33-2 



THE AGKICULTUEAL NEWS. 



October 8, 1904. 



^SS'"^^"?^ 



GLEANINGS. 



The exports of dlvi-dixi from Maracaibo in 1903 were 

 valued at £7,-500. (Coiif:n/(rr Bejwrt on Caracas.) 



Sir Ivobert Llewelyn will be asked on his next visit to 

 acquire more land under the Land iSettlenient Scheme for 

 the settlement of smallholders. (St. Vincent TiDifs.) 



Mr. A. J. Jordan reixirts that at Montserrat the cotton 

 sown during the first two weeks of September has made good 

 growth and that the earlier-sown cotton is fioweriuEj freely. 



According to the ilontserrat Herald, there are prospects 

 of a trade being worked up in sulphiu'from the local Soufriere. 

 It is reported that the -ulphur will be partially refined 

 before exportation. 



The St. Vincent Governnwnt G'lr.ette i>ublishes the terms 

 of an Ordinance ' to interdict the sale of cotton without 

 a certificate, and for more effectually preventing the purchase 

 and exportation of stolen cotton.' 



The committee appointed by the Texas Legislature to 

 investigate methods for the extermination of the boll weevil 

 and pay a reward of £10,000 to the discoverer of any such 

 method, has decided, says Scit-nri', that no one has earned 

 this reward. {Nature.) 



The Journal of the Jamaica A(ir!ruUu)'(tl Societi/ urges 

 the need for greater care in the picking and packing of fruits. 

 Although there has been a notable imi)rovement of late years, 

 there is still room for further advancement in this direction. 

 It has been shown that the citrus industry can be made 

 to pay in -Jamaica, but before shippers can hope to participate 

 in the success, slip-shod methods must be abandoned. 



Last year Mr. Dunn, Superintendent' of the Botanical 

 Department, Hongkong, visited Weihaiwei to report on its 

 agricultural possilulities. He is of opinion that Weihaiwei 

 would make an excellent centre for the cultivation of silk, the 

 growing of fruit, the establishment of vineyards, and the 

 establishment of a trade in Itean cake and white wax. 

 {Colonial Report on Weihaiwei, 1903.) 



Egyptian cotton, grown l)y settlers on the Pedro Plains 

 and ginned by ^Ir. Fursdnn at Hartlands, resulted as fol- 

 lows: — Gross weight, 1l'8 It).: lint, 15S lb.; seed, 263 lb.:lo.ss 

 in ginning, 7 ft). Some of this cotton looked to have been 

 picked before it was fit and had not been kept clean, and 

 thus there may be a loss in value. Carefulness in picking and 

 keeping cotton clean is everything. {Journal of the Jetinaiea 

 Af/rieultural Society.) 



During the fortnight ended September S, 202 bales of 

 West Indian cotton were inii>orted into the Ignited Kingdom. 

 Sales have been effected in Liverpool at the following prices : 

 West Indian, 4'2.j</. to 8(7.; West Indian Sea Island, medium 

 fine, 13(/.; fine, lit/.: extra fine, XCxl. per t!i. {]Vc.<t India 

 Connniltee Cireulai:) 



According to the Chainler e/f Commerce Journal, the 

 cultivation of peppers has extended rapidly in French 

 Indo-China during the last few years, and has now become an 

 imi)ortant and [irosperous industry. The exports amounted 

 to 3,4-23 tons in 1902. The industry is largely in the hands 

 of natives. 



In forwarding a report by the Agricultuial Superin- 

 tendent on the lectures recently given in St. Vincent in 

 connexion with the cotton industry, the Acting Administrator 

 has written that the lectures have been a distinct success, and 

 has expressed the wish that a second series shall be delivered 

 at the approach of the next bearing and picking season. 



In his annual ix'iiort the Magistrate of the Second and 

 Third Districts of St. Lucia states that the cacao crop was 

 abundant — due largely to a satisfactory season. Mr. Palmer 

 reports that this is also partly to be attributed to improved 

 methods of cultivation which have been adojited liy the 

 planters, and which have been to some extent coi'ied by 

 neighbouring peasants. 



Reporting upon a sample of tamarinds .sent to the 

 Imperial Institute from Northern Nigeria, Professor 

 Dunstan states : 'The demand for tamarinds in this country 

 is at present supplied almost entirely by the West Indies, 

 whence they are exported ^\hole, preserved in syrup. The 

 present value of '\\'est Indian tamarinds varies from 7.«. 6f/. 

 to llx. G(/. per cwt., according to quality.' 



The St. Croix AvIk, in reproducing our recent editorial 

 iin wind-breaks {Ar/ricultural News, Vol. Ill, p. 273), refers 

 to galba thus : 'We have never heard it called "galba" here, 

 but wo l)elie^•e it is known as " bastard mahogany." ' Accord- 

 ing to Baron Eggers {Flora of St. Croix and the Vire/in 

 Ixlaii(h), galba is known as 'Santa ilaria,' while 'bastard 

 mahogany' is the local name for Andira uieruiis, a legumin- 

 ous tree known as the 'cabbage-bark tree.' 



Mr. -J. H. Hart, F.L.S., writes : ' In view of the note on 

 date palms in India in the Agricultural A'eu's (Vol. Ill, p. 

 29-5), it may be interesting to state that all our trees in 

 Trinidad ripened all the fruit set, and this actually during 

 the wet season (August). I find it best to cut the fruit when 

 " full " and allow it to rijien under cover, as birds carry them 

 off as fast as they ripen if left upon the trees. A heavy 

 .shower readily detaches and destroys any ripe fruit.' 



The Botanisch.es Centralhlatt of Septembei- 6, gives an 

 abstract of a paper by Professor E. Laurent on a new 

 type of plant disease which he calls fatty degeneration 

 (degenerescencc graisseuse). The disease appeared on the 

 leaves of palms in greenhouses as yellowish spots which later 

 turned brown in the centre. In the parenchyma cells there 

 were foiuid spherical refractive bodies of various size, which 

 were darkened by osmic acid. These oily bodies are 

 supjiosed to be degeneration jn-oducts of the chloroplasts. 

 The disease is apparently due to physiological causes, chiefly 

 too much moisture and a low temperature. 



