Vol. XVIII. No. 450. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



235 



a sugar planter to make large scale trials with any rice 

 straw which may be produced on his estate, bearing carefully 

 in mind that tlie full advantage of mulching with rice strnw 

 will not become apparent until repeated over several crops. 



Several pages in the report deal with the special 

 characteristics of certain seedling canes. It may be noted 

 that a selfed seedling of D.145, namely D.748, had as high 

 a saccharose content as 2 198). per gallon. The average 

 yields in tons of commercial sugar per acre of the principal 

 varieties under cultivation for the crop, of 1917 show that 

 the first position is occupied by Lv 419, which gave 21.5 

 tons of sugar per acre. The variety most widely cultivated, 

 however, was D.625. This variety gave an average of 181 

 tons of sugar per acre. 



Turning now to the section of the report dealing specially 

 with rice, it is noticed that the return of the area under this 

 crop for 1917 was 58,090 acres, an increase of 1,068 

 acres over that of 1916. A considerable amount of work 

 was continued in the matter of selected varieties, and during 

 the year upwards of 1 2 tons of seed paddy were sent out 

 from the fields at the Gardens. The ijuestion of the 

 influence of tillage upon the yields of rice irrigated by 

 anaerobic artesian water received attention. Half the land 

 under trial received two ploughings, at intervals of about 

 live weeks, the other half being ploughed once only, just 

 previous to the planting of rice. The results were striking. 

 In the case of two ploughings the mean result was 27 19 

 paddy bags of 140 lb. per acre, against only 2022 bags after 

 one ploughing. Thus the additional ploughing or forking 

 gives an increase of 34 per cent, on the crop. This is a 

 very decisive result. It shows that irrigation with anaerobic, 

 that is, air free, artesian water, to give full returns, must be 

 accompanied by increased aeration of the soil. 



In regard to coco-nuts, the area planted in the colony 

 ehowed a further increase for the year under review. The 

 total acreage under coco-nuts in 1917 was 23,872, an 

 increase of 3,761 acres over that of 1916. A steadily 

 increasing portion of the crop is being used for the produc- 

 tion of oil for local purposes, and of copra for export. 

 Nevertheless a large quantity of oil is exported. From the 

 Botanic Gardens a considerable nuuiber of specially selected 

 nuts were distributed for planting purposes. These nuts 

 were of the following sorts : Singapore, Tobago, Trinidad, 

 and local. In regard to rubber, some progress is reported in 

 the production of this crop. Figures are given showing the rate 

 <jf growth of the trees at Onderneeming, and these will no 

 Qoubt prove interesting tc rubber growers in other countriei, 

 and to persons with intentions to start rubber growing 

 under British Guiana conditions. The area under cofifee, 

 which is chiefly of the Liberian kind, underwent an increase. 

 The only crop nf importance which showed a falling ofl was 

 cicao. This industry in British Guiana is reported as being 

 in a condition of stagnation. 



A cultivation which is somewhat new to the colony is 

 lime planting. A year or two ago a factory sowewhat simi- 

 lar to the St. Lucia Government Lime Juice Factory was 

 installed, and this was expected to lend a measure of .security 

 to this young industry. It is stated in the report that the 

 area under lime cultivation was extended by 4 acres during 

 the year, bringing the total area to 44 acres, of which 

 approximately 20 acres are in bearing. The trees growing 

 on sand reefs, and on the lighter .soils and higher lands may 

 be described as flourishing, while tho.T. on the heavier and 

 lower lands are suffeiing from various troubles. 



Before concluding this review some mention must be 

 made of the report on live stock in the Colony. During 

 the year there was a general decrease in the numbers tt Skll 



kinds of stock except cattle and donkeys, which showed 

 increases. There wa.s only one area which had to be 

 declared infected during the year, and that was due to an 

 outbreak of anthrax. There were not any cases in the 

 Colony of glanders, cerebo-spinal meningitis, contagious 

 pleuropneumonia, or mal-decaderas during the year 

 The Board of Agriculture's recommendation to import a 

 thoroughbred stallion was approved by the Government, 

 and the Combined Court voted a sum of .'$2,600 to cover 

 the cost of purchase and importation and maintenance for 

 one year of such an animal. 



A SOLANACEOUS FORAGE PLANT. 



An article in xhn Journal of Hcrcdify, April 1919, 

 draws attention to a possible forage plant for tropical or 

 subtropical countries, which is new. The Solanaceae, the 

 order to which many cultivated plants belong — such as the 

 potato and tobacco— has not hitherto been supposed to afford 

 usefnl forage for animals The author of the article referred 

 to, Mr. B. H. Hunnicutt, M S.A., Director of the Lavras 

 Agricultural School, Brazil, draws attention to the possibili- 

 tie.s, as a useful source of forage, of Solanum bullatum, \ 

 plant found wild in many parts of Brazil. 



In Brazil it has many common names, difTering in each 

 State In one locality it is known by the Portuguese name 

 meaning • white bush,' in another by that meaning 'dove 

 fruit.' The first name is on account of the whitish tinge of 

 the leaves; the second, beca'ise the wild doves are exceedingly 

 fond of the fruit, so much so that it is not easy t > collect ripe 

 seeds, as the birds pick off the fruit before ihey are fully 

 matured. In another part of Brazil the plant is known as 

 ' wild tobacco ' because of the resemblance of the young 

 plant to the cultivated tobacco. 



When the plant grows alone it tends to spread widely, 

 but when plants grow close together, each one grows up as a 

 single stem, sometimes from 15 to 20 feet high When 

 forest land is cleared in those parts of Brazil where Solanum 

 buliatutn is found, it is one of the shrubs that first appears 

 as a secondary growth, the seeds having probably been 

 widely distributed by birds which have devoured the fruit. 

 Horses and cattle are exceedingly fond of eating the leave. 

 The writer of the article from which this note is abstracted 

 says that one horse he owned could be safely ridden through 

 a field of corn without his attemptiag to bite off a mouthful, 

 but that it wasditticult to get him past one of the 'white 

 bushes,' until he had snatched a bonne bouch". 



The plant is pernnial, but if grown as a forage plant 

 it would probably be advisable to treat it as an annual, 

 cutting the stalks down before they became too hard and 

 woody. It might be worth while experimenting with this 

 plant in other tropical countries, especially as the chemical 

 analysis of the leaves, as given by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, shows that the protein content 

 is as high as 20 88 per cent. 



Another plant of the same genus, Solanum gi\indi- 

 Jiorum, which is also relished by cattle in Brazil, contains 

 nearly 20 per cent, protein. This .species is said to grow 

 on much poorer land than S- bullatum. It resembles a giant 

 ek'g-plant, and like the egg-plant has spines on the stems. 

 It grows from 8 to 10 feet high, and is said to flourish on 

 very poor clay land. This species also might be worth 

 experimenting with in some parts of these islands, as for 

 instance, on the poor clay lands in the centre of Antigua, or 

 the district on the leeward coast of Dominica, in the 

 neighbourhood of Batalie. 



