Vol. I. No. 16. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



24T 



Minor Industries in Lomsiana. 



As ill! indication of the work being carried out in 

 other parts of the world, with the object of improving 

 and establishing industries supplementary to the sugar 

 intlustry, it will be interesting to mention that at the 

 Agricultural Experiment Statii>ns of Louisiana experi- 

 ments in orange, cotton, tea, and other cultivations are 

 favourably reported on by Ih: W. C. Stubbs in his 

 Annual Report for 1901. 



The orange tree.s, crosses between the hardy 

 ' trifoliata ' and various sweet oranges, are said to be 

 doing Well and are expected to fruit during the present 

 j'ear. If any edible fruit is borne by a single tree it 

 will be reserved and used for i)urposes of propagation. 

 la the experiments in cotton cultivation the cross 

 pollination of desirable varieties resulted in the 

 jjroduction of a very fine strain, the seed of which 

 has been extensively distributed over the State. 



Purchase of Feeding Stuffs. 



A usefvd summary of I'acts relating to feeding 

 stuffs, and in jiarticular to oil cakes, is to be found in the 

 April number of the Journal of the Bon rd of A(/ricid- 

 ture (England), ^'ol. Ix., jip. 10-24. Concerning 

 decorticated cotton cake, or the cake made irom cotton 

 seed after the woody shells or hulls have been removed, 

 it is said : 'This cake, when well made and in good 

 mechanical condition, may be considered one of the 

 cheapest and most valuable foods at the farmer's 

 disposal. Weight for weight, it contains a larger 

 agrcrivoate amount of valuable material than anv other 

 food.' 



In purchasing this cake it is nece.s.sar}- first to see 

 that it is in good condition and free from mould, and 

 secondly, to ascertain that it has been made from 

 properly decorticated seed. In some cas?s the hulls can 

 be detected with the naked eye. But when the hulls 

 have been finely ground the microscope is often neces- 

 saiy. The advantage to the buyer of obtaining a pure 

 cake will be obvious when we point out that the 

 addition of hulls often reduces the quantity of oil 

 present from 10, to 5 or 6 per cent., and at the same 

 time raises the fibre from say 5, to 18 or even 20 per 

 cent. 



Some Possibilities of Plant Breeding. 



In experiments designed to improve plants by 

 breeding, progress often seems so slow that the onlooker 

 is apt to regard the efforts as wasted. In a paper 

 contributed to the recent Plant Breeding Conference, 

 Mr. Luther Burbank of California pointed out, in a 

 striking way, the economic value ofajjparently insignifi- 

 cant results. According to the American Gardeninrj 

 he said: — 



'It would not be difficult for one man to breed a 

 new rye, wheat, barle}', oats or rice, whicli would 

 produce one grain more to each head, or a corn which 

 would produce an extra kernel to each car, another 

 potato to each plant, or an apple, plum, orange or nut 



to each tree. What would be the result ? In five 

 staples only in the L^nited States alone the inexhausti- 

 ble forces of nature would produce annually without 

 effort and without cost : — 



.5,200,000 extra bushels of corn, 

 1.5,000,000 „ „ of wheat, 



20,000,000 ,. „ of oats, 



1,500,000 „ „ of barley, 



21,000,000 „ „ of potatos. 



' But these vast po.ssibilities are not alone for one 



year, or for our own time or race, but are beneficent 



legacies for every man, woman or child who shall ever 



inhabit the earth.' 



Mahogany Trade of British Honduras. 



The Colonial Secretary at Belize points out,, 

 according to the Board of Trade Journal, that the 

 exports of mahogany and logwood from British 

 Honduras are decreasing on account of the unremunera- 

 tive nature of the trade within recent years : but in 

 the case of mahogany a trade is being done with the 

 United States in round logs, the American market 

 demanding logs with the bark on them. It is 

 understood that the bark is used for staining purposes, 

 and the very considerable lo.ss of material which occurs, 

 in preparing wood i'or the English market is avoided. 

 It is probable that if this trade develops, as it shows a. 

 tendency to do, the maiiogany exports to England will 

 diminish very considerably, as dealers will avoid the 

 expense of squaring the logs and also escape the loss 

 on measurement in tlie Londini and Liverpool markets. 



The World's Demand for Rubber. 



The September number of tlie Agricultural 

 Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay States is. 

 almost entirely devoted to rubber cultivation and 

 contains much information of general interest. Irk 

 particular it deals with the Assam rubber tree (Ficus-- 

 elasticaj and the Para rubber (Hevea hraziliensia). 



In an article quoted from the Madrcia Mail the 

 following passage occurs: 'There is no doubt that the 

 World's tlemand for India rubber is rapidly equalling- 

 its available supply. Hence higher prices for the raw- 

 material are ]3rogressi\-el3' demanded, greater profit is 

 therefore assured to the grower, and greater incentives 

 are thus given to develop existing supijlies and to 

 create new ones, and further to ensure the most 

 careful collection and most thorough curing. Some 

 eight yeais ago the price of Para rubber was about 

 2.S'. 0'/. per jiound : this has steadily advanced until the 

 price to-day reaches 4s. 3(?. per pound, whereas the 

 cost of collection remains practically the same.' 



Steam Spraying Outfit. 



The article on page 248 of this number is of 

 interest as indicating the methods adopted in some 

 parts of England to combat, on a largo scale, the 

 attacks of insect pests. 



