Vol. III. No. 71. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



425 



Cassava Poisoning. 



We jniblish un p. 42.S interesting correspondence 

 on the subject of cassava poisoning. The corresijond- 

 ence was the result of a note by the Coroner at 

 a recent inquest in Barbados where cassava poisoning 

 was the cause of death. 



It would appear that there are various mistaken 

 notions regarding the cassava plant more or less 

 commonly held by the peasantry in Barbados, while 

 the same class of people is not fully impressed by 

 the precautions that are necessary in preparing cassava 

 for eating. The points of importance in this connexion 

 are clearly dealt with in the letter of the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture. 



Plants as Analytical Agents. 



In a paper read before the )-ecent British Associa- 

 tion meeting at Cambridge, Mr. A. D. Hall, M.A., 

 referred to the attempts that have been made from 

 time to time to use the living plant as an analytical 

 ngent for discovering the manurial requirements of 

 a soil. To try the agreement between the method of 

 using plant ashes, to ascertain the needs of the soil, and 

 chemical analysis, e.xperiments were begun in 1902 

 with oats grown in pots containing soils of ver}' 

 different types. Although in certain cases both 

 methods agreed in their results, there was no strict 

 measure of consistency between the two sets of figures. 



Experiments were also tried with root crops. The 

 results indicated that the analysis of the ash of the 

 :Swede plant would often provide a better indication of 

 the phosphoric acid requirements of the soil than the 

 analysis of the soil itself, while, similarlj', the mangel 

 plant will serve to test the state of the soil as to 

 potash. It will be necessary to obtain further data 

 before this method can be employed for practically 

 testing the soil. 



^ I Ml 



Great Britain's Orange Supply. 



The Liverpool Courier of November 2.S has an 

 interesting article on the orange supply of Great 

 Britain. It is stated that about (3,000,000 cases of 

 .oranges are landed every year: nearly four-fifths of 

 these are imported from Spain, the province of 

 Valencia being responsible for the greater part. In 

 return. Great Britain pays Valencia at least about 

 _£(j,000,000 a year. The thinness of the peel and the 

 richness of the fiavour of Valencia oranges enable them 

 to vie successfully with those of Florida and even 

 California. Paris is Great Britain's keenest competitor 

 for these oranges, where extravagant prices are paid. 



The old method of crowding a large number of 

 oranges of all shapes and sizes in rough and clumsy- 

 looking packages has been abandoned, and the fruit now 

 undergoes .systematic treatment through its long pil- 

 grimage. It is carefully picked, and conveyed in padded 

 carts to well- ventilated warehouses, where it is allowed 

 to sweat. The oranges are then carefully graded and 

 wrapped in tissue paper before being packed in 

 scientifically ventilated ca.ses. The treatment on 

 .board ship also ensures the best possible ventilation. 



Shade-grown Tobacco in Jamaica. 



Reference has several times been made in these 

 columns to the experiments that have been carried on 

 in Jamaica for the purpose of testing the possibility of 

 producing, locally, the expensive, imported wrapper 

 tobacco. It will be remembered that Mr. F. V. 

 Chalmers, who recently visited Jamaica in connexion 

 with the tobacco industry, reported: 'The product has 

 every appearance when perfected of being a type of 

 tobacco which is hardly likely, for the purpose of cigar 

 manufacturing, principally from a wrapper point of 

 view, to be excelled by any other tobacco of the world, 

 and from the estimate prepared by the Hon. Wm. 

 Fawcett of the cost of such production, in m}' ojjinion, 

 a very lucrative industry should arise in Jamaica.' 

 (See Agricultural News, Vol. Ill, p. 379.) 



Further reference is made to these experiments in 

 the Bulletin af the Department of Agriculture, 

 Jamaica, for December, from which we learn that the 

 cost of production per pound of tobacco (calculating on 

 the wood-work to last for five years, and putting on 

 new cloth each year) is estimated to be about 2*'. 1*7. 

 This estimate assumes a yield (a low average) of 

 800 lb. per acre. 



It is stated that it appears to be 'safe to advocate 

 the cultivation of this valuable crop only in such 

 districts as Upper Clarendon and Temple Hall.' 



Rubber-tree Planting in Para. 



The United States Monthly Consular Reports for 

 June contains an interesting article on ' Rubber-tree 

 planting in Para.' It is stated that there can be little 

 doubt that the Para rubber trees {Hecea hrasiliensis) 

 of the great Amazon Valley will ultimately be 

 exhausted. Experiments tried in various parts of the 

 world to see if artificial plantations could not be 

 established have been measura.bly successful. The 

 principal difficulty has always been that of transporting 

 the seeds, which very soon lose their power of germina- 

 tion. 



The ideal place to try such experiments would 

 seem to be in the natural home of the tree, but little 

 has been done in this way. Considerable interest is 

 therefore attached to the experiments of a Mr. Martins, 

 who some years ago cleared a space and planted a large 

 number of Para rubber seeds on his estate, Da Fundo. 

 These sprang up and flourished in such a way that 

 Mr. Martins continued the experiment. This spring 

 he tapped, for the first time, some forty trees. His 

 success was complete and undoubted. There are now 

 several hundred trees that are beginning to yield latex. 

 There are between 2,000 and 3,000 young jilants from 

 2 to 20 feet high. It is estimated that in a space of 

 o acres 'there will be, ten years from now, at least 

 1,000 full-bearing trees, and they will produce more 

 and better rubber than the trees on ten forest " runs " 

 (the usual "run" being 2 miles long), for it will be 

 gathered more quickly, in a more cleanly manner, and 

 with greater care of the tree in tapping.' Trees can 

 profitably be planted as close as 6 to 8 feet apart each 

 wfiy, giving easily 800 trees to the acre. 



