, 1896-04-15
barbados Agricultural Reporter, 3rd April.)

Sugar in bags, $3.50 per 100 lbs; Dark Crys-
tails. $2.10 per 100lbs. Molasses, IL cents
per gallon.
The Produce shipped to date amounts to
1906 llhds. Sugar and 4, 780 puns. Molasses
against 432 hhds. Sugar and 1868 puns. Mo
lasSeS 1T the corresponding period last year,
Rearing weather during the past fortnight
has been VII that the planters heart could
wish. Made to order it could not he more
propitious;-sunny, breezy, reapin@ weather,
withal cooling drizzles now AMI again to keep
the young plants green. yet not Hntlmely 10
interfere with harvesting. The yield has I'M
proved with the advm ce of the reaping sea
son it has not vet reached its acme, but we
think a careful comparison would show that
we are netting at present about two tons to
tile acre. But the canes yielding this amount
are certainly good enough for three, and
would have given three had we heen blessed
with earlier rains. The late advent of the
rainv season disturbed the sugar-gnthel"rs,-
made them backward-and now as /" result
they are more watery than sngary; but
every day the yield is improving aud we
venture TO p~lophesy that III our next we
shall be able to report an average OF y tons
to the acre.
With regards to varieties we hear all sorts
of reports, praise and blame in a breath, and
as regards the old Bourbon some wish that
they had planted nothing else, 20 free from
fungus are their fields. Others again no
died with the parasite anAthematlse the good
old cane. The fact is that the Bourbon,
while it is more susceptible to tungold
disease than other varieties suffers mole IN
some districts than in others, and no wonder
is it that we receive such conflicting accounts
from our Planter friends. But facts are
81 -. 4J,:,un on1 II Oanpot he OalnsAV60
that the Bourbon is preferred by the parasite,
and that it's resisting power is inferior to that
possessed by v~aristier vitalised by fresher or
more youthful blood. However, we must
bear in mind that these strong varieties SUB
iected to the same devitalising influences
will become in course Of time as liable
az the Bourbon itself md perhaps proof
of this may not be far to seek. Amongst
the new canes the ONE winch has been
longest with us-that very hardy Varle-
". the White 1lansparent-is at the pre-
sent moment slightly, very slightly suscepti-
BILE. A cane juet touched by the plague may
here ard there be found-certalnly not prac-
tically appreciate, but quite enough to warn
MS that this hardy kind subjected to he same
conditions for a series of years may be ex-
pected to dsyelope more ana more a olsease
tendency. On the other hand, the Burke
Seeding CreaIeQ dU ~ uVS JIM q L." jeans
back. and which has only been propagated to
any extent during the past two years, shows
a remarkable resisting lower to fungold az
tack. On one Estate on which tn gus
prevails extensively among the Bourbon, and
where. too. q touched Transparent may here
and there be found, dlligNnt search has failed
to discover amongst the Burke canes a single
specimen with fungoid disease. The Buke
has a bamboo rfnd rich evidently IN silica,
and seems capable Of taking care Of its skin.
which mey be peeled off in finn strips, while
beneath is soft, sweet and sncculent. by
careful crossing and selection no doubt IN
time we shall obtain a cane which may be
trnlv STYLED the acme were it not that pei
lection reaches forward to pew excellence
but this can only be done by evolving those
qualities which we require resisting power,
sugary content, vigour III growth and con
seouently ratooning capacity. These attrl-
butes we already have more or less developed
in seeding varieties as yet but little known;
iudicious hybridis alton among selected specl-
mems may be expected to stamp these good
qualities in a single combine.
Why is not Dodds more useful to us? From
it's experimental fields selected Seeding
Plants ought to be disseminated broadcast
among The plantations, whereas they are sold
vertically pigs in a poke, OF whose value
nothing is known,-at a very dear rate in