380 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



NOVEMBKK 29, 1919. 



GLEANINGS. 



A new subspecies of oil palm {Elaeis gi/incensis) is 

 referred to in the AV;.' Bulletin of Misccllaticoiis Information, 

 No. 5 of 1919. The leading feature of this variety is the 

 persistent fleshy skin which, like the seed, is rich in oil and 

 surrcurds the fruit like a cupule. 



An illustrated account of the botanic gardens of Pampoe- 

 mousse appears in the Kcic Bulletin of Afiseella/u-ous In- 

 formation, Nos. 6 and 7, 1919. The Pdiupoemousse tree is 

 a sort of orange ( CZ/rM.r decumami) probably brought from 

 Java by the Dutch. The fruit is an orange of slightly 

 bitter sweet flavour. 



According to the Colonizer for September 1919, an 

 aeroplane expedition has been formed for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the v«iue of wood pulp resources of Labrador, 

 rhoiographs of all the large fore.sts will be taken, atd from 

 these tie value of the wood pulp will be calculated. Four 

 aeroplanes are to be used in the undertaking. 



In 'he section on rural credit. Seventeenth Annual 

 Keport of the Bureau of Agriouliure, Manila, the statement 

 is made that it has been a constant surprise to note the 

 facility with which the credit at^tocialions (corresponding to 

 West Indian credit societies) have carried on their work when 

 once the details if the plan were understood by the members. 



Although the total gasoline imported into Great Britain 

 last year from British possessions wa.s only S,340,-540 gallons 

 coropired with 22,274,885 gallons in 1916, it is satisfactory 

 to note that (ac-ordiog to the Westminster Gazette, 

 October 16, 1919) there was an increase in the imports from 

 the West Indian islands rising froni 196,297 ga'lons in 

 1916 t'. 2,214,9.30 gallons in 1918 The reference to 

 ' islands' is obviously dui' to ignorance or oversight. The 

 only island at present exporting oil is Trinidad, 



A simple drinking fountain for fowls, constructed by 

 means of a common beer bottle, is described in the Queena- 

 land Agricultural Journal i(\r PMgnsX, 1919, First n ake 

 a stand lor ihe bottle out of two pieces of wood one hori 

 zonial, the other perpendicular. To the perpendicular piece 

 attach two wires to hold the bottle mouth downwards in 

 a vertical position. Then put a soup plate in a dish full 

 of water on the horizontal board. Fill the bt.ttle, cork it, 

 then invert it over the dish. Take out the cork, being 

 careful that the mouth of the bottle touches the surface of 

 the water. There will be a supply kept up as long as there 

 in water in the bottle. 



The Egyptian hen, it is curious to note, does not 

 possess the sitting instinct. This is attributed to the 

 practice of artificial incubation which is generally followed 

 in Kgypt. It is contended by those who have investigated 

 the subject, that the art of hatching eggs by artificial heat 

 originated in Kgypt in very remote times, (Yhe Journal of 

 the Department of Agriculture of Victoria for July 1919.) 



Profess' r Bateson in an article on plant breeding and 

 tropical crops in Production for July 1919, points out that it 

 is not sufficient to choose coco-nuts from good trees, since this 

 only takes into consideration which trees are ihe best 

 mothers ; attention should be given to the p»ternity of the 

 seeds chosen. He also states that exhaustive investigation 

 might prove that the coco-nut cau be reproduced vegeta- 

 tively 



Reference is made in the Philippine Agricultural 

 Rnne'iC, Vol. XII, No. 2, to an experiment designed to 

 improve certain varieties of rice selected from the variety 

 test by means of plant selection through the head-to-the-row 

 culture. This test consisted of seventeen varieties, represent- 

 ing bearded and non-bearded, early, medium, and late-matur- 

 ing plants, so as to establish improved varieties to meet all 

 local cou'iitions and requirements. 



The Secretary of the Department of Scientific anA 

 Industrial Research, London, informs Ahtttire that a Bricish 

 association of research for the cocoa, chocolate, sugar, con- 

 fectionery, and jam trades has been formed in accordance 

 with the Government's scheme for the encouragement of 

 industrial research. The Secretary is Mr, K, M, Leonard, 

 the Manufacturing Confectioners Alliance, Ltd,, 9, (^)ueen 

 Street Place, London, E.C, 4. 



The depth to plant bananas is the subject of an 

 interesting note in the A'jricultwnl Gazete of Meir South 

 IVales for .'i.ugUiC 2, 19. a. >S.ips were p ic in at 6, 9, 12 

 15, 18, and 21 inches deep. The best stool at present is 

 from the pUnt set 15 inches deep, it having five stems and 

 two suckers. The test will not be completed until the plants 

 mature fruit, but in the meantime the results afford -some 

 indication of the best depth to plant bananas in New 

 South Wales 



An extensive and efficient irrigation service for siiga^- 

 cane exists in Porto Rico. The new system of overhead 

 delivery was completed in 1914, and the cost was defrayed 

 by bonds issued, totalling ■•?5,000,000. Funds to meet 

 interest charges and jjayments of princi|)al, a.s well as 

 operation and maintenance expenses are provided by a 

 special tax on the land.s benefited. The total area irrigated 

 is about 40,000 acres. Further information will be found 

 in yw^s ./1/w/^/ vS'«C('»* for September 27, 1919, 



It is stated in the Journal of Agricultural Research, 

 August 15, 1919, that removing pulp from camphor seed 

 was found to hasten germination by an average of two 

 weeks; it also gave an increase in germination of approxi- 

 mately 525 per cent, over that of unpulped trees. It is 

 believed that in commercial plantings the removal of the 

 pulp from the seeds will increase the percentage of 

 goriniration by at least 200 per cent, thus producing 

 40,000 more .seedling trees to each acre ot .seed bed. The 

 estimate is believed to be very conservative, and even 

 a much greater increase may be expected. 



