3ll> 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



OcroiiER 4, l'.<li>. 



It is stated in the Cuh'i Review for July 1919, that 

 preat efforts are being made to increase the output of the 

 Cuban manganese uiiiies The manganese ores occur prin- 

 cipally in sedimentary rocks such as liaestone, sandstone 

 and shale, but in the more heavily mineralized localities the 

 ores are associated with misses of siliceous rock locally 

 termed 'jasper' and 'bayate'. 



GLEANINGS. 



Acording to results obtained in the Du'cli Kast Indies, 

 T' ferred to in E.xpetimetit Sfatwn Record for May 1919, 

 jiudium nitrate is superior to ammonium sulphate as a manure 

 for cassAva. 



An article appears in the Y.x\.^\^ Journal of the Board 

 (if Agriculture on the subject of oil from British-grown 

 linseed. Investigations have shown that there is now in 

 .i'.ogland the certainty of producing an appreciable quantity 

 »■! high class oil 



On applicants in St. Lucia producing a paper from 

 the Crown Lands Department showing the amount of land 

 purchased, locality, and full nams and address, they are 



provided with 

 departnjent. 



free p! »uing material by the agricultural 



The University nf the Philippines has discovered that 

 the highest percenia e of eminently successful students (in 

 the academic sen^ ) is not associated with its schnol of 

 agriculture. The College of Law was found to have the 

 highest percentage (16) of grade i students, while the- 

 College of Agriculture had the smallest percentage (2 . This 

 marked differenc:e would seem to indicate that the former 

 college attracts more bright students than the latter. 



'A Practical Guide to Tropical Agriculture' is a recent 

 book by A. Fauchere, referred to in the Experine/it Station 

 Record for May 19:9. It is a treatise which has to do 

 primarily with the development of agriculture in the French 

 Colonial possessions. Amoigst other matters it deals with 

 the preparation of the land for cultivation, including cleiring, 

 draining, ploughing, and the construction of roads and 

 buildings. 



(Joe result of the r-.ir was the employment in Hiwaii of 

 children on sugar estates for planoina cane It appears 

 likely that the empoyment of school children for planting 

 and other light work will be continued, as it is found that 

 boys can work quicker than men. {Louisianx PLxntcr for 

 July 12, 1919.) 



The imports ot unrefined sugat from the British West 

 Indies into the United Kingdom during 1918 were 

 2,307,802 cwt., valued at ,£.3,;H2,068. In 1917, the 

 imports were ■2,.587,.S41 cwt., valued at £.3,73(3,436. These 

 figures include sugar ftmr. British Ouiana. (The Chamber 

 of Commerce Journal — Supplement, London, July 1919.) 



The im[ioriH into Canada from the British West Indies 

 for the year ending June, 1919, were valued at .$8,336,966. 

 The exports from Canada to the British West Indies for the 

 aarae year were valued at §9,648,933. These figures do 

 not include British Guiana. (See Agriatltural News for 

 Sept. 20, 1919, p. 297.) 



According to a report in Tropical Life for August 

 1919, it seems likely that ihis year's cacao crop in Kcuador 

 will be an average one, perhaps a little short. This shortage 

 is in part due to di.;ca.sc, but chiefly the result of the trees 

 becoming older year by year, and the absence of many 

 young plantations coming into bearing to take their [ilace. 



Manurial experiments with tobacco in Java have shown 

 f.liai ammonium sulphate gave not only increa.sed yields, but 

 Caused an improvement in ijuality and increa.se in length of 

 leaves. Stable nunure .seemed to cau.se inferior combusti- 

 oility. This is ascribable to the chlorine content of the 

 tcanure. {J'iiysiolo'jical Absiiacls for June 1919.) 



ThB data adduced in Unllefin JVo. 4, Statistical Series, 

 Department of Agriculture, Mauritius, show that during 

 the last four years the total number of stock in 

 that colony has diminished by over 8,000 head. In 

 commenting on this. Dr. H. A, Tempany, the Director, 

 says that such !i diminution is serious, and directly affects 

 the principal industry as well as the welfare of the 

 cohny as a whole. It is believed there has been a tendency 

 towards diminution of live stock in nearly every country 

 throughout the world during the war. 



Ueference is made in the British Empire Associated 

 Chambers of Comma ce Directory and Gazette for June 

 1919, to a hand plough which is likely to be of use for 

 saving labour on small holdings It is known as Mote's 

 Interchangeable Hand Plough. It is very light and will cut 

 G-inch furrows easily. It takes two men to work it, one 

 pulling and the other guiding. This plough should do 

 much to abolish the rough spade work which hitherto has 

 been the bugbear of the small cultivator. It is manufactured 

 by .Mote's Man Power Plough and Implement Co., Poulton- 

 le-Fylde, Lancashire, and the London Oflics is 7, Pall 

 Mall, S.W. 



An advertisement containing a significant statement, 

 appears in Eacts about Sugar for July 19, 1919, in regard to 

 a large financial concern known as the Ilaitian American 

 Corporation. In the prospectus, to secure public confidence, 

 it is observed that 'thu United States, in 1916, entered irto 

 a treaty obligating itself, through control of the Constabul- 

 ary and Finances, to lend its t:<)od offices to the Government 

 of Haiti and aid in the devclopnunt of its agricultural, 

 mineral and commercial resources'. This is insiructive in 

 connexion with the present agitation for .-elf government 

 and independence in some of the British West Indian colonies 

 like Grenada and St. Lucia. 



