Vol. hi. No. .59. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



237 



MANURIAL EXPERIMENTS WITH COTTON. 



It has been agreed, in consultation witii the 

 Hon. F. Watts, B.Sc., F.I.C., F.C.S., that nianurial 

 ■e.xperimeuts with cotton be carried on in the Leeward 

 Ishinds. Experiments will therefore be conducted by 

 the Department of Agriculture and cotton planters 

 working together on the following lines: — 



The Department of Agriculture will provide tbe 

 artificial manures for the experiments, and will .supervi.se 

 their application. 



The planter co-operating will be required to }iropare the 

 land for the experiments and to plant the necessary dividing 

 lines of pigeon peas ; to weed and care for the crop during 

 growth, taking all reasonable precautions for the prevention 

 of insect and other pests, including the provision and 

 application of proper insecticides ; to gather the cotton from 

 each plot separately, which can be readily done by having as 

 many bags for storing cotton as there are plots in the series 

 of exjieriments. 



When the reajiing is completed the proceeds of each 

 plot will be weighed, and ginned, and .small .samples of lint 

 from each plot sent to the government laboratory for 

 examination and valuation. 



The necessary information concerning the weight of 

 seed-cotton, of lint obtained per plot and of the general nature 

 and growth of the crop will be forwarded to the govern- 

 ment laboratory for the purpose of preparing the proper 

 report upon the experiments, in a manner similar to that 

 followed in the case of experiments with sugar-canes. It is 

 desirable that care be taken to provide for concise publica- 

 tion of results ; fragmentary and piece-meal publication is to 

 be deprecated. 



It is proposed that the experiments shall be arranged 

 ■somewhat on the same lines as those conducted with sugar- 

 canes, and a list of some thirty-five to forty experiments has 

 been diuwn up. These experiments are designed to ascertain 

 the requirements of the cotton plant as regards (1) nitrogen, 

 (2) phosphates, (3) pota.sh, (4) salt, and (.5) the influence 

 of sulphate of cojiper. Other ex[ieriments, as for example, 

 those with insecticides or fungicides may be added to the 

 series, if local circumstances demand the addition. 



Each plot is to be Jg- acre, and the [ilots are to be 

 separated from one another by rows of pigeon peas. Arranged 

 in this manner, each series of experiments will require about 

 ] .'; acres. 



Little difficulty should be experienced in picking the 

 cotton separately from each plot, if a bag is provided fcir each 

 plot and plainly marked with the number of the plot. The 

 bags should not be carried about from plot to plot while 

 picking is going on. 



The following list of experiments has been put forward 

 as suitable fur this year's work : — 



1. No manure. 



2. Pen manure. 



MTROOEX SERIES. 



o. No nitrogen, 30 ft), potash, 40 ft. phosphate. 



4. 20 ft. nitrogen as sulphate of annnonia, 30 lb. potash, 



40 ft. phosphate. 



5. 30 ft. nitrogen as sulphate of ammuiiia, 30 ft. potash, 



40 ft. phospliate. 

 C. 20 ft. nitrogen as nitrate of soda, 30 ft. potash, 



40 ft. pliosphate. 

 V. 30 ft. nitrogen as nitrate of soda, 30 ft. potash, 



40 ft. phosphate. 

 8. 30 ft. nitrogen as sulphate of ammonia, 30 ft. potash, 



no pliosphate. 

 i). 20 it), nitrogen as sulphate of amnnjnia, no potash, 



no phosphate. 



10. 30 ft. nitrogen as sulphate of ammonia, 



no jihosphate. 



11. 20 ft. nitrogen as nitrate of soda, 



no pli(i.sphate. 



12. 30 ft. nitrogen as nitrate of soda, 



no phosphate. 



no potash, 

 no potash, 

 uo potash. 



PHOSPH.VTE SERIES. 



13. 

 14. 



15. 



IC. 

 17. 



18. 



19. 



20. 

 2). 



22. 

 23. 

 24. 



No phosphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 30 ft. potash. 



40 ft. phosphoric acid as basic pluisphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 



30 ft. potash. 

 60 ft. phosphoric acid as basic pliosphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 



30 ft. potash. 

 80 ft. phosphoric acid as liasic phosphate, 30 ft. potash. 

 40 ft. phosphoric acid as basic phosphate, no nitrogen, 



no potash. 

 40 ft. phospihciic acid as superpliosphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 



.30 ft. jjotiish. 

 CO ft. phosphoric acid as superphosphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 



30 ft. potash. 



I'OTASH SERIES. 



No potash, 30 ft. nitrogen, 40 ft. phosphate. 

 20 ft. potash as sulphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 4C ft. phosphate. 

 30 ft. ijotash as sulphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 40 ft. phosphate. 

 40 ft iiotash as sulphate, 30 ft. nitrogen, 40 ft. phosphate. 

 40 ft. potash as sulphate, no nitrogen, no phosphate. 



COTTON SEED ME.iL SERIES. 



25. 3,000 ft. cotton seed. 



20. 



27. 

 28. 

 29. 

 30. 



GOO ft. 

 300 ft. 

 300 %. 

 300 ft. 

 300 ft. 



cott<jn seed, 

 cotton seed, 

 cotton seed, 

 cotton seed, 

 cotton seed. 



30 ft. nitrogen. 



30 ft. potash, 

 no potash, 

 30 ft. potasli, 

 30 ft. potash, 



SALT SERIES. 



no phosphate. 

 40 ft phosphate. 

 40 ft. phosphate. 

 40 ft. phosphate. 



31. 100 ft. salt alone. 



32. 200 ft. salt alone. 



33. 100 Iti. salt, 30 ft. nitrogen, 30 ft. potash, 40 ft. phospliate. 

 .34. 200 ft. salt, 30 ft. nitrogen, 30 ft. potash, 40 ft. phosphate. 

 35. 100 ft. salt, 300 ft. cotton seed 



SULl-HATE OF COPPER SERIES.* 



.30. 20 ft. sulphate of copper. 



37. 20 ft. suli)hate of copper, 30 ft. nitrogen, 30 ft i)otash, 



40 ft. pliosphate. 



38. 20 ft. sulphate of copper, 300 ft. cotton seed. 

 Note. 



Plots nos. 5, 14 and 22, also nos. 8, and 13 are identical, 

 SO that one plot, that is, mi. 5, will serve 5, 14 and 22, 

 and one plot, that is, no. 8, will serve for 8 and 13. 



StingleSS Bees. From a commercial point of view, 

 the stingless bees are of almost no importance, at least at the 

 piresent time. There are several varieties, or, perhaps, more 

 properly speaking, species, in the West Indie.s, ^Mexico, 

 Central America, and the South American countries. Some 

 of these bees will store as much as half a gallon of honey 

 in a log ; but the groat majority of them, if I am correct, 

 work from hand to mouth, just aljout as the native human 

 beings exist in the same localities. We once had a colony 

 of stingless bees imported from ]Mexico. Our climate did not 

 seem to agree with them, and they soon dwindled away. 

 While the stingless bees, as their name indicates, have no 

 stings, yet they can bite pretty viciously. One variety is 

 said to be able to ' bite so tremendously ' that the average 

 per.son unfamiliar with the sting of the regular honey bee 

 supposes he has actually been stung. (Gleanings in Bee 

 Culture.) 



*See Afp'u-nUiircd Nevs, Vol. Ill, p. 50, ' Rendering Plants 

 immune against Fungus Parasites.' 



