Vol. III. No. 58. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



317 



The Agricultural Schools. 



We hope to publish, shortly, in the Agrivultiiral 

 Keuv, extracts from one of the ledgers kept by tlie 

 boys at the Agricultural Schools. The present ledgi=:r 

 was obtained for this purpose from the school at 

 Dominica. 



The ledgers contain an account of the practical 

 >\ork carried out b}- the boys in the School Gardens 

 and Experiment Plots. Tliej- are entered, from time to 

 time, as land is prepared, seed sown, manuring or 

 weeding carried out, crop gathered, etc. They thus 

 contain, finally, a complete record of each experiment as 

 carried out b}- the boys themselves. For instance, under 

 Yam, Plot No. 1, we get the area of the plot and the 

 previous crop entered, then follow the j^reparation of 

 the land, the preparation of plants, planting, after 

 cultivation (with dates), and the reajjing with the 

 results of each variety tried. 



St. Vincent Arrowroot. 



The Grocers' Monthly for March 1904, discussing 

 the present low i-ange of prices for arrowroot in the 

 London markets, advocates judicious advertising as 

 a means of counteracting the falling off in the demand. 

 In conclusion, the following suggestion is made regard- 

 ing St. Vincent arrowroot : — 



' Our suggestion would be : Buy one or two of the 

 best St. Vincent brands of arrowroot and retail them at 

 popular prices. The advertisements might work out at 

 1(/. per lb., and should include, as we have already 

 said, special recipe books for distribution, as well as 

 newspaper notices and posters. A few smart cooking 

 experts, sent to canvas and demonstrate to the chief 

 buying centres by means of classes and lectures, at 

 which housewives and daughters could taste the 

 delicacies as well as see them prepared, would also be 

 as well. If something of this sort were done, we cannot 

 help thinking that all concerned would be great!}' 

 benefited, that is, the planter in St. Vincent, the packing 

 house over here, the retail grocer handling the food, 

 and last, but by no means least, the consumer, wide- 

 awake at last to the manj^ advantages of a food that 

 has been, up to now, iav too much neglected.' 



East Africa and Agriculture. 



We welcome the appearance of a new periodical 

 dealing with tropical agriculture in the East Africa 

 Quarterly, the first issue of which has just appeared. 

 This journal deals with agriculture, commerce, 

 geography and other interesting matters concerning 

 East Africa and Uganda, and is published quarterly 

 under the authority of the East Africa Agricultural 

 and Horticultural Societ}'. The present issue contains 

 a short but interesting article on the agricultural 

 prospects of East Africa. The soil, climate and other 

 conditions of the highlands are said to jjlace the 

 countiy in a position of exceptional advantage from 

 an agricultural point of view, and there seems to be 

 no reason why it should not go ahead and flourish, 

 .so soon as the questions of the products best suited 

 to be grown, and the best and nearest market for 



such produce shall have been determined. ' What is 

 really wanted are economic products having a practi- 

 cally standard value and for which there is almost 

 an unlimited demand.' 



Several products of economic importance — fibres 

 and oil-producing plants, rubber and coffee — are men- 

 tioned, but cotton takes first rank. Small quantities 

 of cotton have already been grown, and it is believed 

 that its successful cultivation will, in itself, ensure 

 commercial prosperity to the country. The plains 

 lying between the Kikuyu country and the Athi river, 

 and a great deal of land lying between Nairobi and the 

 coast, as well as the country lying between Fort 

 Ternan and Lake Victoria are mentioned as suitable 

 for cotton cultivation. 



Fodder Plants in Cocoa-nut Plantations. 



A report on Samoan agriculture by Dr. F. Wohlt- 

 mann has recently been published under the title of 

 Pjianziiwj unci Siedhmfj auf Samoa by the Kolonial 

 Wirtschaftliches Komittee zu Berlin. 



Cocoa-nut cultivation receives a large share of the 

 author's attention, and in this connexion interesting 

 information is given as to the mode of treating the soil 

 in the plantations. 



As .an inexpensive method of keeping the land 

 free of bush and weeds, stock were obtained from New- 

 Zealand and Australia and pastured on the plains. 

 Later, various pasture plants, such as the bufflilo gra.ss 

 of North America, Lepturus (Monerma) repens, and the 

 shame weed or .sensitive plant {Mimosa pmlica), were 

 planted. 



The buffalo grass was found to rob the palms not 

 only of plant food, but also — and this was even more 

 serious — of moisture. In these respects the shame 

 weed was more satisfactory: being a leguminou.s 

 plant it is able to obtain nitrogen from the air and so 

 enriches the soil and helps to feed the palms. More- 

 over, on account of its peculiar property of closing 

 its sensitive leaves on the fall of rain or the deposit 

 of dew, moisture is allowed free access to the palm 

 roots. 



The great drawback to the use of the shame weed, 

 however, is that stock leave uneaten the hard parts 

 of the plant. These, with the spines, cause much 

 inconvenience to the bare-legged and bare-footed 

 negroes who are sent in to gather the fallen nuts. In 

 consequence, it becomes necessary to incur additional 

 expenditure of time and money in keeping the shame 

 weed cut low. 



An interesting compari.son is given of the relative 

 feeding values of these and other pasture plants. It is 

 shown that 2Iimosa piulica is by far the richest in 

 nitrogen and consequently the most nutritious. It was 

 found to contain 20 per cent, of protein, while buffalo 

 grass contained only 4'25 per cent. 



Dr. Wohltmann considers that if it were not that 

 this plant grew so very luxuriantly and formed spines, 

 it would be most suitable for cultivation in cocoa-nut 

 plantations. The production by breeding of a spineless 

 variety of the shame weed is suggested. 



