112 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Deuejibek 27, 1919 



GLEANINGS. 



Kahuku plantation, of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands, is 

 now turning out wliite sugar in an experimental way, and will 

 probably put its product on the local market next year- Tlie 

 sugar is not refined, but by a new process the coloured 

 matter is removed, leaving pure white granules. (Fads About 

 S.igar, October 18, 1919.) 



The progress in the campaign for tick eradication in the 

 United States is shown by the fact that ia 1918, according to 

 the Experiment Station Record, July 1918, no less than 

 79.600 tquare miles of territory were released from quar- 

 antine, freeing the entire State of South Carolina, and 

 leaving under quarantine only 269,650 square miles. 



In the Experiment Station Record, ' Abstract Number, 

 Vol. XLI, No. 3, a note appears to the effect that E. W, 

 Albrecht states that a satisfactory edible oil has been made in 

 Boumaoia from the seeds of a variety of pumpkin. These 

 seeds yielded on extractiou with benzene and purification, 

 from 40 to 42 per cent, of their dry weight in oil of greenish 

 colour and pltasing taste. 



The Agricultural Instructor for the district of East 

 Portland, .Jamaica, states that there is much improvement in 

 the local industry of making hatsfiom such materials as cane 

 leaves, banana trash, grass, and coco-nut leaves. The hats 

 made from these materials are now very much worn in the 

 district. School children »re often seen wearing hats of their 

 own making. ( The Journal of the /amaicn Agricultural 

 Society, September 1919.) 



A new project for the development of cane- sugar pro- 

 duction in Florida has been set on foot by tlie incorporition 

 of the United States Cane Sugar Corporation, with an 

 authorized capital of -^10,000,000. The company has 

 already selected a tract of more than 200,000 acre.« we.st of 

 Miami, and has entered into a contract with the owners 

 with a view to turning out its first crop in the fall of 1921. 

 (Factit About Sugar, October 11, 1919 ) 



The Daily Telegraph, November 14, 1919, states tkat 

 the Secretary of Sute for the Colonies has appointed a 

 committee to consider whether the staff of the Agricultural 

 Departments in the C')loBial .Services is adequate, and if 

 necessary, to recmimend increases of staff; to consider 

 whether the rates of salary off.red to the agricultural staff 

 are adequate, and if necessary, to suggest improvements; and 

 to make recommendations for iraproviog the arrangemeiits 

 for recruiting agricnltural staffs for the coloDJes. 



The aroma or smell of ten is due to an essential oil, and 

 if it is weak, this is probably due to over-fermentation, 

 which not only destroys the oil, but gives rise to products of 

 decomposition which mask the smell of the oil. Strength of 

 tea is due to the stimulating effect of the active principle 

 (cafeine), and pungency, to the astringent taste of tannin. 

 The leaves must be effectively dried, but if the firing is too 

 strong, certain losses oci;ur, and the quality is impaired. 

 (The Colonial -Journal, October 1919.) 



The Wealth of India, .July 1919, states that the true 

 hemp {Cannabis sativa) js not grown in India for fibre,, 

 though a certain amount is cultivated, under strict super- 

 vision, for the sake of the drug it contains. Practicilly the 

 whole export of Indian hemp consists of the fibre of 

 sunn hemp^' Crotalaria Juncca). The fibre of this planii s 

 said to make a g jod srbstitiite for flax. It may be r-raarked 

 that this plant is widely spread throughout the West Indies 

 as an ornamental, and is being experimented with as a greea 

 dressing. 



A special sugar committee of the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society has presented a report recommending the establish- 

 ment of sugar cultiva'ion on the island. It is generally 

 admitted that there are immense po-'sibilities of sugar pro- 

 duction in Ceylon, either from the Pa'myra palm or from 

 the sugar-cane. Private enterprise has however lost heavily 

 in the past, and therefore it is recommended that 

 Government support be given by means of land cence.ssions, 

 cheap loans, nnd experimental mills. {The Board of Trade 

 Pournal, November iO, 1919.) 



In a report on Australian industries start°d or stimula- 

 ted through the war, the H'eekly Bulletin, Department of 

 Trade and Commerce, Canada, makes the interesting state- 

 ment that it has been discovered that the bark of a large 

 variety of eucalyptus tree may be utilized for producing'a 

 fibre suitable for ihe manufacture of twine, rope, and bagging 

 of a quality equal to, and at half the cost of, the best flax 

 and Indian jute g ods. If these claims be substantiated, the 

 commercial possibilities would be very great. The supply of 

 raw material is practically inexhaustible and can b? obtained 

 for the mere cost of gathering and transportation to factory. 



The Board of Tra/Je fournal, October 16, 1919, repro- 

 duces a speech of Sir ^nr-H-and Geddes, President of the 

 Board of Trade, on the prospects of British trade, from which 

 we quote the following remark : ' There is a dreadful fallacy 



at present fermenting in the minds of many w irkii.g men 



thit the less work they do, the more work will be left for 

 others. That falhcy is one of the thugs which tl, is country 

 has to conquer. It is doing us more harm than any other 

 erroneous belief with which I am acquainted. Linked with 

 it is another fallacy, thit when you nominally receive more 

 money, you get better wages.' 



Reports to the Forest Service, United State.s Depart 

 ment of Agriculture, from the national forests in California,* 

 where array aviators are miking daily flight.^ in .senrch of 

 forest fires, indicate that the innovation has been decidedly 

 succes.sful, and that air patrols of the foreais will prove so 

 valuable t'lat they will oveutually become a permanent part 

 of the work to shield the great woodl.inds from conflagrations. 

 Numerous fires hav^ been discovered in their ea-ly stages by 

 the aviators, and have been reported immediate y to the 

 forest rangers. It in believed that consideranle los.s has been 

 prevented by such early discoveries. (The flawaiian Forester 

 and Agricultur'st, Au^'ust 1919.) 



