28 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Mav 10, 1902. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Professor J. P. d'Albuqiuu-ijuo, Island Professor of 

 Clinmistry and ClK^inist-in-uharge of Sugar-cane Experi- 

 monts, at FJarlwdos, proceeds to England, on vacation 

 leave of ulisence, in R.M.H. 'La Plata' to-day. 



jMr. H. Maxwi'Il-Lefro}', the Eiit,oniok)gist to the 

 Imperial l)ei)artnient of Agricidtnre, goes home on 

 short leave of al)sence by mail to-flay. In returning to 

 the West Indies Mr. Lefroy will pay a visit to the 

 irnitecl ,Stat€\s to study a])pliances and methods tiii- 

 dealing with in.soct posts. 



SCIENCE NOTES. 



On the recommendation of the Imjx'rial Commis- 

 .sioiH I of Agriculture for the West Indies, Mr. Thomas 

 (JsrjKMit has bi.'en selected as Agricultural Instructor at 

 St. \'iin'ent in connection with the Land Settlement 

 Sclieuie. 



Pamphlet (No. 15) to be published to-da^', con- 

 tains the summary of an address entitled ' Plain talk 

 to Small Owners' delivered by his Honour F. H. 

 Watkins, the C'ommissioner of Montserrat. It C(mtains 

 liints likely to be of .service in all parts of the West 

 Indies, 'i'he pa.mpldct is on sale by all Agents of the 

 Dejtartuient. 



The first number of the third volume of the lIVs^ 

 Indian Hidlct'uL has recently been issued. It contains 

 a rejiort of the proceedings of the Agricultural Confer- 

 ence held in January last with the papers and tliscussions 

 relating to the sugar industry. Also a paper on 

 Agricidtunil Boards and the report of the Chemical 

 Section. Two important papers on the sugar industry 

 of Janiiuca from Mr. Cousins and Mr. Shore deal with 

 the jiossihilities of Jamaica's sugar ir.dustry from the 

 ])oint of view both of the trained chemist and tin' 

 j)raetical planter. Mr. A. Howard gives th<> results of 

 I'Xjieriiuents to protect cane cutting.s from fungoid 

 disease by means of Bordeaux mixture and tar, a!id 

 Mr. Lefroy follows with an account of the lady-bird 

 b.irer of the sugar-cane. The Wrsf Indiii n Ihdh'tiu is 

 regularly on sale by the local Agents of the I)ej)art- 

 jiient in all iiaits <if the West Indies. 



Cllitdn. Chitiu Ls tlic scientific name of the substmicc 

 forming tiie chief part of tlie liard intoguniciit of in.sects. It 

 is a i)c(;uliar nitrogenous conii)oun(l, proliahly variable in 

 coiinnwition, which rosi.sts tjio action of alkalies and a'^ids 

 wliirli would di.ssolve the remainder of the insect's hod}'. 

 When newly fonuod, as wluMi an insact casts its skin, it is 

 white, i)al und'jr the action of light it duol)ens in colour. Insei-ls 

 if kejit in the dark after nioidting remain white, the cliitin 

 <li"'[icning in colour only aft(!r light acts on it. Cliitin is not 

 foiuid in insects only, hut occurs in centi|ic(lcs, milliiicilrs, 

 spidci-.-!, etc., as also in some worni.s, and in the pen of the 

 ruttleli^li. dhitin, or .sonio substance very closely resembling 

 it, has al.-io been found in the vegetable kingdom, in certain 

 fungi. Nearly half the weight of tiie skin of an in.sect is 

 cliitin, and it is certainly the constituent that gives the 

 jiecnliar hardness, elasticity and flexibility to the outer integu- 

 jni-nt of insects. 



A Bird-lime Tree. 



There is a very common tree gener.iljy distributed in the 

 West Indies known as "C'ock-.spur " in .Janriica and Bahamas. 

 Another name for it in .Jamaica is " Kingrigo." It is the 

 " Black-Thorn " of Barbados and Croc-a-cluen (Dog-tooth) of 

 the French Lslands.* It has a scrambling habit with black 

 stems and branches jilentifuUy armed with numerous recurv- 

 ed spines. It somewhat suggests the black thorn of Europe, 

 es|>ecially, when the fresh green leaves come out in early 

 sjiring. The Stems when large enough are sometimes used 

 as walking sticks. The male Howers ai)pear as .small green 

 buttons in the axil of the thorns. The female flowers, 

 generally- on different plants, consist of a loosely diffused pani- 

 cle of a dull rufous brown colour. 



Fig. G. FuuiT OF Fi'miiia aculcntd. Showing three of 

 the five rows of sticky glands. 

 (Three times natural si/.e.) 



The angles of the fruit (the latter about half an inch 

 or more long) are cohered with viscid glands. Barhani, 

 a ([uaint old writer (about 1720) on the plants of the 

 West Indies states that by means of the glutinous glands 

 the fruits of the "Fingrigo" stick fast to anything they 

 touch. He adds " I have seen ground-doves and pea- 

 doves, that covet to eat the seeds, stick so fast about 

 them that they could not nv.ike use of their wings so that you 

 might take them up in your hands." It would he interest- 

 ing to learn whether others have noticed that the glandular 

 fruits of this plant serve as "bird-lime', and attach them- 

 selves t ) birds and other animal.s. 



''•'I'i.«mi(t aculfnln 



To Kill an intact. It is sometimes necessary to kill 

 an insect when no killing bottle is handy, without injuring its 

 appearance. This may be done in a variety of ways. A moth or 

 lintterfly may he carefully pinched below the in.sertion of the 

 wings, when it will proliably die. Beetles are easily killed 

 by drojiping them into hot water : the .same ap|ilies to 

 many small in.sects whiih may be dropped on to the surface 

 of tlie liipiid. Kerosene is deadly to many in.sects, as also is 

 turpentine and some strong smelling oil.s, but these .shoidd 

 not be used with hairy insects nor with those whose wings 

 are covered with scales, l!um, whisky or any strong .spirit 

 can also be used, in which case the insect, unless a soft- 

 bodied one, should be removed from the liipud as soon as it 

 is dead. These methods arc inferior to tlie n.se of a proiier 

 killiag bottle or chloroform, lait may be useful at times. 



