118 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



ApraL 9, 1904. 



CASSAVA STARCH. 



The following note on the ni.inufactme of cassav;i 

 starch appeared in the Jtianinl of t/if Jumdicn Agri- 

 cultural Svciett/ for Mai-ch 1904: — 



Tlie manufacture of starch from bitter cassava by 

 machinery, which is being carried on at Longvillc, the prop- 

 erty of Mr. J. W. Middleton, is being watched with interest. 

 We have talked much of a great starch industry ; this is the 

 first systematic attempt to grow cas.sava largely, make starch 

 and ship it in tpiantity to the United King4lom to be tested. 

 The details of the cultivation and manufacture .show that 

 starch can be iircKluced heie on terms as good as, and perhaps 

 better than, in most other countries. It remains to lie seen 

 how the .starch made stands the test in Lancashire for sizing 

 cloth goods, against German potato starch and United States 

 corn starch. As both the cultivation and the process of 

 manufacture can be greatly improved from experience gained 

 in the first shipment of the experiment, it should not be 

 confidently expected that the starch must receive the highest 

 commendation, nor should we, if it is not i>erfect, be 

 discouraged. The German and the United States makers 

 have available the most [lerfect of machinery, and the very 

 best skill through long practice. If we make a morsel of 

 a show against the potato and corn products at all, better 

 equipped machineiy and longer practice will soon put us 

 ahead. The price of starch varies from £10 to £1 4 per ton. At 

 the lower figure it would pay rery well — better than sugar. 



PROFITABLE RABBIT BREEDING. 



The value of the rabbits imported into this country 

 [United Kingdom] last year was over a million .sterling — 

 just about the same as the value of the foreign motor-cars we 

 bought ; but, whereas in the latter ease there was a great 

 to-do at our supineness in letting the foreigner benefit .so 

 largely in the trade, we accepted the million's wfirth of 

 rabbits without denuir. 



The most profitable \>]:\n [for rearing rabliits] is the 

 movable hutch, or Morant sy.stem — called after the inventor 

 of it, Major Morant. This system requires grass land and a 

 light, dry soil ; the rabbits are ke[>t in large hutches, 

 movable, with wired floors, so that they can nibble the grass 

 the hutch stands on.* 



These hutches stand out in the field, and must be moved 

 regularly twice a day. The rabbits graze in the grass, and 

 thus get a portion of their keeji. In wet weather they must, 

 however, remain stationery, as wet grass u[)sets the rabbits. 

 At such times they should have a little hay. These hutches 

 do equally well for the ralibits when taken away from their 

 mother, and the buck can inhabit a somewhat smaller one of 

 the same pattern. He likes a shelf to sit on in his. 



The management of the doe is very simple : Give her 

 plenty of hay, and she will make her nest, lining it with her 

 own fur. Some drinking water .should lie given her at this 

 time, and a little bread-and-milk will be advantageous 

 feeding. It is best not to meddle with the young. Dutch 

 rabbits seldom mind, but other breeds do, and not infre- 

 (]uently desert them if disturbed. Dogs, cats and mice also 

 violently up.set them. The doe should have all the green 

 food and hay she cares to eat wlieu rearing her young, and 

 if there is a shortage of the first, roots can take their place. 

 {Counti/ (j't'iitltiiKui.) 



FUNGOID DISEASES OF CACAO IN 

 SURINAM. 



Professor F. A. F. C. Went, whose name is well known 

 in the West Indies in connexion with his work on sugar-cane 

 diseases in Java, has recently published an account of the 

 diseases on cacao in Surinam entitled Z'f Z irkfevfrsrhij iifchn 

 van de Camo-]ilant in Suriiiaiii. The work is maiidy devoted 

 to fungoid disea.se.s, and especially to the ' Krullotenziekte' 

 or ' Witch I'.room disease,' which causes great damage in 

 Surinam and to which attention has repeatedly been drawn 

 in the Aj/rirultnru/ Xi^ins (see ^'ol. II, p. 117). 



Attention is drawn to the borer, Steirastunui depress'/, 

 which occurs in various estates in Surinam, to the parasol 

 ants, and to a caterpillar which eats the young leaves. 



Canker of the stem was observed on one plantation on 

 the Surinam river. This is jirobably the .same as that 

 occurring in the British West Indies, reported from Trinidad, 

 Grenada and Dominica. It is characterized by the exudation 

 of a red, gummy mass from the bark, followed by a drying 

 up. On cutting into the bark this is seen to have a wine- 

 red colour, the underlying wood also taking on an abnormal 

 colour. If a .section of such disea.sed bark be examined 

 microscopically, the hy[)hae of the fungus can lie made out. 

 The fungus (i Xectria sp.) is probably a wound parasite 

 and therefore carefid attention should be paid to all wounds. 



A disease of cacao trees in Surinam is called by the 

 jilanters ' root disease'. A root disease, jirobably caused by 

 some Hymenomycetous fungus, is known in the West Indies, 

 and one caused by ^fllcrllJl/t(ml(l vestitn is known in Central 

 America. It is possible that one of these fungi may be the 

 cause of the Surinam disease. 



There is still another disease in Surinam which was not 

 more closely investigated ; this was characterized by the 

 drying iqi of the tops of the young twigs. The di.sease 

 appears similar to that known in the ]>ritisli West Indies and 

 caused by Di/t/odin rncnuieola. 



The darkening of the fruits of cacao is stated by many 

 planters to cause much damage ; but it nmst lie remembered 

 that often the difference lietween this disease and the 

 hardening of the fruits, which accompanies the witch broom 

 disease, is not understood. This darkening of the fruit was 

 noted in Trinidad, and later in Grenada. Diseased fruits 

 were' sent to Kew and the fungus was identified as 

 Pltytophthorti oiiDiivorn. 



A verj- full account is given of the witch broom disease. 

 This includes a review of [irevious work, the results of an 

 inipiiry among Surinam jilanters, and of the author's own 

 inquiries and investigations. 



* This jilan is now l>eing adop'ed with Belj;ian hares at 

 the At,'ncultural School, St. Lucia. [Ed. A.N.] 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



The following i.s an extract from the addre-ss made 

 by His Majesty the King on the occasion of the 

 opening of the new buildings in the University of 

 Cambridge for the promotion of original research in 

 agriculture : — 



1 am very glad to know of the educational work in 

 connexion with the great industry of agriculture which you 

 have undertaken. In common with most branches of indus- 

 try, agriculture has in modern times come to de[iend for its 

 success and extension upon the unremitting apiilication to it 

 of the results of scientific investigation. No greater service 

 can be rendered to this ancient industry than to furnish it 

 with the means of research and in.struction, which are es.sential 

 in order that labour may be directed in profitable channels. 



