Vol. III. No. 4.5. 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



Variation in the Composition of Uows' Milk. 



A report on expeninc'nt.s, conducted in the 

 laboratory of the Agricultural Department of the 

 University of Cambridge with the object of observing 

 the effects of variations in the times of milking on the 

 composition of cows' milk, is published by the Board of 

 Agriculture, England, in the An mud Report on the. 

 distrU)ution of Grants for Af/ricuitund Education 

 and Research. 



Three cross-shorthorn cows were chosen ; one was 

 a good milker, the second a very fair milker, while the 

 third was a poor milker. For the first fourteen days 

 they were milked at regular intervals of twelve hours; 

 during the second fourteen days the periods between 

 the times of milking were unequal, viz., sixteen hours 

 and eight hours alternately. 



It was found that the secretion of fat was 

 considerably influenced by the alteration in the times 

 between the milkings, while the solids not tat were 

 only slightly affected. A larger quantity of milk was 

 obtained after the longer period of secretion but the 

 milk was poorer in fat. The fat appeared to vary 

 inversely as the quantity of the milk. 



The experiments also appear to show that the 

 cow giving the best milk was the one which showed 

 the greatest variation. 



Minor Industries of the West Indies. 



The West India Committee Circular, of Decem- 

 1)81 2, has an interesting article on the subject of our 

 minor industries. The writer after pointing out that 

 there has been in the past an almost entire dependence 

 upon the cultivation of sugar in these islands and that, 

 with the exception of the cacao industry of Trinidad 

 .and Grenada, the lime juice industry of Montserrat 

 iind the banana trade of Jamaica, there has been an 

 entire absence of minor industries, refers to the 

 establishment of the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 <;ulture as the ' first step towards the propagation of 

 "minor industrialism,'" and to the labours of Sir 

 Daniel Morris in so sedulously fostering the knowledge 

 of cultivation as ' forming a splendid sequel to this 

 act.' 



Reference is made to the planting of cotton and to 

 1;he possibility of the West Indies soon becoming 

 recognized as a cotton-producing centre, and also to 

 the desirability of greater attention being paid to the 

 cultivation of cocoa-nuts. After touching briefiy upon 

 several other industries, the writer states : ' And 3et one 

 hesitates to condemn chose who have so far neglected 

 the .sources of income which have lain so close to their 

 hand, for the individual is powerless to improve his lot 

 unless directed in the way he ought to go. Hence one 

 Avelcomes the work of the Agricultural Department, 

 one welcomes the agricultural education which should 

 never have been sacrificed to a more classical curricu- 

 lum, one welcomes the local agricultural shows ; so, too, 

 one hopes to see the establishment of co-operative 

 societies for local sale, of agricultural banks for 

 deserving workers and of ready transport facilities to 

 markets near and far.' 



Coffee Culture in Queensland. 



The Queensland Agricultural Journal for 

 November contains the Annual Report of the Secretary 

 for Agriculture and also that of the Instructor in 

 Coffee Culture. From these reports we learn that the 

 production of coffee in Queensland is only about 

 45 per cent, of the consumption. From 189-5 to 1901 

 the area planted in coffee steadily increased, and while 

 there was a decrease in 1902 — attributed to the 

 extraordinary season — it is to be hoped that this 

 cultivation will be extended considerably. The pro- 

 duction in 1901 amounted to 130,293 It). 



During the year ended June 30, 1903, fair to good 

 crops have been obtained on most of the estates, 

 especially on those which have received cultural 

 attention. The Instructor is able to report considerable 

 improvement in the methods adopted both in the field 

 and in the curing house. From the following quotation 

 it will be seen that the prospects for coffee-growers in 

 Queensland are distinctly favourable: 'With an industry 

 capable of extension to twenty times its present size 

 before any grave consideration need be given to 

 exportation, no fear need be entertained regarding the 

 advisability of the cultivation of coffee in the Common- 

 wealth on account of the apparent sui'plus in the 

 world's supply of low-grade coffees as would seem to be 

 entertained in some quarters.' 



Forest Resources of Trinidad. 



We have received a copy of a paper read at the 

 Victoria Institute, Trinidad, on March 7, 1903, by 

 Mr. C. S. Rogers, Forest Officer, on 'The Forest 

 Resources of the Colony.' In 1898 a committee was 

 appointed to report on the subject of forest conservancy ; 

 as results of the report of this committee may be 

 mentioned the visit of Mr. F. Lodge, of the Indian 

 Forest Service, in 1900, the appointment of Mr. Rogers 

 as Forestry Officer, and the adoption of a forest policy 

 by the Government. This policy is summarized by 

 Mr. Rogers as including ' the reservation of certain 

 areas of land from sale and their managenient as forests 

 for the protection of the climate, the regulation of the 

 water supply in the rivers, the prevention of landslips 

 and floods, and the production of timber and other 

 forest produce.' 



The total exports of timber from Trinidad were 

 valued at £8,779 in 1901, as against £12,802 in 1900. 

 This decline is principally due to the fact that the 

 easily accessible forests have been exhausted. 



Mr. Rogers emphasizes the necessity for system- 

 atic examination of all forests with a view to estimating 

 the available supply. The chief difficulty lies in the 

 fact that so few of the forests have been created by 

 planting. Planters are urged to create new forests by 

 planting and to improve the natural forests by adding 

 valuable timber trees. The worthless trees should be 

 cut out and in their places hard woods should be 

 substituted. In the case of cedar forests plantinghas not 

 been found necessary. The poorer trees have been cut 

 out and removed, and a fine crop of young cedar 

 has sprung up. 



