Vol. XVIIL No. 448. 



THE AGJJICULTUKAL NKWS 



20? 



treo cultivated in the Philippines tor its eilible fruit, 

 and belongs to the order MeliaceMe, a typical plant of 

 which is the West Indian mahogany. 



'rhi.« result is recorded as of possible interest in 

 throwing new light on the cuaiaober of she canker 

 organism. It is conceivable that circura.staiices might 

 produce extreme optimum conditions foi the develop- 

 ment of the canker which would lead tu infection of 

 highly resistant host plants, which under ordinary 

 conditions would be regarded as immune. Lesions on 

 such hosts would then be capable of serving as source8 

 of reinfection to citrus plants. 



— ^ 



Soy Beans. 



Although soy beans have been cultivated for 

 Diauy centuries in China, Japan, and Korea, and used 

 very largely as human food in those couutries. it is 

 only within recent years that the beans have iissumed 

 importance in Europe or America, although it is stated 

 in an interesting article on the subject in the Bulletin 

 ofiht Imperial Institute (Vol. XVI. No. 4) that the 

 cultivation of soy beans in England i.s recorded in 1790, 

 and the beans were mentioned in the United States as 

 *arly as 1804 



The article leferred to above contains much 

 information relating to the soy bean industry in the 

 United States. The beans were first grown as a 

 ibrage crop, but attention has more recently been paid 

 to the cultivation and production of the bean as a 

 source of oil, cake, and food. The limits of adaptability 

 to climatic conditions are similar to those of maize, 

 and the crop is said to be capable of successful 

 <5ultivatiijn on most types of soil. In the United 

 States, the cotton belt and the southern portions of the 

 -corn belt seem to be most favourable for soy beans, 

 though some of the improved varieties do well farther 

 north. 



As a forage crop f>oy beans form an excellent 

 pasture for swine, while the hay is relished by all 

 animals. The soy bean is said to be superior to the 

 -cowpea as a forage crop, being easier to handle and 

 more nutritious, and appears in some districts to be 

 replacing the latter. Soy beans can be pressed in 

 •cotton seed oil mills without any appi'eciable change in 

 the mill ei|uipment. It is stated that 1 ton of beans 

 -is estimated to yield from 28 to 81 ijallons of oil, .md 

 l.tiOO It), of lueal. 



8ov bean oil in an unrefined condition was at first 

 mainly used tor the manufacture of soft soap, but at 

 present it is being largely employed in the manufacture 

 of butter and lard substitutes, The meal after extraction 

 of the oil is used both as a cattle food and a human food. 

 As a human food, until recently, soy bean meal has 

 been used chiefly in the preparation of special foods 

 containing only a small amount of carbohydrates. It 

 ■hiis, however.been shown that the me.il can be advan- 

 tageously employed in the proportion of I part to 8 

 parts of wheat flour in making bread, pastry, etc 



The whole bean.s are also of value as human food, 

 -and one canning firm in 1916 utilized about lOO.OOO 

 bushels of soy beans for the production of baked' beans. 

 The immature green pods form a useful green vegetable, 

 and have also been canned sucessfuUy. 



Rosella Fibre. 



Th'', Board of Tmdn Journal,, Febniary 27, 19U), 

 draws attention to experiments being made in Paraguay 

 in the production of fibre from the rosella nlanfc, Hibisctc^ 

 sahdarirr'a, known in the West Indies as 'sonel . Lb- 

 appears that conditions of labour in Paraguay will nofc 

 admit of this fibre ci'inpeting with jute, but it i* 

 expected that it may be used locally as a .subtitute,^ 

 A trial has been made in planting 100 hectares^ 

 I hectare carrying 12,000 plants. The plant withstands- 

 both drought and excess of ram without suftering.. 

 and locust.s do not eat it. Each plant gives fron*. 

 .3.50 to .500 gratnmes of dried fibre, so that mak- 

 ing due allowance ft.r possible losses, 4,000 kilost- 

 of fibre per hectare may be expected. The plant- 

 is easy to cultivate, and local agriculturists are willing 

 to deliver the growing plant ready to cut at a reasonable 

 rate. For fibre delivered in Buenos Aires offers have^ 

 been received of about £'2H0 for 4,000 kilos. The 

 removal of the fibre from the plant is exceedingly 

 simple. The plant is left to soak in water for four day,«^ 

 and the fibre conies off easily. The pulp of the plant 

 serves as a material for paper making. Although tha 

 p;vper factory at iJuenos Aires has given a large order 

 for pulp, this cannot at present be fulfilled owing to< 

 prohibitive freight rates. 



Utilization ot Banana Stalks. 



An article on ancjther page of this issue, on the 

 value of megass for paper making, notes that by the 

 combination of megass with banana pulp white paper 

 of fine quality can be turned out. In Sayar, March 

 1919, it is stated that a new industry that will be 

 of benefit to the sugar pl.mters in Hawaii, is a saclc 

 factory shortly to be started. The sacks are to he 

 made of banana fibie shipped from the coasts of 

 the ('aribbeun through the Panama Canal. The 

 estimated output of the factory will be 10,000,000 

 sacks per annum. 



It is also stated that there has just been finally , 

 perfected in Honolulu .i machine which will separate 

 the fibre, from the pulfi of banana stems. As is well 

 known, after the fruit is cut, the stem of the banana 

 plant either dies of itself, or is cut away. For lack 

 ot a machine capable of dealing with these stems 

 the valuable fibre contained in them has hitherto 

 been wasted. The ordinary banana acreage is given 

 as from 400 to (iOO plants. From each of these it is 

 e.xpected that 2 lb. of fibre can be extracted by the 

 newly invented machine. Besides extraction of the, 

 fibre the same machine separates the pulp which 

 will make, as was mentioned above, an admirable 

 ingredient in paper stock. 



Considering that a banana plant consists of abouti 

 9S per cent, water, 8 per cent, fibre and 4 per cent, 

 pulp, and that the fruit from !S5,000,00() banana plants 

 was consumed in the United States alone last year, i6 

 will be seen that there appear to be great possibilities 

 before this new industry, both in the production of 

 fibre and in the utili/.ation of the pulp in paper 

 manufacture. 



