)12 



TfiF AGP.ICULTl'RAL SEWS. 



October 4 1919. 



EDITORIAL iWJ^-)S^^ NOTICES. 

 :I E ab Office '^ui'*^^ &'■ "* 



— Barbados 



Letters and matter for publication, i\s well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies oi the 'Agricultural 

 News' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents will be found on 

 page 4 of the cover. 



Oane varsus Beet Sugar. 



Why English sweet and jam makers prefer beet ti> 

 cane sugar is explained in Sugar for July 1919. 



The prejudice appears to be due to the fact that 

 pure white beet sugar has always ui;en cheaper and 

 procurable in larger quantities than refined cane sugar. 

 Cane sugar which is not absolutely pure is inclined to 

 he hygroscopic, that is quick to absorb moisture. Whe^l 

 boiled, some cane sugars are stated to be very liable to 

 bjcterial action. This feature is a disadvantage in jam 

 making. 



To refine all low-grade cane sugar it would be 

 necessary, says the article referred to, for most of the 

 ICnglish refineries to be rebuilt, or else new ones 

 erected to produce economical work and returns of a 

 high percentage, unless the syrup trade extends, which 

 is unlikely in Great Britain. 



Imperial Commissioner of Sir Francis Watts, K.C.M.G., 



AgrictUiureforthe West Indies D.Sc, F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Scientific Assistant and W. R. Dunlop. 



Assistant hditor ^ . » 



Entomologist H. A. Balbu, M.Sc. 



Mycologist W. Nowell, D.I C. 



Assistant for Cotton Research S. C. Harland, B.Sc.+ 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



Chief Clerk 



Clerical Astistantt 



Typist 

 Assistant Typist 



Assistant for Publications 



A. G. Howell. 

 (L. A. Corbin. 

 \P. Taylor.* 

 Ik. R. C. Foster. 

 Miss B. Robinson. 

 Miss W. Ellis. 



A. B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



f Provided by (he Imperial Deparlmeid of SrAentifi': 



Industrial Research. 

 *Second'.d fur Military Service. 



nd 



^gricultiirul ^^(m 



■Vol. XVIII, SATURDAY, OCTODKll 4, 1919. No. 455. 

 NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this issue deals with e.xperiiuents 

 carried out in several of the West Indian islands with 

 the object of introducing into general cultivation 

 improved varieties or strains of sweet potato. 



■ On page ;^17 are reproduced recoiiHuendatioiis put 

 forward in their report by a committee appointed to 

 inquire into the prevalence, and to reconiend measures 

 for the control of, venereal diseases in the Colony of 

 Trinidad and Tobago. These appear to have more than 

 local application. 



Insects Notes on page •■JI4 give\suggestions for 

 the protection against weevil in corn. Another article 

 on page MIo relates to the control of the onion thrips. 



A Model of a Great Volcano. 



By means of kite- views a model of the volcano 

 Kilauea in Hawaii has been made. This model is 

 circular in form, 14 feet in diameter, and has an area 

 of modelling representing about 13 square miles. The 

 scale is 1 inch = 12o feet. 



This model is described and illustrated in Nature 

 for August 7, l!)in. In addition to the many features 

 of interest to the student of structural and dynamical 

 geology, the model shows very well the eti'ects of 

 climatic control on the vegetation, due to trade winds 

 and altitude. To the ea«t and north-east the forest is 

 of a tropical nature in its lu.xuriance. To the west ' 

 and south-west the vegetation disappe,irs rapidly, so 

 that on the western part of the model there appears 

 nothing but a desert of volcanic ash. 



The advantages of a g(jod naturalistic model are 

 many. The following are referred to in the article 

 in Nature in respect of the model under notice : 

 (1) Sr.ch a model of a volcano which changes <lurini»- a 

 generation i>f men is a scientific record of that 

 locality : (2) such models are of great value in research 

 work: for instance, volcanic bomb craters were 

 practically unknown before this model was made, and 

 young drainage system in the ash desert was also 

 unknown previously ; (8) the birds-eye view of an area 

 which can be studied at leisure reveals many relations 

 between the; \arious features of the countrv which 

 could not be wi^ll seen and studied in any other way ; 

 on account of the atuuisjiheric conditions, no balloon 

 or aeroplane observation or photograph could give at 

 once sui'h an ideal view a-^ one obtains fioiii this model 

 (4) the model can be used to teach students facts in 

 geology, geography and meteorology: (.")) such natural- 

 istic models may be used in the teaching of 

 landscape, sketching and painting, and even in the 

 teaching of map making. 



The model was made by Mr. (Jeorge C. Curti.s, 

 an American, from the kite-views referred to, which 

 were taken by Mr. .J. Fred Ha.voiili, a mei'i-hant, of 

 Pittsburg. 



