V^x. XTIIl. -NTo. 



THE AGRICULTDIiaL iTIWS. 



(?b'r 



THE ELECTRICAL TREATMENT OF SEEDS, 



The following is an abstract, published in the 

 Journal of Ihe Royal t>ociety of Arts, of a paper read 

 before the British Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, 1919:— 



This process is the result of experiments that Lave been 

 in progress for the last seven or eight years ; but it has been 

 tried on a commercial scale for on'y the last three seasons, 

 andniaj therefore be called quite new. 



Three seasons ago it was tried by about a dozen farmers; 

 two seasons ago by more than 150, and this season by more 

 than 500. This rapid progress has been due almost eotirely 

 to the recommendation made by one farmer to another, or by 

 seedsmen to farmers The process has not been advertised. 



Properly conducted, the electiific.ation of seed never 

 fails to produce an increase in a crop of corn. In every one 

 of the f>?w cas"^s in which this result has not been produced, 

 it has been found that some mistake has been made in the 

 process. 



The increase in yield varies from i bushels to 20 

 or more bushels per acre ; the average of a considerable 

 number of trials is about 10 bushels, or about 30 per cent. 



Every kind I f seed r&juires its own peculiar treatment, 

 and tliis treatment has been completely ascertained only for 

 cereal crops Large quantities of electrified r^ ot seeds have, 

 however, been sown this season. 



The cost of electrification is small ; the process is simple, 

 and adds nothing to the labour of the farmer, to the miplements 

 for operation on ihe farm, or to his capital outlay, unless he 

 chooses to electrify the seed for himself. Numerous pairs of 

 specimens grown from electrified and unelectrified seed of the 

 ■ same kind in the same field were shown. 



Aaricultural Inspection in Grenada. -Reports 



of the Agricultural Inspectors in Grenada for the months of 

 July, August and September show that their visits to all 

 parts of the colony for instructional purposes must be product 

 ive of benefit to its agriculture. Especially is this the case 

 with regard to the annual Prize Holdings C^ompetitions ; 

 competitors are advised, and their plots inspected in such a 

 way as to give them an insight into the principles which 

 underlie successful cultivation. 



With regard to the coming cacao crop, the reports consider 

 that it will be a lar^ge one- The attacks of thrips do not 

 appear to be troublesome, due probably to the measures 

 being generally taken to combat this pest, not only by spray- 

 ing the trees with insecticides, but by improved drainage 

 and cultivation of the orchards. 



A good crop of corn is hoped for in St. George's parish, 

 but the prospects of the same crop in L'arriacou are stated 

 to be very disappointing, owing to want of care in seed 

 selection, and inefficient methods of cultivation. In this 

 connexion the report points out that for linie trees to sue 

 ceed, it is necessary to give them attention, especially in their 

 young stage. 



The cultivation of onions by small holders is being 

 extended, which is to be commended, as likely to prove 

 profitable. 



The importation "f a thorough bred horse into L'arriacou, 

 for the purpose of improving the lo ai breed of ponies is 

 -aoticed. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 

 MARKET. 

 Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S , lias forwarded the fol- 

 kvving report on the London drug and .spice markets 

 for the naonth of iSeptotnter: — 



In i-onsidering the po.sition oi drugs and spices in the 

 London wholesale markets daring the month df September, 

 we can only repeat what we have said for several months 

 past, that there has been a general inactivity of interest 

 among buyers, whi!e owners have for the most part demanded 

 increased rates for most of the products that come under 

 our notice The following are some of the principal: — 

 r.i.NtElt. 



At the auction on the. ISth of the laoath ginger was 

 in fair supply, bein j represented by -501 bags, only 2+ of 

 which were sold, 70.-!. par cwt. being paid for fair small to 

 bold washed wormy (Jochon. 



Nt^T.MHOS, MACE, AMJ PIMENTO. 



In the early part of the month nutmegs were re- 

 ported as steady of sttle, West Indian being quoted at 

 Is. Id. per & for llO's. At auction im the 18th, 

 .'574 packages of West Indian were brought forward, and 

 met with a good demand at from hi. to 2</ per lb. 

 on the previous rates, iface was offered in good supply 

 at auction on the 4th of the month, being repre- 

 sented by 244 cases of Java, of which 161 were sold at 

 from 10;/. to Iv. perR).; 8 packiges of fair West Indian 

 were also disposed of at 10^. to l.t. per tt). .\gain on 

 the 18th of the month mace was in good supply, when 

 75 packages of West Indian were disposed of at the 

 following rates: good pale, slightly broken, l.v. 7V. lo l.(. 8^'.; 

 dark broken 1 Id. to b. ; 89 cases of Java were also 

 disposed of at Is. 5d. to Is. Id for palish and slightly 

 broken. At auction on the 4th of the month some 750 bags 

 of pimento were brought forward as a prize cargo, and sold at 

 from bd. to 5|rf. per ft , a price it maintained for the rest of 

 the month. 



SARS.\PAnit,L.A. 



Sarsaparilla was in fair supply at the the auctioQ on 

 the 25th of the month, as follows ; grey Jamaica 2.) bales, 

 Lima 51 bales, and native Jamaica Is bales. No sales of 

 either kind were effected, as all the kinds was reported to 

 be of inferior quality. For the grey Jamaica, which was 

 part wormy, \s. "id- to is- was asked, and for the J,iraa- 

 Jamaica, '2s. to 2j-. ba'. It was stated at the auction that 

 native Jamaica was very scarce. 



.VUKOWEOOT, KOLA, ANNATTO SEED, CASHEW NUTS, 



CASSIA FI.STULA, LI.MK OrL, I.IMK .FL'ICE, 



TAMAEIND.S, AND CITIUC ACID. 



At the first auction in the month the large cunsigoment 

 of 387 barrels of St. Vincent arrowroot were offered and 

 bought in, middling manufacturing at 6</. per lb., commoD at 

 bd. to 5i(/, and inferior at 3(/. At the same auction, 5 

 bags of West Indian kola were offered, and .sold at 6A(f. per 

 ft). At auction on the 25th, 50 bales of annatto seeds were 

 withdrawn at (\\,d. per tb. : 75 packages of casliew nuts 

 were ottered at this sale but none sold. On the iither hand, 

 15 bags of Cassia Kistula brought forward, were all s»ld 

 at an advance, it was stated, on previous rates of 10.y.; 

 15 bags of fair, sound St. Lucia, fetched 180j-. West 

 Indian lime oil has been easy throughout the month, 

 distilled being offered at .%. 9c/. prr tti , and hand-pres.sed 

 atlb. At Hucti'in on the 4lh of the mimth 151 barrels of 

 Barbados tamarinds were ollered, and bought in at 40f. per ' 

 cwt. Citric acid was cjioted at the end of the month at fromt* ' 

 \s. ^id. to 4.V. »(/. per lb. ■. • '' 



