Vol. III. No. 49. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



75 



THE CYPRUS JOURNAL: Published at the 'Cyprus 

 Journal ' Office, Nicosia. Price 2cp. per number ; annual 

 subscriiition including postage abroad, 3s. 



This is a new publication, the purpose of which is 

 described by the sub-title — 'a monthly review of the 

 agriculture, industries and archaeology of Cyprus.' It is 

 proposed to publish in English and Greek, and in some 

 instances in Turkish, information likely to be useful to the 

 farmers of Cyprus. 



This issue contains a review of the etforts that have 

 been made by the Government to Ining about an improve- 

 ment in the agricultural condition of the island. Nursery 

 and Experiment Gar<lens liave been started as a means of 

 distributing economic plants, and land has been purchased 

 for a ilodel Experimental Farm. 



Among other intere.sting articles may be mentioned : 

 'Cotton culti\ation in Cyprus,' 'the Advantages of Agri- 

 cultural Exhibitions and Shows,' and ' the Requirements of 

 Productive Trees.' 



' THE FOOD OF THE GODS ' : By Brandon Head. 

 London : R. Brimley Johnson, 4, Adam Street, AdeljM, 

 W. C, 190S. 



This book gives a fairly complete, popular account of 

 the growth and manufacture of cacao. It deals with the 

 subject mainly from a commercial point of view and is 

 naturally of very little special interest to the cacao planter. 



The book is nicely got up and contains a large number 

 of well-executed illustrations relating to the cultivation of 

 this crop in the AVest Indies. 



The first chapter deals with the nature of cacao, its 

 uses, adulterations, constituent.s, etc. In the second chapter 

 an account is given of the growth and cultivation of the 

 cacao tree and the curing of the beans. The last chapter, 

 dealing with ' sources and varieties ' is also of interest. 



LIQUID FOOD FOR HOUSE PLANTS. 



The following note, taken from Ainerkvn Gdnlen- 

 ing of January 80, .should be of value to amateur 

 gardeners and others interested in growing pot plants 

 in the West Indies: — ■ 



The best liquid food for house plants and the most 

 economical is made from sheep manure. To prepare this 

 make a bag of coar.se material, and in it put a quart of sheep 

 manure. Put the bag in a wooden pail, fill up with cold 

 water and let it stand for a day. Pour off the water and 

 use one quart to the gallon in the watering-can : apply 

 only to the roots, giving each plant a good dose. Fill the 

 pail again with water, and the next week use this half and 

 half. Take out the bag and let it drip to give another dose, 

 using this half and half, then spread the dregs as a mulch on 

 the soil of the pots. For house pots do not water the soil 

 again until the pot on the outside shows the need of it. 

 The harm done in watering house plants is in washing the 

 nutriment out of the soil. 



STREET TREE PLANTING. 



Indian Flaniinij <(ji(l Gtinlcni ii(j of January 2 

 has an article on the above subject emphasizing the 

 need for the appointment of a special officer whose 

 duty it would be to supervise the planting of trees in 

 the streets of Calcutta. It is pointed out that not only 

 are trees planted in a hajjhazard fashion without 

 i-egard to their suitability for the purpose, bat 

 moreover, the employes of the Telephone and 

 Telegraph Companies are allowed to lop and hack 

 the trees in such a way as to spoil their appearance. 



This is a point to which attention might also be 

 paid in the West Indies : we have seen many instances 

 of damage being done in this way. It is not only that 

 the trees are made unsightly by this treatment, but 

 the lopping being carried on without any regard for 

 the most elementary rules of pruning, the result is 

 disastrous to the health of the trees. Rough stumps 

 and jagged wounds are left which soon give rise to 

 rotting and disease : the rotting spreads, and a fine tree 

 is finally destroyed. If such work were done under 

 the supervision of a capable gardener, the trees would 

 not be rendered unsightly nor would they be perma- 

 nently damaged as a result of fungoid attacks. 



The writer of the article referred to goes on to 

 quote from a review in the Gardeners' Chronicle of 

 a recent French work on street planting as follows : — 



The methods of transplanting, the machinery employed, 

 the care to be given after removal, the cost, and other 

 particulars are briefly and clearly described. We notice, 

 however, that il. Liipiet, like every one else, adopts the plan 

 of putting a grating (grille) close up to the base of the tree 

 for the admission of air and water to the roots ; but tliat is 

 just the place where such an arrangement is least required. 

 The grating should be fixed at some considerable distance 

 from the trunk, so as to admit air and water to the feeding 

 roots. These, as every one know.s, are at a distance from 

 the trunk. A similar mistake is often made in applying 

 manure close round the base of the tree instead of at a distance. 

 Two or three large gratings at intervals between each tree 

 and its neighbour would be better than the present system ; 

 better still would it lie to have, wherever possible, an open 

 border all the waj- along from tree to tree. Now that street- 

 planting on an extensive scale will soon be carried out in 

 the new streets in the course of construction in London, 

 these details should lie attended to. 



Vitality of Seeds. A remarkable instance of the 

 extraordinary vitality of henbane seeds has perhaps sufficient 

 importance to be placed on record. About four years ago 

 a considerable portion of the foundations of the ancient 

 Priory, near Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, was laid bare in 

 the cause of antiquarian research, and the soil and other 

 debris thrown out on the adjacent old pasture land. The 

 following year some remarkably fine plants of Hyoscyamus 

 niijer grew, flowered and ripened their seed amid thistles and 

 nettles. Several plants appeared the year after, but since 

 that time they have, apparently, become extinct. Now, as 

 this Priory is said to have been demolished in the reign of 

 Henrj' VIII, a much longer period has elasped than in either 

 of the instances mentioned above. Although Coniuni macu- 

 latuni abounds in the neighbourhood, I have never seen 

 Hyoscyamus nif/er growing wild within a radius of 20 miles 

 from Belvoir Castle. {Pharmdceutical Journal.) 



