THE AGFICULTlT.AL NEWS. 



•Tanvai;v 11, 1019. 



GLEANINGS. 



y/.'< /)?>!(>, I>eceiriber Hi. lPli~. lepoiis tb;\t Canary bana- 

 tas wtre on the market for tbe first time fcr two years. 



Ki'.m information supplied to tbej Imperial L'om- 

 mir'sioDer of Agriculture by Mr. -lohn 1! Boveli, I-S.O., 

 Riil-erintendent of Agriculture. Barbados, it appears that the 

 «rea of Sea Island cotton grown in Barbado.s for the year 

 1918 was 1,445 acres, of which 17 acres were under ratoon 

 totton. 



The Legielativi- ( 'ouncil of .lamaica has voted £1 0,000 to 

 e.<'tab)ifh an institution for training di.sable'l soldier.*;, and has 

 *rtnc»if>ned thi.- e.tpeiiditore of £900,000 from a loan for 

 jiiiblic works in view nf the return of (5,000 physically fit 

 men. (7>( Times, December 14, 1918.) 



The St. Croix ./-vVof December •_'!, 1918. ■piotes a 

 statement in the St. Thorna.s iMai/ /Voks, December 17. to the 

 fffect that the authorities have at last decided to exterminate 

 that little exterminator, the raongoose. The price ofl'ered is 

 not bid. 5c. for each male and 10c. for each fe.male 



One of the greatest peanut-producing countries of the 

 present day is the ( "nited States of America. In the last ten. 

 years the increase in production has been very rapid, and the 

 most recent valuation in the peanut belt estimated the hold- 

 ings a worth £4,000, 0«i0. No less than 220.000 farms aggre- 

 gatiisg fiSo, 000 acres are engaged in peanut production. Ib 

 190S the estimated jalue of the crop was £2.40(',000, 

 and since then there' has been an increase of 25 per cent.. 

 {Farnurs' liu/k/in No. 119, Department of Aericulture 

 New South Wales.) 



Ill an editorial note on women's worlc on the land, the 

 /uurjia/ofthePoardofAgriculfurc, October 1918, says that; 

 in spite of difficulties due to a number of causes — lack of 

 physical strength, lack of training, initital want of organi- 

 zation, feminine idio-yncrasies — it raayjbe said that, on the- 

 whole, the work of the women on the land has proved a con- 

 spicous success. Women have entered the field — in the 

 literal sense of the word — in all brancties of farm work 

 from motor-ploughing to thistle cutting, and from stock- 

 rearing to thatchin, und hedging. 



The Cul'a Rcviriv^ October Ittl-j', reports the formation 

 of a powerful corporation for the cultivation of fibrous plants 

 and the manufacture of jute sacks for use in the Cuban 

 sugar industry. A well-known syndicate of Habana bankers 

 is to take care of the financial end of the undertaking. It 

 is said that arrangements are now being completed whereby 

 huge quantities of Jute seed will be purchased in India, and 

 shipped to Cuba for planting. It is hoped that 10,0(0.000 ft), 

 of jute will be grown in Cuba within tbe coming j^ear, 

 and with modern decorticating machinery already on 

 hand for the extraction of the fibre, existir.g textile mills 

 should be able to start work on the sacks without delav- 



In 1917 the control of malaria by measures against 

 anopheliue mosquitoes, undertaken by a local community in 

 the Cnittd State:*, following antimcsqnito demonstration 

 studies in 19lfi, resulted in a dtrrease in the number of cases 

 reponed. of 8-!'r5 per cent. (The AVfwv at Applitii Eiito- 

 ■}iii>lo^\, November 191S. i 



It h»a recently been announced that ;in InterimJ IVirost 

 Authority has been appointed to make preliminary arrange 

 menCK for developing aH'urestalion in tht I'nitcd ^Jvingdoni. 

 The carrying into efl'ect of a .'ound forest policy is, from 

 Sf.vt-.ral pointtt of view, of the utmost national im|iortance, 

 and tbe hope may be ezpres.sed that the new forest authority 

 will everywhere receive sympathetic support from farmers. 

 estate agents, and land owners alike. (The /omiia! "/ .''! 

 Board of AgririiJ/Hti, Noveinh< r 1918 > 



'I oe .l/i'/r/////,!,' /•'"v/, December 23, 19le, .-says that it is 

 uiidersUxxl that several woodtii steaiuer.s recently built in 

 America have been allocated to the I'nited fruit ( 'ompany 

 by the United Slate.n Shipping I'l.ard, and that .some of them 

 will be placed on the Jamaica service. It is also iindc^rstofid 

 that the Shipping Hoard ot (Jn-at Britain will shortly hanil 

 back to Messrs. Elders and Fytios .several of their vessel-. 

 which had been requisitioned for war purpo.ses, and that thi' 

 service between Jamaica and the .Motherland will be improved 

 in the nfi' f"'"'- 



During the pa,-t year the Agricultural Kelief Allies 

 Committee of the tloyal Agricultural Society of England 

 have given help to the farmers in the devastated areas of 

 our Allies, as military contingencies permitted. The relief 

 given includes about 9,000 fruit trees, which were distri- 

 buted with a view to repairing the dam.age done by the 

 enemy in the oichards of Northern J'lance. ."^inc'e the 

 improvement in the military position in France, the Com- 

 mittee have sent a consignment of Kerry cattle for distribu- 

 tion in the regions recently liberated. (Annual Keport of 

 the Council of the I loyal Agricultural Society of England, 

 I leccniber 191S.) 



The Philadelphia Farm Journal, January 1919. "says 

 that there is a good market for rabbit skins at present.' 

 Before the recent war an enormous trade was carried on 

 abroad. It is said that Great Britain and Ireland alone pro- 

 duced about 30,000,i '00 skins annually. Most rabbit skins 

 are sold in bales by weight, the fur from them being used 

 for felting purposes, and the skins for making glu^^ The 

 war interrupted the importation- from Europe and Aus- 

 trilia to such an ext-nt that the price has greatly iccreused^ 

 The better skins are sold by the dozen. When dressed 

 they become the 'cfny' of the fur trade, often sold under 

 fanciful names. Ani.?rican brefders are raising all kinds of 



rabbit.H t1l;it produce "''O best Vnnv' ,^f t-Vi^.fnr shrnp 



