted in cotton in Barbados 

 has been increased from 5,000. to 6,935 

 acres. 



The following is a table showing the 

 area of cotton planted and the quantity 



