Vol, XVIII No. 459. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



377 



comprises a'very comprehenbive review'by Mr. H. A. 

 Ballou, Entomologist of the Imparial Department 

 of Agriculture, of his report to the Egyptian Govern- 

 ment on his investigations into the control of the 

 pink boll worm in Egypt, and the appendix deal- 

 ing with the development of the cotton industry 

 and the causes which have operated to bring about a 

 steady reduction in the average yield per aci'e. This 

 is also fully illustrated. 



West '', Indian Imports of Chemical Manures 

 h . iln the Agricultural Xeivs for November 1, 1919, a 

 statement was given as to the quantity and value of 

 chemical manures imported into British Guiana 

 and into Birbados of recent years.. These figures 

 showed a great increase in price of these manures since 

 1914, and a reduction in the quantity imported, 'i _^ 

 Figures are nov/ to hand in regard to Grenada and 

 St. Lucia. 



Imprrts into Grenada. 

 1914. 191.J. 1910. 1917. 1918. 



H- > H > H>-H > r^ > 



£ £ £ £ £ 



1,025 1,204 G04 4,743 322 2,701 92 1,010 15 4.") 



Imports into St. Lucia. (Value only.) 



£ £ £ £ 



5,3.34 3,017 7,905 639 



In regard to these figures, no record has been 

 kept of the amount of different kinds of manure, but it 

 may be mentioned that the principal manures imported 

 into Grenada are Hughes Packard, basic slag, Hubbard's 

 cacao tree manure, and sulphate of ammonia. 



The British Molasses Company. 



An interesting report on this Company appears 

 in the Financial Neius for October KJ, 1919. The 

 company's operations are designed to provide the 

 Liverpool cattle food manufacturers and other users 

 of molasses with this product in large and regular 

 quantities. 



'The company is very completely equipped for 

 handling the business right from the plantations of 

 the West Indies to the users at home, and when 

 operating to the full extent of its resources can 

 handle something like 1-50,000 tons per annum. A 

 fleet of six tank steamers, ranging in capacity from 

 2,500 tons to (i.OOO tons, is regularly employed bring- 

 ing the molasses in bulk from the islands of the West 

 Indies — Cuba, San Domingo, and Porto Rico. On arrival 

 on this side the molasses is pumped into the company's 

 short tanks situated on the quays at Garston (Liver- 

 pool), Birkenhead, Hull, and Glasgow, and finally 

 delivered by the company's motor tank wagons in 

 bulk to the various cattle food manufacturers, or filled 

 • into barrels and drums and railed to all parts of the 

 country. The company has tank storage in the 

 United Kingdom for l.'S.OOO tons, and is at present 

 extending operations to meet the growing demand.' 



About Cotton. 



With its issue of October 2.5, 1919, T/te Times 

 Trade Supplement commences the publication of an 

 extremely interesting section devoted to cotton. An 

 effort has been made to provide a comprehensive 

 review of the multifarious activities of the trade, from 

 the growing of the fibre to the sale i>{ the printed 

 calico, and they have been fortunate in securin^r the 

 services of some of the best authorities in the world. 



The danger of the present situation from an 

 Imperial standpoint, it is observed, lies in the 

 dependence jf the British industry on raw material 

 grown so hirgely outside the King's dominions; 

 but there is not the slightest doubt that a vastly 

 increased production of cotton could be secured 

 in Egypt and the Sudan by the completion of irrigation 

 schemes which have been put forward, and it is 

 also possible for ir.creased production to be obtained 

 in other parts of the British D puiiritons, and for new 

 sources of supply to be discovered. 



In the West Indies, as is well known, the cotton 

 produced is of fine quality of the Sea Island class. Up 

 to the time of the outbreak uf war rhes-e islands were 

 producing as much as 6,009 bales. The probability of 

 any considerable increase in production in these colonies 

 would seem to be remote, so long as high prices for 

 sugar prevail. Mr. Hutton, however, has expre.=sed the 

 confident opinion that if the industry is malL- re- 

 munerative to the planters, the West Indies can 

 produce all the Sea Island cotton required by the 

 British industry'. 



Pine-apple Cloth as made in China. 



A brief description of the minor industry of weav- 

 ing cloth from pine-apple fibre, in certain districts in 

 the vicinity of the city of Swatow, appears in the 

 Journal of til c Royal Society of Arts, September .5, 

 1919. It seems that in these districts there are 

 pine-apple plantations especially cultivated for the fibre, 

 the annual estimated production being valued at 

 £4,800. As will be seen from the description of the 

 process of manufacture, it is a ver}- simple one. The 

 green leaf, having been first soaked in lime-water, is 

 scraped by hand with a piece of broken earthenware 

 or glass. The fibres are pulled out by using the 

 thumb nail and forefinger, and after having been wasihed, 

 are sun-bleached. A hundredweight of leaves will only 

 give about a pound of fibre. 



The process of twisting the fibres of the thread is 

 managed entirely by women who, roll two fibres 

 together, always on their knee. 



The native loom is entirely used in weaving 

 these threads into cloth. The ordinary width .if the 

 cloth is between 15 and ID inches, and the maximum 

 width between IS and 20 inches. The length of the 

 cloth varies from SO to 100 feet, and different gniile-s 

 are made. This cloth, known !vs grass cloth, is wiilely 

 used for summer clothing. Its manufacture, however, 

 can only be undertaken where time and labour do not 

 seem to be of much value. 



