Vol. hi. No. 62. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



279 



SCIENCE NOTES. 



The Argan Tree of Morocco. 



It is said that the most interesting vegetable iiroduction 

 of ilorocco is the Argan tree [Argania ^ideroxylon). This 

 tree, wliich belongs to the natural order Sapotacme, does not 

 grow to a great height, but its trunk is of considerable size, 

 one tree having measured 26 feet in circumference. The tree 

 has a peculiar habit of growth ; it gives ofl' branches at 

 a height of some 3 feet from the ground, which at first 

 descend till they touch the ground ; at a considerable distance 

 from the trunk they ascend. In this way each tree occupies 

 a great space, the individual referred to above having 

 a circumference of no less than 220 feet. 



From the .seeds a valuable oil, resembling olive oil is 

 extracted ; this is used for cooking purposes and also as an 

 illuminant. Jloreover, the fruits of the argan tree are eaten 

 by stock. 



A full and interesting account of this tree is given in 

 Hooker's Marocco and the great Atlas, where it is stated: 

 ' When the fruit ripens, herds of goats, sheej.), and cows are 

 driven thither ; a man beats the tree with a long pole, and 

 the fruits fall and are devoured voraciously by the cattle. In 

 the evening they are led home, and, when comfortably 

 .settled in their yards, they commence chewing the cud 

 and throw out the nuts, which are collected each morning 

 as .soon as the animals have departed ui)on their daily 

 excursion.' 



We are indebted to Mr. Henry Harries, of Kew, London, 

 for the following memorandum on argan nuts, prepared by 

 His ^Majesty's Vice-Consul at Mogador : — 



' The natives collect the ripe nuts by knocking them off 

 the trees with a stick ; they then break the nut with a stone 

 to get the kernel out : they half-roast these and grind them 

 in a hand-stone mill till the oil comes out. 



' The residue is made into cakes to feed camels, 

 and goats — not horses — and it is called " zigmoona.'' 

 also eat it. 



'Europeans like the oil fur culinary purposes, 

 heat the oil, which is brought in by natives in bottles. 

 A piece of bread is put in the oil and is cooked witli it; 

 this removes the strong flavour. Natives, however, do 

 not oljject to this strong flavour. It is preferred to olive 

 oil for cooking purposes ; it is sweeter and more expensive 

 by reason that each nut has to be cracked by hand, and 

 these are very hard. The oil is burned by the natives for 

 lighting purposes, but is of no use as a lubricant, as it gets 

 hot directly.' 



Seeds of the argan tree were forwarded to the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture by Mr. Harries in .January last. 



This is a sub-tropical, rather than a tropical, tree, but 

 might be suited for planting in dry, hilli/ districts in the 

 West Indies. 



from the Btdlefiu of the Impericd Institute, are of 

 considerable interest from both the scientific and the 

 practical point of view : — 



The use of artificial nitrogenous manures supplies 

 ready means of improving soils deficient in nitrogen, and 

 the substances mostly used for this purpose at the present 

 time are ammonium sul[)hate and sodium nitrate. Nitrogen- 

 ous manures have so far been more expensive than those 

 containing other plant constituents, and for this reason the 

 importance of devising a practical means for utilizing the 

 nitrogen of the atmosphere as a source of such manures has 

 long been recognized. It is therefore interesting to note 

 that the substance calcium cyananiide has recently been 

 prepared with the use of atmosplieric nitrogen on a com- 

 mercial scale in Germany, and has been placed on the 

 market under the name of 'Kalkstickstotf." 



The manurial properties of this substance have been 

 tested by Professors Wagner and Gerlach, at Darmstadt and 

 Posen respectively, with various crop-plants, and although 

 there is much to learn with regard to the conditions under 

 which it may be most advantageously employed, this 

 material has already proved itself a manurial agent apparently 

 as valuable as ammonium salts and nearly as etiective as 

 sodium nitrate. It is considered very probable that if calcium 

 cyanamide c;in be manufactured cheaply, it will find a place 

 among the artificial nitrogenous manures. 



cows, 



Sheep 



They 



SEA-WEED AS A MANURE. 



The following note on the use of sea-weed in 

 Cyprus is taken from the Cyprat' Journal for June: — • 



On many parts of the sea-coast of the island the wild 

 waves of winter cast up from the sea large quantities of sea- 

 weed, which is sometimes used by peasants, when the supply 

 of old choi)ped straw is short, in the preparation of their 

 sun-burnt mud bricks. This sea-weed, however, if the salt 

 it contains is washed away by one or two good rains, can be 

 used very profitably for manuring fields and plantations 

 situated not far from the shore. For this ]iuri)ose the sea- 

 weed is conveyed to a more or less elevated position, where 

 a bed of it from 4 to 5 feet thick is formed ; and after one or 

 two sharp showers it is used as a manure either alone or, 

 better still, mixed with stable manure. Sea-weed becomes 

 far more useful as manure, if, before being brought to the 

 field, it is used as a litter in the stable, because by absorbing 

 the liquid excrement of the cattle its fertilizing value is 

 increased. 



Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen. 



In the Agricidtuiul A'rws, Vol. II, p. 40(J, we 

 published a note on the subject of the fi.xation of atmo- 

 spheric nitrogen by chemical agency, in which it was 

 stated that Dr. Frank had demonstrated that this 

 could be effected by means of the carbides of 

 barium and calcium. The latter, it was mentioned, 

 was converted into calcium cj'anamide, which could be 

 used as a direct means of enriching the soil. 



The following exti-acts upon this subject, taken 



CACAO CROP OF BRAZIL. 



The following note appeared in the United 

 States Montldy Consular Reports for March 1904: — 



The cacao season of 1903 is much later than that of 

 1902. Cacao is a very erratic crop, and the oldest inhabit- 

 ant will not venture a prediction on it. The last of the crop 

 of the previous year was practically all in the manufacturers' 

 possession by this time. This year it is still coming in 

 abundantly and will probably run far into September. The 

 cacao season includes two crops, beginning, respectively, in 

 January and June. The summer crop is said to be a shade 

 better (because drier) than the winter crop, though the yield 

 should be about equal. This year more cacao came in the 

 market in July than was received during the entire six 

 months preceding. A fe\y days ago about 2,000 tons were 

 stored in Para and every steamer was taking away large 

 cargoes of it. However, the demand continues strong and 

 the price good. 



