[Barbados]. [Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies]

[Four Early-20th Century Pamphlets on West Indian Agriculture]

[N.p., likely Bridgetown, Barbados: Issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture, 1910-1916]. Four pamphlets, all in original illustrated wrappers, as detailed below. Very good. Item #4719

A quartet of rare agricultural pamphlets published in a series of works by the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies in the early-20th century, each focused on a different aspect of agricultural cultivation in the Leeward Islands, St. Lucia, and other locations in the West Indies. The pamphlets were issued by the British colonial government in Barbados, and likely printed there. Each work includes detailed reports on resources for agricultural cultivation, methods and challenges to crop production, and other information relative to agriculture on the islands; one of the pamphlets is a promotional work for St. Lucia. The pamphlets are supplemented with tables of information and/or profusely illustrated with photographs picturing various aspects of West Indian agriculture. The works included here are as follows:

1) Summary of the Results of the Cultivation of Seedling and Other Canes at the Experiment Stations in the Leeward Islands. 1908-09. Issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture. Pamphlet Series No. 63. [Barbados]: 1910. [8],100pp. Minor dust-soiling and edge wear. Mostly comprised of tables on the various types of canes found on Antigua and St. Kitts. OCLC reports just two copies, at McGill University and Cambridge.

2) Coco-Nut Cultivation in the West Indies. Pamphlet Series No. 70. [Barbados]: 1911. [2],iv,46pp. Minor dust-soiling and edge wear. Profusely illustrated with images of coconuts and the sucking, biting, and boring insects who ravage them in the wild. OCLC reports six institutional holdings, at Harvard, McGill, the University of Guelph, Cambridge, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and the Bibliotheque Universitaire de Caen.

3) Edward J. Cameron. Hints to Settlers in St. Lucia. Pamphlet Series No. 80. [Barbados]: 1915 [wrapper dated 1916]. [2],28pp., plus a full-page map and ten duotone photographic plates. New and enlarged edition. Noticeable area of loss to top left of front wrapper, bottom corner chipped, wrappers detached. A fairly straightforward promotional touting the infrastructure, health, agricultural and other benefits of the island of St. Lucia. The work was written by the former Administrator of St. Lucia, Edward J. Cameron. The work includes a full-page map of the island, and several duotone photographs picturing the harbor, various buildings, a cacao plant, "Coco-Nut Beach," views of the Experiment Station, and most interestingly a group of indigenous agricultural laborers "Bringing in Limes" on the La Perle Estate. Only one copy in OCLC, at Cambridge.

4) A.J. Brooks. The Agricultural and Economic Resources of St. Lucia. Pamphlet Series No. 81. [Barbados]: 1916. [2],42pp. An informative guide to the climate, geology, agricultural products and industries, and more of St. Lucia, written by the Agricultural Superintendent of the island. OCLC reports just two copies, at the University of the West Indies, Mona in Jamaica and Cambridge.

Price: $1,250.00