, 1891-01-24
A lecture tO DOsmiMscm Raassf@eA
by the Assistant DiR0Ct@sr 0kEA@
ROyaB..G Gardens ae New.
from The Dominican II Dseazahae.)

Court House, at 2 O'Clock on Tuesday afteE'
uoou LAST. Tho object CT the gathering w@e
to afford the inhaOisents the opportunity OF
hearing p lactura on Cultural Industries og
Mr.. ", Ior.s, of Kew Iardens, notice OF
which was previously gwen.
d,s Exce!lencY the GovarnoV presided, and
after having ma1o a few Introductory remarks
setting forth the oaIest Of tue RI ae5iny. miro
duoed the LeaEu.4 r TO u nInsroua AMI respsss
table audience. Mr.. NJ >rris then a5irssAed
the meeting 90 the following effect 80 !.
That no had visited this Island about tonx
years ago and he was glad to find that several
of those persons to whom h3 had given advice
upon cultura now info:mei him that th3y
had put it into practice, and had beneAted by
II. This gave him courage and hope IN
ing upon his audience those methods a lm-
proved cultivation of which he was about 30
speak: and in recon nenling othar products
of the success of which in this Island he fe'A
certain. Since his arrival he had gone aboue
as much as time permitted, and he had no
hesitation in saying that Dominica had cd
vantages in soil, climate and situation which
we're not surpassed, if even rivalled, by any
other island within the British tropical Dom.
inions. aud that 10 addition 10 these it had
the further great advantage of being free from
insect pests. Ceylon was infested with small
leeches which made walking in grass impossL-
BILE in damp weather Jamaica was INFESTED
with ticks and in many other parts OF the
tropics life was hardly endurable from the
attacks of innunerable mosquitoes and sand
flies. His experience OF Dominica was thas
it was free from ell these.
With q view to aid aud assist ell those who
wished to improve the cultivation Of the
present products, and to attempt that OF new
ones, the Government had determined 20 en-
tablish q Botanical Station, and he was glad to
say that he thought the land selected was excel
lent for the purpose. Its..site was o good one.
backed on the east by lofty and picturesque
hills, with Q good view of parts of the Roseau
Valley and the surrounding landa. 1ss forms
ton and undulatiOn< lent themselves easily
10 ornamental landscape gardening, while q
considerable portion Of the land would Do
available for the propagation OF useful plants
and the remainder would DO laid out ~ the
meantime for ornament and shade. . portion
being reserved as @ recreation ground Tor
cricket aud other games. A. this land
had cost o considerable sum, he hoped
that every one would give suoh aid az lay In
his pow4r to insure the SUCCESS Of che Sta
tiol
Tho authorities at Kew had seleosUd with
-.sas Gaze the pIasenA Curator. Mr.. Green,
4-a III thought That be was ssally the best
Man .lej c0iM r9t. ce W@S unnecessarily VH0
~; man Il-rs Of his profession, and he hoped
that evsrv one woald show him, kindness, 60 Gs
TO enc.ulAge lum in his work, which will not
only be hard but Will require careful thoUghs
uao !uagment ~
IL would nov proceed to speak OF the vart
GUS plants which are or could pc cultivated
in this Island.
FRS was the sugar cane, the manufactured
products o. which, sugar, l~aolasseS and rum
reached q value Of twenty thousand pounds.
There could be little doubt that in several
parts OF the Is'anl, wi b improved machinery
and processes, sugar could still be grown at u
pfois.
Next in Importance on tue list was cocoa,
which was grown now to the value OF twelve
thousand pounds. Dominica with its. deep
cocoa valleys and good soil was peculiarly ad-
apted for the growth of cocoa, and there was
no doubt that it might be very largely ex'
tended. But care must De taken that cocoa
of the proper kind be planted, and that 1T be
grown in proper soil. The round smooth
cocoa (of which he exhibited q specimen) is
bad. OF the good cocoa the pods are long
and rough anu pointed at the ends. Andahe
beans when cut open are seen to be white
inside, not dark purple. This white-beanad
COCOA, which 10 called CrIollo cocoa, Ia the
finest in the world, and there ara trees OF 1t
on DR.. Nichols Gnd Mr.. Cox Fiilah's planta-
tions. Soils which have wet clay or an i'm
p~ervious subsoil are unfit for cocoa: ,ro Before