, 1909-05-08

lilOnLuy GOldLlI5 hIGOSONhOA '
in several places. Easter was q wet day III
that part Of the island, and at a st, Joseph
estate, 81 parts were recorded for the a
hours. The lower diatri is have not, how
ever, been privileged with any cOnsl ierable
mount of moisture, the showers III the black
soils being only occasional and always h8ut.
The rainfall for the first three months OF thus
year, as shown by q ST. Thomas record, IS
1887 inches, of which, however, 400 must
be credited to the phenomenal doWnpour Oh
the 9Th and 9th January. For the months
January to March inclusive, OF last year, the
record at the same place was 500 inches,
and fOr the same period Of the year 1907, 1t
was 9.l8 inches. We DO not think these
comparisons show nearly so favourable for
the current year i'll the coast parishes. In
st. Lucy, when the end Of March was only
a week off, there were not yet 5 inches as
from the first Of January. The black soils
are now in need Of rain.
Owing no doubt to the favourable weather
of December aud curly January, giving to
the cane plants q good start, the young crop
is in a very satisfactory condition Ihe
growing canes resisted the effect Of the
March dry weather successfully, and the
April showers, though light, are sufficient to
Keep them alive. 1t is more particularly for
the purpose of planting Guinea corn, imphee
una OlDGI 1O(l(teI CIOI2 tiHb pitSuCCAo HNNAN
now be glad of some good showers. The
short crop will be finished quickly, ind will
leave but q small amount Of dry cane tops
and ratoon stools for feeding the animals
during the months Of the middle OF the year.
Reaping operations are now IN full SWING
and the weather may be SAID to be, on the
whole, quite favourable for such business.
Tie winds have been neither calm nor squat
", ana no accidents nave occurred. In some
places, fuel is insufficient, and we have seen
megass carried from one estate to another
but in general there is not as much difficulty
on this point rs there was III either last
yeLr or the year before, The JUICE keeps
low in the saccharOmeter, not exceeding
10 degrees in many instances, and III some
cases standing yet at 8 degrees. The quail
ty of the sugar made ls, however, quite
satisfactory. The deiciel cy in quantity IS
about the only trouble Of the planter this
season. Even on the hills and i'll the valleys
of the red soils, whore the canes are OF hno
growth and apparently III splendid condition.,
the WELD is not as great as appearances
would lead the planter 10 expect Only q few
can report as many as Il tons per acre. ana
that figure only for the fields reaped during
this month. Some of the small estates in
the level districts have already closed, with
their average ut rather under a ton per
acre.
We have observed in several places a
tendency of the Sealy Seeding to dry off
more quickly than other kinds Of cane this
year. This is especially noticeable on the
St. Joseph hills. We have not observed it
in previous years, and we have never heard
the observation made by planters. 1t may
be worth an enquiry by the scientists.
Cane fires continue as frequent this month
as they were in March and February, A
Mbourer smoking in d cune field was suppos-
ed to be responsible for the burning Of
many acres at Claybury, and at Easy Hall
on he afternoon Of the End. The railway
engine is said to have been the cause OF an
extensive fire ut Darlington, which extended
to Bentley, on the End instant. But there
have been othor fires and more than these,
which ure evidently The work of the incen-
diary. There was persistent burning Of
canes at Wakefield, formerly Haynesfeld,
during the early part of last week,-15 acres
on Monday night, and two fires, affecting
together 10 acres, on the following night.
At Prior Park, in St. James, there was a
large fire on the night of the 18th, and one
of small extent occurred ut Lemon Arbor on