Vol. III. No. .51. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



10.5 



Vanillin. 



We pnblisli on p. 103 of this issue an interesting 

 article by Dr. Wyndhani R. Dunstan, F.R.8., Director 

 of the Imperial Institute, on artificial vanillin. 



Vanillin is the essential constituent of vanilla, and 

 so its artificial prijduction must be of interest to 

 agriculturists in the West Indies. Up to the present 

 artificial vanillin has been prepared mainly from 

 engenol, the active i)rinciple of oil of cloves, but more 

 recently a process of pre]iaring it from sugar has been 

 patented. One remarkable feature of tlie question, as 

 Dr. Dunstan points out, is the slight inAuence the 

 production of artificial vanillin has hail upon the price 

 of the natural vanilla. 



Cassava Starch in Jamaica. 



Reference has already been made in the Aiji'l- 

 cidtaval N(;i(:s (Vol. Ill, p. 44) to attempts that are 

 being made in Jamaica to work up an export business 

 in cassava starch. In an article on ' Jamaica cassava ' 

 in the Balh'ti n of the Department of Agvleidtave, 

 Jamil i CO, Mr. Cousins refers to Mr. Middleton's efforts 

 in this direction and states : — 



The demand for ca.ssava .starch of liigli quality for 



dressing Manchester goods has recently been impressed upon 



us by the visit of a prominent representative of the industry 



in Mancliester. If .Jamaica can produce a liigh ipiality 



cas.sava starch, free from fibre, grit and dirt and also free 



from the (jrganic acids of fermentation which readily arise 



wlien cassava tubei-s are allowed to stand or the manufacture 



is carried out in a dilatorj' and imperfect manner, there is an 



.assured market for all we can produce, and at a remunerative 



price. 



■ I ■ 



JVIanjak from Trinidad. 



A sample of manjak, obtained from a deposit of 

 natural pitch recentl}' iliscovered in Trinidad, has been 

 examined in the Scientific and Technical Department 

 of the Imperial Institute, and a report upon this 

 examination is published in the last issue of the 

 Bulletin of the Iinperi'd Institute (Vol. I, pp. 180-2). 



It is pointed out that the use of such a material 

 as this for coating iron to prevent rusting, for the 

 prepai-ation of black varnishes and for other purposes 

 depends upon the bitumen in the material having a 

 low melting point. Tiinidad manjak, the bitumen of 

 which has a melting point of 428' F., compares very 

 unfavourabl}- in this resjoect with similar jJi'oducts 

 already known in commerce, such as Venezuelan pitch 

 (melting point of bitumen, 150' F.) and Trinidad 

 asphalt (melting point of bitumen, 192" F.). Trinidad 

 manjak was reported to be unsuitable for varnish 

 making since it could not be thoroughly melted in 

 large cpiantities, and was found by asphalt dealers 

 interested in its use as an insulating matei'ial to be 

 difficult to work. 



It is suggested that these diffictilties, which are 

 due to its deficiency in liquid bituminous matter, 

 might be met by the incorporation of what is known as 

 'petroleum residuum,' and in this connexion it is 

 pointed out that a suitable 'residuum' could probably 

 be obtained from the crude petroleum now being 

 worked in the island. 



Mahogany in England. 



In a paper on ' Mahogany and other fancy woods 

 available for constructive and decorative purposes,' 

 read by Mr. Frank Tiffan}' before the Society of Arts, 

 an interestins' accotint is given of the chief sources of 

 mahogany as well as notes upon the quality of the 

 different varieties of this wood shipped to the United 

 Kingdom. 



Generally speaking, • Spanish ' mahogany, that is, 

 wood from St. Domingo and Ouba, possesses the finest 

 texture and has, in a marked degree, those chemical 

 constituents which cause the wood to mellow and 

 improve in colour with ag<?, giving it a charm which is 

 distinctively its own. The supply from St. Domingo 

 is now insignificant: the Cuban shipments afford a 

 good range of sizes fitting them for constructive and 

 decorative purposes. 



The next wood in order of merit is Honduras ' bay 

 wood,' especially that from Belize and Trujillo. This 

 wood is shipped in larger sizes than Spanish wood and 

 is therefore adapted to larger work. Mahogany is also 

 shipped from Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Costa 

 Rica and Colombia. The quantities of wood shipped 

 from these Central American countries are .diminishing. 



There has, however, been a considerable develop- 

 ment in the African mahogany business, the principal 

 woods being from Lag(3s, Benin, Axim and Bathurst. 

 It is stated that African wood forms a desirable 

 addition to tiie imports of mahogan}', and, if properly 

 selected, will hold its own. 



Crops in Ouba. 



The Journal d'Ai/rieultu.re Tropicale for Feb- 

 ruary 1904 reprofluces from a Havana jiaper, an 

 interview with Mr. A. E. Frye, a former Inspector of 

 Schools in Cuba, on the cultivation of oranges in 

 that island. 



Mr. Frye recommends the planting of the fiimous 

 ' Navel ' variety of oranges, but warns intending 

 planters against unscrupulous nurserj-men, advising 

 them to buy only guaranteed plants from well-known 

 firms of orange growers. The best plants cost in 

 California fl'OO a piece : these would yield fruit in five 

 years. To plant 10 acres would thus cost •■51,000 

 exclusive of transport. 



In Cuba there is not the intense dry heat which 

 obtains during the summer in California, but, on the 

 other hand, thex-e are no frosts, \vhile the soil is good. 

 In California, also, destructive insects and fungi are 

 abundant, especially near the frontier of Mexico, but by 

 combined action their ravages have been much reduced. 



The carriage by rail from California to New York 

 amounts to 90c. per case, by sea from Havana to New 

 York only 20c. The customs dues amounted previously 

 to 70c., but under the Cuban Reciprocity Treaty they 

 are reduced to .56c., giving the Cuban oranges an 

 advantage per case of 1 4c. over those from California. 



Captain John A. Floyd, proprietor of San Marco 

 estate, has this year reaped cotton from 91 hectares 

 (about 225 acres) and is so satisfied with his results 

 that he intends planting ()50 hectares (about 1,625 

 acres) in June and July of this year. The sugar and 

 tobacco harvests have both enormously increased. 



