Vol. XVIII. No. 43s. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



tirt' HC'jive ill the production of acids frotn avijil'ible 

 carb >h yd rates: thus soil acidity may be due in some 

 part not only to the production of niineral acid owing 

 to the oxidization of minerals or added fertilizers, but 

 also to the production by soil n.oulds of organic acids, 

 such as citric and oxalic. These acids may also act 

 upon the insoluble phosphates and other mirjerrils in the 

 s til, and bring them in'.o a soluble form available for 

 the higher plants. 



One other p.iint with regard to moulds is worth 

 notini'. Plant pathologists know that a soil ma}- 

 become 'sick' with respect to a particular crop, due to 

 the fact that continuous cultivation of one crop on the 

 same soil has caused that soil to become infested with 

 iart'e n\imbers of organisms pathogenic to that 

 particular crop. Parasitic moulds of this type have, 

 however, been isolated from virgin soils, or from s )ils on 

 which the crop they parasitized has never been grown; 

 Further investigations are needed as to how far the 

 soil may be considered a possible medium for nourishing 

 iiiouUls likely to prove dangerously parasitic. 



MAIZE INTER-OROPPED WITH LEGUMES. 



The growing of two crops together on the same land 

 would appear to offer the possibility of a number of advantages, 

 especially when" one of these crops is a jeguminou.s one. 

 The increased fertility of the soil brought about by the fixa- 

 tion of the atmospheric nitrogen by the root nodules of the 

 legume might result in an increased production of other crops 

 grown along with it. Again, the physical condition of the 

 soil might be improved by the accumulation of humus if the 

 legume were ploughed under as a green manure. A combina- 

 tion of crops would also appear to otter a means of controlling 

 weeds, and possibly of checking the spread of plant diseases. 

 On the other hand, it is by no means certain that 

 inter- cropping would always be advantageous, since it is quite 

 possible that the subsidiary crop might retard the growth of 

 the principal crop in the sakne way as weeds do. 



Some experiments on the effect of intercropping with 

 various legumes on the production of grain and stalks by 

 maize are reported in an article which appearetl in the r/ii/ip- 

 pine AgrkiiHunst, September 19li<. Both the immediate 

 effect and the effect upon a succeeding crop of maize were 

 studied, and a comparison also made between planting in the 

 wet season and in the dry season. 



The following conclusions were arrived at: — 



( 1 ) Legumes had only a remote beneficial effect, if any, 

 <jn either stalk or corn production when inter cropped- 



(2) When a legume, such as cowpea, is ioter-cropped 

 with corn, the value of the crop usually more than counter- 

 ba'ances the [possible deirea.se in production of corn. For 

 this reason, growing such legume- side by side with maize 

 may possess an advantage over growing the maize crop alone. 

 It does not seem, however, that there is any advantage to be 

 ^aineil by inter cropping maize with legumes solely for the 

 purpo.se of fiirnishiiii: ihe maize with a nitrogenous fertilizer. 



SISAL CULTIVATION IN BRITISH EAST 

 AFRIC.'^.. 



In an intert-siing ariiole on .^etliement in iJritish East 

 Africa, in Tlw Field, December 2S, I'.'IS. a promising account 

 of the .Msal industry i.s I'iven. 



The writer say.- that of all thf crops produced in liritisb 

 Hast Africa, sisal has so fnr proved tlie most promising. It» 

 finre is the produi:tiori of Ai(are sis'ilatni comuionly known as 

 the Century Plant, sometimes erroneously ci»lled A oe The 

 rich, light red soil of the Thika district, -JO to -lU mile* 

 northeast of Nairobi, nt ihe head of the Thika branch of the 

 Uganda Hiilway, \i\stti the best results, and the pick of such 

 lanri, which ten year.- ago was easily procur.tble on a nint-ty- 

 nine years' lease at a purchase price of £1 per acre, with an 

 annual rcntdl of \\(i. uei- acre, is now fetching from J;.5 to- 

 £7 per acre, and even more. The fertility nf the soil, and. 

 the profits of the crop lead one to expect a continued upwiird. 

 movement in laud valuer for j'ears to come. 



The fore.sts responsible for the wonderful fertility of thf 

 humus were long since felled or burnt down by native--, and 

 the ground therefore is inexpensively cledred. tlie approxi- 

 mate cost being from :>0.c. to i'2 per acre The best practice^ 

 is to plant 300 jtcres the first year, and 200 acres each subse- 

 quent year, continuing to break new ground so as to main- 

 tain asuthcient acreage to keep the machinery in full swing. 

 The life of sisal from titne of planting is about six years. 

 Experiments have been made with inter planting, but planter* 

 are begiuning lo form the view that this is not desirable,, 

 parti}' on account of the exhaustion of the soil, and partly 

 because of the ditticulty of getting rid of the heavy root 

 which is formed in plants cultivated on the fertile soils of the 

 uplands. For the same reasons the land is best left fallow 

 both before planting and after cutting out an old crop. A 

 first ploughing with a single- furrow plough drawn by twelve 

 oxen, and a second cross ploughing with a double furrow disc 

 plough, followed by a good harrowing, suffice to prepare the 

 soil, which is then planted by native.s, some 650 plants per 

 acre being deemed the best number. Weeding is essential,, 

 especially during the first year or eighteen months, after 

 which the plants may be left to mature. In three or four 

 years the leaves, then some 3i feet to 4 feet long, may be cut 

 and railed to the decorticalor or scutching plant, which in one 

 operation removes the 97 per cent, pulp, and prepares the 

 clean white fibre, always in good demand for reaper twine 

 and cordage. 



The actual cost of production before the war was £12' 

 per ton, delivered at P>ritish ports, and the average selling 

 pric? in the ten years preceding the war was £33 per ton. The 

 war has enhanced all costs, especially those of freight and 

 insurance, but to-days official selling price, £99, is nio.st 

 lucrative, and has enabled growers to net handsome returns, 

 which are doing much to hasten the development of the 

 Protectorate, especially as regards fibre production. 



Experts are all agreed that East .4frica offers for sisal 

 the most satisfactory conditions of any country in the world, 

 not excluding .Mexico, the land of its origin, as regards climate, 

 labour, and soil; and it is reasonable to expect that the 10,000 

 tons now annually proluced may in time reach .50, 00(1 tons. 



Since the world's total consumption of hard fibres 

 (including Manila hemp) reaches ot)(i,000 tons annually, there 

 need be no scare as to over-production, and as the cost of 

 production in East Africa is lower than in any other country, 

 the expected reduction in prices after the war maybe equally 

 liisregarded. 



