Edible Products. 



336 



[April, 1909. 



Hon. G. W. Hazell (St. Vincent) asked 

 whether in mulching cacao trees with 

 leaves and weeds, and grass, the.material 

 was allowed to wither and dry, or 

 was applied in the green state. 



Dr. Watts replied that it was purely 

 a matter of convenience whether the 

 material was buried in the green state 

 or allowed to lie on the ground and 

 wither, and then subsequently turned 

 in. In most cases the mulch was 

 allowed to rot upon the surface of the 

 ground 



Mr. E. A. Agar (Dominica) inquired 

 whether as the result of these experi- 

 ments Dr. Watts was in a position to 

 say that the application of manures 

 had any appreciable effect on the cacao 

 tree — did it increase their size, was there 

 a difference in the weight of the pods or 

 in the weight of the beans. 



Dr. Watts said that the relationship 

 between manures and the size or weight, 

 of pods or the size of beans was in need 

 of investigation. No reliable infor- 

 mation had, as yet, been obtained. 



The President suggested that this 

 was a matter which practical cacao 

 growers might endeavour to determine 

 for themselves. Experiments might be 

 undertaken to ascertain whether the 

 manure had any influence in increasing 

 the weight of the pod, or the weight of 

 the bean. 



Mr. J. H. Hart (Trinidad) said that in 

 Trinidad the average return was seven 

 pods to 1 lb. of dried cacao. 



Hon. W. Grahame Lang (Grenada) said 

 that in Grenada the average return 

 was 1 lb. of dried cacao from eleven 

 pods. 



Mr. A. R. C. Lockhart (Dominica) said 

 that the experiments conducted at the 

 experiment station by Dr. Watts greatly 

 benefited the planters in Dominica who 

 were near to Roseau, and were there- 

 fore in a position to watch the proceed- 

 ings there ; bat three-fourths of the 

 cacao in Dominica was produced by 

 peasant proprietors— peoplehardly above 

 the social position of labourers, and 

 who were uuable to derive any definite 

 advantage from the experiments carried 

 on at the Station. At the inception of 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 when the Dominica section was being 

 organized, provision was made for the 

 appointment of an Agricultural Instruc- 

 tor, whose duties were to travel around 

 the country, and, by personal advice to 

 the peasant growers, lead them to im- 

 prove their methods of cultivation. He 

 regretted, however, that at the present 

 moment they had no Agricultura 

 Instructor in Dominica. Since Mr 



Branch had been removed to Grenada, 

 the post of Agricutural Instructor 

 had remained vacant, This was detri- 

 mental to the interest of cacao culti- 

 vation in Dominica, especially amongst 

 the peasant proprietors. Of course, he 

 knew that there were considerable diffi- 

 culties in the selection of an Instructor 

 for an island like Dominica. It was 

 necessary to find a planter competent 

 to teach, but it was also necessary that 

 he should be acquainted with the 

 language of the people. He hoped, how- 

 ever, that the Imperial Commissioner 

 would see his way at an early date to 

 supply Dominica with the services of an 

 Agricultural Instructor. The peasant 

 proprietors of Dominica deserved much 

 recognition, because the cacao industry 

 of that island was largely due to their 

 efforts, and he could testify to their 

 readiness to receive instruction and 

 advice from the officers of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The President said that the subject 

 which Mr. Lockhart had brought before 

 the Conference was a very important 

 one. Under existing circumstances the 

 appointment of an Agricultural In- 

 stiuctor for Dominica was a very im- 

 portant matter. For two years a 

 vote for an Agricultural Instructor at 

 Dominica had appeared on the Estimates, 

 and advertisements had continuously 

 been used for candidates for the post, 

 but unfortunately they had received 

 applications from no one that could 

 be considered entirely suitable. Mr. 

 Lockhart, Mr. Agar, and other gentle- 

 men connected with Dominica were 

 doubtless well aware of the fact that, 

 in every address he had delivered in 

 Dominica, he had urged the claims of 

 the small proprietors. Not only in 

 Dominica was the post of Agricultural 

 Instructor vacant, but it was also at the 

 present moment vacant in St. Lucia. 

 There again he had made the fact of 

 there being a vacancy known, but so far 

 no candidate had applied for the post. 

 Fortunately in other colonies. Agri- 

 cultural Instructors were available The 

 difficulty both in Dominca and in St. 

 Lucia was that the Agricultural In- 

 structor must be acquainted with the 

 patois spoken by the people. Unless he 

 were acquainted with patois, his use- 

 fulness would be greatly reduced. 



Mr. A. P. Cowley (Antigua) mention- 

 ed that pen manure was used in the 

 various islands in the experiments of 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 and the results obtained probably varied 

 according to its composition. He would 

 like to know whether there was any 

 standard by which to determine a 

 complete pen manure. 



