Vol. XVIII. No. 449. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



the basins of artificial fountains, or in tubs. In this 

 latter case, earth to the depth of about (i inches is 

 placed in the tub, and the cuttings of cress plan Led 

 in it. Water is then allowed to flow into the tub, 

 civpi-'nc; the r-arth to the depth of 2 or o n;t'.','.r:. 

 fTiiere is a plugged outlet just above the surlace of 

 tlic soil, by which the water may be drawn off, saj-, 

 ■every other day, and fresh water poured in. Very 

 satisfactory crops of water-cress may be grown m this 

 •way. 



Water Power. 



An article in Natwrt commences with the follow- 

 ing sentence : 'The promineriC'' which has recently 

 been given to the latent possibilities of povver in 

 streams, at present, from an industrial poiut of view, 

 running to waste in the British Isles, has had the 

 effect of stimulating public and professional interest 

 to such a degree that reports and articles on the 

 subject are now being published in close sequence, 

 -and we are appreciably increasing our knowledge of 

 the conditions prevailing in appropriate regions, and of 

 the measures -.vhicb are desirable for exploiting such 

 SCiurC'.s of power'. 



It has frequently been advocated m this 

 Journal that the water power in the mountainous 

 West Indi.an islands should be exploited to a ranch 

 greater extent than it is. In Dominica, it is true, 

 many of the lime juice mills are driven by water power, 

 and electricity is generated from water power at Roseau, 

 «nd on a smaller scale, privately, at Basseterre in St. 

 Kitts. 



But in Dominica. St. Lucia, St. Kitts and 

 Grenada, there is still a large amount of power running 

 to \/aste. It has been suggested that nitrate of lime 

 might be raanuftictured by means of water power in 

 one of these islands. Plenty of lime is available 

 in the Leeward Islands, and the only initial outlay 

 ■would be the cost of the electric plant to fix the 

 nitrogen from the atmosphere. 



Another possible source of power in the volcanic 

 West Indian islands is volcanic steam. In Italy 

 steam is bored for, like oil, in the regions of volcanoes. 

 Pipes are laid, and this power can be transmitted 

 ■over cmsiderable distances, although it is generally 

 used on the spot for running machinery. 



West Indian Rice. 



The production of rice in British Guiana and in 

 Q?rinid-^d has increased very greatly during the last ten 

 years, to such an extent as to render unnecessary the 

 old time pra;tice of importing this grain from India 

 and other places abroad. On a smaller scale rice culti- 

 vation has been encouraged in St. Lucia during the 

 ■war. Leafl-t No. IG of the St. Lucia Agricultural 

 Department, published a few months ago, gives inslruc- 

 ti ns for the geneial growing ef this crop. It is stated 

 t. at the shoruxae of cereals has increased the area under 

 this .irop locally, arjd that something like .),000 cwt 



of paddy arc now produced annually in the colony.. 

 This is a very satisfactory state of affairs, and 

 Mr. A. J. Brooks the Agricultural .Superintendent, is 

 to he congratulated upon his efi:bi"t3 to stimulate pro- 

 gress niong t'lis line of W.-vi'''"'i-n-".'''.. 



In the case of sugar-cane cuioi.'acion, cii>aafciu t:i'jt:r2 

 do not limit areas of production to any great extont. For 

 example, sugar-cane can be grown in a locality with 

 a rainfall of lot) inches per arnum, or in one whie.b 

 receives, say, not more than 30 inches., pvovided the 

 proper varieties are selected for planting, and provided 

 cultivation is carried out to meet the differences of 

 rainfall. With rice, too, climatrc differen;js can ba 

 met by growing the proper vaiiety. In places where 

 there is no swamp laud, Upland rice is the kind to 

 cultivate, and it is this variety which oSbrs most prospect 

 of extension in the We,-,t Indiart is'.nds. 



With regard to the relation of climatic couditious 

 to rice cultivation, reference may be made to a valu'able 

 paper in the. Philippine AgrieuJivrist for January 

 1919. In the Philippines it is fouud that graio yiell 

 is highest during the season of high evaporation, and 

 lowest during the season o£ iowevaporatio"- The p^rioil 

 required for harvest varie.s in the v.-^.riety experimented 

 with (Inintiw) from Ull to 174 days. Other p->int3 

 brought out in this piper include the statement thaii 

 the longer the panicle, the greater the yield; also, the 

 taller the plant, the higher the yield. Good vegeraliva 

 growth is there necessary for a good production of seed. 



The Liming of Soils. 



A study of the principal p!ar.'.a'jion soil types as 

 found on the island of Hawaii is the subject of a reporti 

 issued as Bidb'tin Ni\ '/> by the Expt^riment Statioa 

 of the Hawaiian .Sugar Planters' A^inji^.-lxv i.. iij. o'jiiS 

 report the statement is made tiiat the lime require- 

 ments for the surface soils vary from 2,000 lb. to 

 22,000 ih. This is interesting, in conne:don with the 

 results of experiments on this point carried out in 

 St. Kitts and Dominica. On the cac.-io experimeufc 

 plots, estates, and forest lands of Dominica, the lime 

 requirements were found to vary from 4-30 lb. ts 

 23,700 tb. It is interesting to note, in these Dominica, 

 results, that the soil which required only 7.50 ft. w^as a 

 plot which had grown cacao continuously, and had h;'.d 

 no manure applied for seventeen years. In St. Kitts 

 the range in the amount of lime required for sugar- 

 cane lands varie." from nil to about 0,000 lb. The 

 position as to what amount of lime shoulil ba 

 applied in practice is very complex, as matters stand 

 at present. There is no doubt that cacao and limes 

 can grow well in acid soil. Little is said as to the 

 position in this respect in Hawaii, but it is inferred 

 from the bulletin under consideration that, as in the 

 West Indies, nothing but careful field experiments, 

 carefully controlled by laboratory investi-^iitions, caa 

 demonstrate what is required as regards lime in agri- 

 cultural practice. Thi.3 general conclusion has been 

 arrived at by Sir Franc's Watts, wh^fc paper in tha 

 W>-At Indicia BuLldi-n (\i-A. XVI) deal ii. -4- >n\Vu the 

 whole question of liiuing, should be referred to by all 

 those interested in the subject. 



