, 1908-04-08
BARBADOS AGRICULTURAL REPORT.

49, My III kOb. L III D., CiElS OlJlItu,
st. Michael and st. Lucy. Sund " the 9Th
gave good showers over the hills, aud on
the night of the 10th, half -an-inch was re-
corded In some places. Again on the 18th
1t was showery during the first half Of the
day. But these light rains have been ex-
ceedingly partial, and, while a few places can
record about 2 inches for the two weeks, To-
calitles a few miles off have not enjoyed one
fourth the amount Of moisture.
General rains are urgently needed both
for the growing young canes and for tie
crop that is being reaped. The ratoons, es-
pecially of the latter, would now improve
considerably if they could get q wet day
during every week Of the next month, On
the whole, the young crop keeps green and
cont nu93 to grow well but there are some
nils which we're planted after Christmas,
but which have lost many holes and are
rather sickly in appearance,
The weather has favOarol the work Of
reaping. Every mill is at wotk now. The
calm reported in our last broke up on the
9Th as soon as the showers fell. Since then,
the winds have been good, and, with bright
suns prevailing, II satisfactory fortnlghfs
work has been accomplished. The yield IL
not generally encouraging. Here and there
we got an account of 2 tons, or lis equiv!-
lent, per acre in very rare instances p.
We were told Of some ir3t-crop No. 20S,
which wore exceeding that during the past
week, in the st. Peter hills. But u to 2 Is
tho general return. The canes are dry
Bhe result in most cases of an Irregular rain
fall during last year, With, perh1p3, the root
disease following. The juice is in most case5
pure but where u considerable proportion
of withered canes has been cut, the quality
has depreciate i from what it was q month
ago.
The root disease is stated by our a9ricul-
tural scientists to have been prevalent in
Barbados during the two last seasons, and
we believe that it Is SO even to % greater
extent this year. Unfavourable weather
conditions are said TO foster tho spread Of
the fungus, and the unsatisfactory and dis
appointing returns from app trontly good
canes seem to indicate that there is an owl
Mt work which planters have not Oh served.
The last 4gricodtuJM Nors gives the aymp-
toms Of this disease az follows :-"Tne
eho IT'S affected show u stuntel appearance:
the leaves are few in number and pale-greon
in colour, while the oldest leaves SHOW a
tendency to dry up from The apex aAl mar
gin. The youngest leaves p.e,ont Unfolding
of the halves of the blade, to prevent us far
as possible, undue loss of moisture by oyap-
GRAFTON. 1t is characteristic Of the disease,
too, thNt the leaf bases at the foot of the
Gah6 are matted to the stem by q felt Of
white syncelium.' 1t is stated that ratOon5
are much more seriously affected by this
disease than plant canes aud the suggestion
is made that whore the trouble is discovered
to be extensive, the field should be thrown
out of canes for a couple Of years. This
disease is considered to have been the prin-
Opal cause Of our fungus trouble in 1902,
and it would be very unfortunate if we
should get again into the condition in which
our fields were durin that year.
The cane fires of tue past fortnight have
been fewer in number and less extensive than
those of the preceding two weeks, and in
almost every instance they are known to
have been accidental. On Saturday and
Sunday last 6 estates along the railway line
had fires, oil of which are attributed to
sparks from the engines. Hampton suffered
most, 104 acres of irst-crops canes being
burnt, and 2 acres of trash; Darlington lost
IL acres, Vineyard II; Fairfield / acre Of
canes, Al acres of trash and 2 heaps of cane
tops; Shepherds Cot t~enantry l7 acre Of
fl st-crop canes, and Buttals p acres.
The local market for sugar and molasses
has improved during the past two weeks,
prices being yesterday for muscovado, $500;
for centrifugals $40; for choice molasses, IL
cants ner GALLON. and for fancy mOlasSeS, Is