

THE AamCULTURAL SEWS. 



OCTOBEE IS. 1919. 



GLEANINGS 



Cuba was one o< the largest exporters of sugar in the 

 "V\'ost Indies in 1810, the amount being about 33,000 tons 

 ■})H- annum, exported to America and all parts of Northern 

 Europe. (The Ititertiati)iial Sugar Journil.) 



At the James Watt Centenary celebration in Biiniing 

 bam last September, the visitors were shown a Watt engine 

 >vhich was erected in 1776. and was regularly working until 

 lsr>2 — 116 years. Another engine dated 1790 worked 

 <i rt.inuously until 1894. 



Granadilla vines will often bloom profusely, but seldom 

 bear fruit in the ordinary way. The structure of Granadilla 

 flowers is such as to prevent self-pollination. The remedy 

 for this is to pollinate the flowers artificially with a camel'd- 

 hair brush. 



Olaa sigar plantation in Hawaii is reported in J'acli 

 <xl>ouf Sugar for August 16, 1919, to be making good 

 progress with its paper mulching process, and the mill is 

 now able to turn out some paper as well for commercial 

 j>urpos( s. 



The destruction of trees by blight is causing much 

 anxiety in the centeral districts of Jamaica. The yen's orange 

 •crop will be considerably smaller than that of last ye t, and 

 unless the blight is checked the industry will le seriously 

 affected. 



The Governtutnt of Martinique, I'rench West Indies, is 

 prepared, according to a report from Forl-de- France, to pay 

 an annual sub.sidy to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company 

 in the event of the company agreeing to allow their .'•teamers 

 on the Halifax- West Indies route to call at that island. 



The Imperial Trade tJommissioner for the West Indies, .Mr. 

 A. J.l'avilt. \\\A arranged to leave Trinidad, his headquarters, 

 for British Ouima on an otticid visit. He hopes to visit 

 Bar I lado.s before the close of the year, and a general tnur of 

 other islands in the Caribbean will be uiidertalien later. 

 {Tfic Tivfs Trade Supplement.) 



The export of 1.50,OCO cwi. of rice, at t'.e rate of 

 50,000 cwt. per month has b:iu sinctioned by the Govern- 

 ment of British Guiana to the following places : Trinidad, 

 Barbados, Leeward Islands, Windward Islands. Martinique-, 

 Guadeloupe, and French Guiana. The .shipments will begia 

 .w from November 1^ 1919. (The Demerara Z)(j//y .Irr/o.nv 

 September 27, 1919.) 



Investigations by Mr. H. C. Brill in the Philippines have 

 indicated that the enzymes found in the Criollo and in the 

 Forastero types of cacao are identical in oharacter, but in 

 general they esii-t in somewhat larger quantities or more 

 active forms in the former than in the latter None was found 

 that was peculiar to either type. These results are dealt with 

 at length in Tropical Life for August 1919. 



According to the Jamaica Gleaner for August 16, 1919, 

 6 million bunches of bananas have already been shipped 

 this year, and 4 million more will go by the end of the 

 year provided thit there are no storm disasters. The 

 estimate for next year is 14 million bunches. It is stated 

 that a high grade of banana is being shipped to Kngland. 



According to .Yatiirt for August 28. 1919, an Agricul- 

 tural History Society has been established in Washington, 

 having for its object the stimulation of interest, the promo- 

 tion of study, and the facilitation of publication of researches 

 in agricultural history. The President is Dr. R. H True, and 

 the Secretary Treasurer, Mr. L. Carrier, both of the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry, Washington. 



A report on sisal hemp grown on Government planta- 

 tions in Jamaica is published in the Gleaner for August S, 

 1919. Four sauip'es of sisal and uenequen were stated by 

 the Imperial Institute to be all of good appearance and 

 quality, with the exception of a sample of henequen fibre 

 from foDr-year-old plants at l.itlitz plantation, which was 

 very short, and rather inferior in strength and lustre 



It is understood from the Museums hniniul that it is 

 pr'.p-j-.-d by the BritLsh Cotton Industry JJesearch Associa- 

 ii"t), .Manrhis'er, lo tstablisli a Cotton Industry Museum, 

 htviog tor lis .inject the illustration of the production of 

 cottoD and ita utilization in industry. (From Nttiire 

 August 2H, 1919.) 



According to an article on the effect of sulfofication and 

 nitrification on potassium and other soil constituents in !<iiil 

 Science for March 1919, it has been found that nitrification of 

 dried blood and o.xidation of sulphur in soil mixtures iucreasB 

 the water soluble potassium. The liberation of potassium 

 was brought about by salts formed, rather than by the direct 

 action of acidity on insoluble potassium compounds. 



Coco nut trees at the Kxpeiiment Station, Tortola, are 

 reported on as foll.iws by Mr. K. E. Collens, Aciing Superin- 

 tendent of Agriculture for the Leeward Islands : 'The young 

 trees are doing well and some are just commencing to bear. 

 Coco-nuts should succeed well in the lower Hats in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the station. In the present cu'tivation several 

 supplies are needed where failures have occurred, and this 

 point should receive early attention.' 



Botanical Ihillclin No. 6, issued by the Division (jf For- 

 estry of Hawaii, deals with the Hawaiian genus Kokia. It 

 comprises twenty-tno pages of figures and eight illustratioati, 

 and treats of tbc^e Hawaiian trees wliich are relatives of the 

 cotton plant and some of which have already become extinct. 

 The Bulletin describes a new variety of Kokia, recently dis- 

 covered on Kauai, and bespeaks the pre-servation of this 

 interesting genus by propagation, and planting. (The 

 Haivaiian Forester and Agricut/urist tot June ldl9.) 



