<A MONTHLY. I>* 
xxn. 
COLOMBO, OCTOBER 1st, 1902. 
No. 4. 
PLAIN TALK TO SMALL OWNERS 
IN WEST INDIAN ISLANDS.* 
By His Honour Ii. H. Watkins, Conmis- 
sioner of Vontserrat.) 
T is my intention this afternoon 
to speak on one or two matters 
of interest to those connected 
with agriculture, and especially 
to small owners and those en- 
gRged in the development of 
what are called 'mino? indus- 
tries.' I cannot speak with deep 
practical experience, but there are points which must 
strike anyone who moves about Montserrat with his 
eyes open and who reads what is passing in the outside 
world of agriculture. My address will therefore be 
composed largely of notes prepared from the value 
able publications of the Imperial Department of Agri' 
culture for the West Indies, the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, the Department of Public. 
Gj,rden3 and Plantations in Jamaica, and other 
reliable sources, confirmed by personal experience and 
observation. 
Impjbtance of Good Seed. — While many of the 
dangers to crops cannot altogether be avoided, it may 
be possible, with care and foiesight, to keep clear of 
some which are commonly unnoticed. One of the most 
important considerations at the outset is to secure 
reliable seed of good varieties of plants. As I have 
ften said, and inferior variety requires, as a rule, more 
care and attention than a better and more vigorous 
variety, while the difference in the sale of produce of 
ho two mains, iu many cases, the difference between 
profit and loss. Good seed is absolutely essential to 
successful cultivation. Efforts should, moreover, be 
made gradually to improve your crops, by careful selec- 
tion. A Canadian farmer, by careful selestion extend- 
ing over a number of years, has gained a world-wide 
reputation for the quality of his seed and is able to 
dispose, at f&ncy prices, of a large crop for seed pur- 
* {From Imperial Deiiarlmeiit of Ajricullure for the 
West Indies, 
poses alone. On the other hand, a leading planter in 
Antigua, by having inferior onion seed sent him by 
mistake lately suffered a lirge loss. Be 'sure to ash fur 
the belt seeds and varieties, and insist upon ohtainimj 
them. 
Value of the Soil. — Every farseeing landowner 
bears iu mind that his land is so much capital. Every 
crop taken from the land removes certain substances 
from the soil. If you desire to continue to derive full 
benefit from the land, you must feed and replenish the 
soil, otherwise you will be living on, and eating up, 
your capital. Too little importance is attached to this 
essential matter especially by those working provision 
grounds. ' Nature,' as has been wisely said, ' is a 
strict accountant ; and if you demand of her, in one 
direction, more than she is prepared to lay out, she 
balances the account by making the deduction else- 
where.' You must, therefore, feed, or, in other words, 
manure and fertilize the land. 
Class of Manure.— Manures may be divided into 
two classes ; — 
(a) Complete manures, which contain everything 
which the crop requires. 
(h) Incomplete manures, containing certain ingre- 
dients and constituents required by particular crops 
and soils. 
Here, the nutritive requirements of the different 
crops and soils have to ba considered, and the small 
owner would do well to obtain the advice of those wi'.h 
experience of manures, 
Eitate Yard Manure. — Of complete manures by far 
the beat is ordinary ebtate yard manure. Nothing 
better can be wished for when it is properly made and 
can be obtained in siiflljient quantity. Not only does 
it contain the ingredients required by every crop, but 
also a large quantity of valuable organic matter, which 
in adJition to its value as plant food improves the 
general condition of the laud, opening up stiff soils to 
admit air, and helping to conserve moisture iu light 
soils. 
Green mamtring. — Peas, beans, and other legamlaona 
plants have the power, whl;h most plants have not, 
of taking in the nitrogen of the air and fcuiiding it np 
into substances of great value to plaut life. When 
