364 



THE AQRICULTURAL NEWS. 



NOVKMBEU 15, 1919. 



A Dovel ensilage chute is described in the Journal 

 of till Department of Agriadliire of I 'ktorio for May 1919. 

 Inste<-»d of leaving port holes iu ihe walls of ihe silo, a farmer 

 in South Africa has devised an ingenious chute for sending the 

 silage to the ground. Plans of this chute are given. The silage, 

 taken from round the edges of the silo first, is thrown with a 

 hroad shovel against the back of the chute, and rapidly falls 

 to the bottom, whence a truck takes it 1 1 the mixing floor. 

 As the surface of the material descoods, the short boards are 

 taken from the front of the chute so that there is no life at 

 any time in emptying the silo. 



GLEANINGS. 



According to United Empire for August 19, 1910, it is 

 the intention of the Jamiican Government to spend 

 £120,000 o. I rolling stock for the island's raihvay system 

 It ha.s been decided t" purchase s-venty cane-cars, forty box- 

 cars, and five locomotives. The money required %vill be 

 raised locally. 



It is reported in Botanical Abstracts for April 19 1919, 

 that dilute solutions of nitrates, on being e.xpose J to sunlight, 

 unrlergo conversion from nitrate to nitrite. On iiiunersing 

 green leaves in the soluti n, comparatively little nitrite 

 accumulated, due, the a!:thor concludes, to the fact that the 

 leaf absorbs the nitrites as they are forme*, thus in licaticg 

 that the early stages of synthesis of nitrogenous compound* 

 are carried out in the green leaf, aided by sunliglit 



Hecent reports, says the United Empire for August 19, 

 1919, show that Mauriciu.s is miking a rapid recovery from 

 the effects of the war Steamship servi:es have greatly im 

 proved. Since April, the crops, which were rather backward 

 earlier in the year, have come on splendidly, and good yields 

 of maize and cassava are predicted. The sugar-cane harvest 

 promises to be the largest one on record 



The plant known as the pink lotu.s {JVelumMum 

 sbeciosum), is well known in the West Indies as an aquatic 

 plant of attractive appeaiance. * ccording to the Bulletin of 

 the Dcj artment of AgrieultHre, Federated Malay States, the 

 seeds of this plant, whicli are contained in a large capsule, 

 have a pleasant flavour, and are eaten raw when immature, 

 and roasted when ripe, by the Chiiese in that country. 



In the Garden s Bu/lHia, Straits J-'ettlements (July 4, 

 1919;, reference is made to an introduced species of Hevea 

 from British Guiana. This is known botanically as Hcvea 

 nnfiisa, and ditiers in many respects from //. liranliensis. 

 The late', for instance, vrn* found to be yellow, meagre in 

 amount, and to remain tacky, with little elasticity. After 

 material had been obtained for identification, flowering 

 apeciinens of //. confioj were destroyed to prevent 

 hybridi/ntion. 



Attention is given in the Journal of the Roynt Society 

 of Art> for July 18, 1919, to the mar'grove bark resources 

 of the Philippines. Altogetl.er there are twenty-one species 

 of niangroie found in the I'hilii'pine swamps, two more than 

 are found in Borneo. The tanning content of the Phili|ipine 

 biifk instated to run from 12 to 3.5 per cent., and to be, on 

 an average, (juite as satisfactory an that of the liorneo man- 

 grove. It is sucge.'ted that the large areas of mangroves 

 should be exploited. 



An interesting discovery of diamonds was made in the- 

 Gold Coast early in February last by the Director of the 

 Geological Survey. The stones ojcur in shallow qnar'z gravels 

 of the Abomo stream and adjacent ridge of the Birrin River, 

 AH the stones found up to the present are small, but high of 

 them are of goud quality. Upwards of GOO diamonds have 

 been found by panning during the time the surrounding 

 locality was being tested with regard to the origin and 

 distribution of the diamondtferous gravels. ( The Board ojl 

 Trade Journal, August 14, 1919) 



According to the Annual Report on the Elementary 

 Schools, St.Yiment, for 1918-19, the teaching in agricultural 

 subjects is reported on as being along more practical, 

 and less 'bookish,' lines. A scheme was drawn up, in 

 consultation with the Agricultural Superintendent, for 

 improving the teaching of this subject, but, for financial 

 reasons, wa.s not practicable at the time. Arrangements have 

 now been made to bring it into forc^, and it will soon be 

 working with, it is hoped, btter results to the training of 

 pupils and teachers alike in agriculture. 



One of the principal recommendations of the Conjoint 

 Board of Scientific .Societies of Great Britain (Second Report, 

 1918) is that the British Government bring before the notice 

 of the Indian Government, and of the various Dominion 

 Governments, and of the governing bodies of the Crown 

 Colonies, the necessity for a close systematic investigation 

 of all reasonably promising water powers, and of their 

 economic po.ssibilities. In this connexion it may be 

 noted that the liureau of Electrical Exploitation. Tokio, has 

 issued a pamphlet dealing with the recent water-power 

 survey of the Japanese Government. This is a most exten- 

 sive survey, and its methods might we'l be studied by the 

 survey departments of other countries. Further reference 

 to the matter will be found in the Indiau Trade Journal 

 for July 18, 1919. 



