Feb. 1, 1900.] Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist.'" 
575 
The inventor does not claim the product to be a 
manure, and in accordance with the analysis the 
actual value of the plant foods, phosphoric 
acid, potash, and nitrogen amounts to 15/ per 
ton of Jadoo fibre. The secret of the preparation 
lies in the foundation material which has the 
power of absorbing and retaining the fertilising 
ingredients, which are thoroughly incorporated 
with the fibre by a slow process of fermented. 
THE WEST INDIAN AGRICULTURAL 
DEPARTMENT. 
The first number of the West Indian Bulletin, 
the official organ of the new Department of Agri- 
culture, gives the history of the movement, and an 
account of the department, its purposes, aims, &;c. 
The experimental and educational work which it 
is instituting, its field of operations, and the 
problems presented to it, make the new department 
worthy of more extended notice. 
It will be remembered that the extreme depres- 
sion of the sugar industry in the West Indian 
Colonies, which caused many sugar plantations to 
be abandoned and threatened others, led the British 
Government to appoint a West Indian Royal Com- 
mission in December, 1896, to investigate the 
condition of the Island and suggest measures 
for relief. The Report of the Royal Commission 
pointed out the causes of the '"critical " condition, 
and emphasized the need of improving and cheap- 
ening sugar production, by the introduction and 
improvement of varieties of cane, better methods 
of culture, and the prevention of excessive losses 
in the manufacture of sugar in some cases by 
using more efficient machinery. It also strongly 
recommended the introduction of other farm 
industries where possible, and the teaching c f agri- 
culture in difiPerent classes of institutions. The 
commission commended the work of the botanic 
stations alreaay established in a number of the 
islands, and recommended that they be enlarged 
and extended and placed under a central depart- 
ment of agriculture, which was to be charged 
with the promotion of the agricultural interests of 
the colonies in general. 
The recommendations of the commission in this 
and other matters have been adopted and carried 
into effect. The British Government appropriated 
£4,500 for the new department for the first year, 
and it is estimated that in future an annual grant 
of £17,500 will be required to carry out the 
recommendations of the commission as adopted. 
"The cost of the department for a period of ten 
years, will be provided from Imperial funds, and 
grants will also be made in aid of the public re- 
venues of Trinidad and Tobago (for the benefit of 
the latter islands), British Guiana, Barbados, the 
Windward Islands, and the Leeward Islands, to 
provide for or to assist in the maintenance of 
agricultural and botanical establishments, indus- 
trial schools, or other kindred purposes." 
The headquarters of the department are at 
Barbados. Its duties as outlined are twofold : 
" (1) To endeavour to restore the sugar industry to 
a condition in which it can be profitably carried on, 
»ud (2) to encourage the establishment of othar 
industries in such colonies a? afford suitable con- 
ditions to supplement the staple industry."' 
In inaugurating its e.xperimental work, advan- 
tage will be taken of the beginning previously 
made in experimenting in cane growing and the 
improvement of cane at a number of places, and 
this work will be greatly developed and extended. 
Four "principal" or "central experiment sta- 
tions and eight " local" stations for the improve- 
ment of the sugarcane will be established on the 
island of Barbados. The object of the central 
stations will be the growiii',' of seedlings and im- 
provement of varieties, and the carrying on of 
fertilizer experiments. The more promising varie- 
ties will be given a practical trial at the local 
stations to test their adaptability and value in 
different soils and localities, and also as a demon- 
stration to the planters in each parish. Experi- 
ments on similar lines have been arranged for at 
Antigua and St. Kitts, while the work previously 
inaugurated at Trinidad will be largely extended 
and the necessary chemical assistance provided. 
The botanic siations placed under the control 
of tne department are those at Tobago, Grenada, 
St. Vincent, B.irbados, St, I;ucia, Dominica, Mont* 
serrat, Antigua, and St. Kitts-Nevis. The expense 
of their maintenance has been transferred to 
Imperial funds. The object of these stations is to 
test and distribute promising economic plants for 
the region, introduce new or little kno'^n plants 
for experimental cultivation, and conduct experi- 
ments on the improvement of sugarcane. In 
addition they distribute information, and send out 
lecturers for institute work. 
The excessive losses in sugar manufacture on 
the smaller islands under the crude methods em- 
ployed, is emphasized by the statements that 
there is " an average of over 2,000 pounds of sugar 
per acre left in the cane after crushing, which is 
burnt in the megass ; " and that owing to heavy 
lo>ses in boiling, ' for every 100 pounds of crys- 
tallizable sugar Cimtained in the juice, not more 
than an average of 75 pounds of ordinary mus- 
covado sugar is now produced." It is said that at 
present about 18 tons of cane are required to 
produce a ton of sugar on these smaller islands, 
while with eflicient machinery 9 tons would 
suffice. The remedy recommended by the Royal 
Commission is the establishment of central 
factories, equipped wiih the best machinery, and 
it is the expectation of the department to establish 
one or two experimental factories at an early date. 
The new department will also promote agricul- 
tural education in the islands, which heretofore 
has received little attention. The plan of tha 
Royal Commission to establish agricultural schools 
in connection with the botanic stations has been 
carried out by opening a school at Dominica, and 
others will be started at St. Vincent, St. Lucia, 
and St. Kitts Nev a as soon as the necessary land is 
obtained. Furthermore, " the department is pre- 
pared to offer grants to enable certain institutions 
to employ teachers in agricultural science, and 
possibly provide a number of scholarships for tha 
mo.st promising pupils;" and in co-operation with 
the central educational authorities in each colony, 
the teachers in the elementary schools will be 
given a course of instruction in the principles of 
agriculture, to enable them to give simple instruc- 
tion and conduct school gardens. It is proposed 
