THE AGUICULTURAL NEWS 



August 9, 1919. 



GLEANINGS. 



It is stated in the Joui nal of Agricultural R>'search, 

 Vol. XVII, No. 1, that experiments completed, indicate that 

 formaldthyde t;as treatment is a very efficient means of seed 

 disinfection. It is well known that the use of liquids for 

 disinfection is unsatisfactory for many kinds of .seed.^. 



An additional export dnty on palm kernels has been 

 imposed by the Government of Nigeria. The increase is at 

 the rate of £2 per ton. If shipped to a port within the 

 Empire, the exporter may, in lieu of paying the duties, give 

 a bond in prescribed form for theamo-nt of such duties. 



American experiments in electrical stimulation of crops, 

 reported in the Experinitut Station Record, Vo'. 40, No 5, 

 have indicated that overhead treatment with a high tension 

 current increased the yield of OEions G.3.3 per cenr. The 

 eff.ct on this crop was much greater than that on any other. 



The propagation and culture of the date palra is the 

 subject of Farmers Bulletin, No. ioo6. United States 

 Derartmcn' of Agriiulture. This bulletin is intended to 

 furnish growers with definite instructions for the rooting of 

 date ofifahoots and for their subsequent care in the orchard. 



According to the South Afriiau Sugar Journal, the 

 South A'rican Cotton Growers' A.ssociation is likely to be 

 converled into a cooperative Society with limited liability. 

 It is believed that this will greatly stimulate the production 

 of cotton, and it is predicted that in ten years' time there 

 will be more cotton than maize grown in South Africa. 



In connexion with the suggestion to fix nitrogen from 

 the air, utilizing water power in the West Indi in islands, an 

 article on the method.of doing so in New Zealan.i. puhli.shed 

 in the Xc-d- Zea'.aud /ourual />/ .Uiriculture, Vol. XVIII, 

 No. 4, will be found interesting and usefu!. The value of 

 electric furnaces is also dealt with. 



A new method of crafting is reported by the Experi- 

 ment Station Record, Vol. 40, No. 5. The method was 

 adopted to r.-juvenai6' o'd grafted grape vines. Vigorous 

 sprouts from the old stock were shield-budded and then 

 layered about .5 inches deep in mouida of mellow, fresh soil. 

 Union is i erfecced in about three weeks time, after which 

 the soil ia removed, and the shoot continues its normal 

 growth. 



A disease of corn ciused by a fungus {Pliysodet mi sp.) 

 is ilealt with in the Journal of Agricultural Research, 

 Vol XVI, No.") It occurs in the Soathera States and is 

 piobably identiLci'. with the disease reported by Shaw in India. 

 There is a possibility tf controlling the disea.se thro itrh 

 sanitation, crop rotation, and resistant varieties. The m il.uly 

 affects the leaves, but at present does not appear to caust; a 

 serious amount of damage. 



An interesting historical account of the rain tree of 

 Hierro, Canary Islands ((>;vw/rt///^/t' /wAv/.v) appears in the 

 Kelt' Bulhtin of Miscellineous Infm-tnation, No. .'5 of 1919. 

 This tree was described in the Agricultural Xeivs of May .">, 

 1919. The present account will give a great deal of 

 additional information to those interested in the subject. 



Experiments conducted in the Du'ch East Indies have 

 indicated that the latex from the upper and lower D'lls on 

 rubber trees shows very little variation so far as density, 

 t«rsile strength, rate of cure, and viscosity are concerned. 

 The India Rubher Journal for June 7, 1919, says that 

 these results will definitely settle the controversy that has 

 existed on this point for some years. 



Agricultural prospects in Surinam are, according to The 

 Bo-ird of Trade Jouenai for A)iril 24, 1919, anything but 

 eccouragipg. Kxtra profits realized by estates have been 

 mo.stly swallowed up in extra taxation. Labour is most 

 difficult to secure. Of bush products, balata has fared the 

 best. The chief agricultural crops are cofTee, cacao, eiigar, 

 maize and rice. 



It is stUed in the Louisiami Planter for June 21, 19 9, 

 that the possibilities of Mexico as an imp rtant sugar 

 producer should be more appreciated. Sugar is grown 

 in Mexico in eighteen of the twenty eight Stales forming 

 that Republic. Mexican proluction has increased from 

 H million tons of cane in 190.3-4 to over 3 million tons 

 ot"^ cane in 1906-7. A more settled form ot Government, 

 however, nuist be established before any great progress 

 can be made in the future. 



According to the Annual I'eport of the \i lucation Depart- 

 ment of Jamaica, 1918, the teaching of agricultur.il and 

 elementary science in the schools of Jamaica is not making as 

 much progress as could be desired. /' s regards school gardens, 

 these have not had as much auteutiou -since the lasthurricane 

 as they had previously. It is sated that the cultivation of 

 'war gardens', near the homes of the older children has 

 proved popular. 



We have received copies of two important scientific 

 monographs, which biologists in the tropics may find useful 

 for reference. The first is one dealing with tfi.- amphiliians 

 and reptiles of Cuba, entitled 'The llerpetology ot Cuba,' 

 (Memoirs if th, Museum of Comparative /.oology. Harvard 

 College, Vol. XLVII, No. 2), by Thomas Barbour and 

 Charles T. lUmsden. The second is on the Verbenacoae ol 

 the Malayan Ar.bipelago, by H. J. Lam, issued by 

 M de Waal, Groningen. 



Mr, 1). V. Houston, Secietary of Agriculture of the 

 Tnited States, in an address before the Trans-Mississippi 

 lleadjustment Congress, during February 1919, said that a 

 bill is before Ccragress which will make available for road 

 con.struciion in the next few years, under the terms of the 

 Uoad Act, from Federal and State sources, about 

 $.'jr)0,000,000. Large additional amounts will be eipended by 

 each 'state on projects of its own. Never before has 

 there been such activity in road legislation and planning, due, 

 in no small tneaeure, to the Btiinulus of Federal aid. 



