12 



Tlli-: AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 11, 1908. 



GLEANINGS. 



I hv U. S. Consul at Rio de Janeiro states in liis i-eport 

 that the final otticial figures of the Brazilian coffee crop of 

 the year ending June 30 last, place the yield at 20,409,180 

 liiigs, an increase of 84-6 per cent, over the crop of the 

 I'lcvions year. 



The rejwrt for 1906 of the Department of Agriculture in 

 I'rench Indo-China mentions the satisfactory growth of 

 planted Firus (flastica trees, which at si.\ years old measure 

 from 26 to 29i feet in height. Twenty s'uch trees yielded, 

 from experimental tapping, 22i Iti. of rubber, an average of 

 about ]j. lb. per tree. 



The owners of pigs and other animals found .straying on 

 the jiulilic roads in Domiuica are liable to a penalty of £-"> 

 {Official (kiittte). 



The cacao crop is being rapidly gathered in some parts 

 <jf Trinidad. The Port-of-JSpain (ran'ttc reports that no less 

 than 3,030 bags were brought to town on one day troni the 

 Arima district. 



Much has of late been heard of the scarcity of labour in 

 •Cuba, but a recent issue of the Jinrand Fust re])orted that no 

 le.ss than 2, .53.5 immigrants, cliictiy from Spain, wi-rc shnrtly 

 e.xpected in the i.sland. 



The i)resence of the .American Heet in Trinidad waters 

 has been an excellent thing for the fruit trade of the island. 

 One firm received an order for 80,000 oranges. (Tn'indad 

 M irriir. ) 



Ralata to the extent of 823,940 Ifc. was exported from 

 British (Juiana from January 1 to October 31 of the past year, 

 as compared with .543,651 lb. exported during the correspond- 

 ing period of 1906. 



The world's egg-laying record for twelve months is held 

 by Mr. W. Williams of Clarendon, .\ustralia, whose six birds 

 have laid a total of 1,494 eggs during that p(-riod. The net 

 profit per bird represented by the above pnidnrtiim is almut 

 •'*2-2.5. 



.Mr. .Inseph Council of liarbados has devised a process 

 for the utilization of cotton stalks, and other West Indian 

 vegetable fibres suitable for the mannfacture of paper pulp, 

 etc. He has aj'plied for a patent in the island. (Oj)ifi't/ (nv.rttr.) 



The Ainiudl Report on the Leeward Islands states that 

 72.5 acres of Dominica crown lands were, during 190()-7, sold 

 to small peasants and 983 acres to new .settlers. The price cif 

 crown lands in Dominica is at lO.s'. an acre. 



The ])iue-apple industry of Antigua is referred to in the 

 latest A II II II i/ Btpart on the Leeward Islands as being practi- 

 cally extinct, as the result of ravages of disease, ab.sence of 

 shijiping facilities, and tlie greater attractions of cotton culti- 

 vation. 



( lliicial returns relating to the trade of Trinidad show 

 that the inii.orts of flour from Canada, during the (piarter 

 ending S(i)tiinber 29 last, exceeded by 500 barrels, the 

 ini| orts made during the corresponding period of 1906. 



Molasses, when fed in small quantities to ducks and 

 poultry, is stated by a well-known poultry farmer in New 

 South Wales, favourably to influence the egg-producing 

 capacity of the birds. From a pint to a quart daily was the 

 quantity given to 300 liirds. 



An interesting exhibit at the London Dairy Show of 

 Octolier last, was a quick-working butter churn shown by 

 ^Messrs. Robert Boby, Ltd., of Bury St. Edmunds. Butter of 

 good quality was ]3roduced at the end of two minutes after 

 churning had commenced, and a silver medal (the highest 

 award offered in the class) was adjudged to the exhibitor. 

 This churn, known as ' Garbutt's two-miimte " churn, appears 

 to lie made in several sizes, at prices ranging to £10. 



The U. S. Consid at Cartagena estimates the exports of 

 tobacco from Colombia for the present season as 120.000 

 bales of 138 lb. each. The Consul remarks that there is 

 a good deal of land suitable for tobacco production in certain 

 districts of Colomliia, and that if tobacco were carefully 

 grown and treated, it is believed that it would rival that 

 grown in Cuba anil I'orto Rica. 



About 7.50, DUO acres of land in Formosa are planted 

 wiili rice, this constituting about 40 per cent, of the total 

 cultivated area. The average annual yield of this area is 

 20,000,000 bushels of rice, or barely 27 bushels per acre. 

 Aliout half the 750,000 acres is supplied with irrigation 

 water. (/'. S. Coiisti/ar RcpmrU.) 



In reply to a letter from the Imperial Commissioner, 

 ^Ir .lolni I'.arclay, Secretary of the Jamaica Agricultural 

 Society, writes to tay that no sweet potato flour or starch is 

 prejiared in Jamaica, but that all the sweet potatos grown 

 are consumed in the island or exported to Colon. The 

 ]ireparation of flour or starch from sweet potatos does not 

 iipprai- to lie untlertaken in any of the West Indian Islands. 



The extraction and manufacture of wax from the berrie.s 

 of Mi/iii-ii curdifiilia is reported as having become quite 

 an industry in Cajie Colony. The shrub in question has 

 been largely planted in the colonj- for the purpose of binding 

 drift .sands. The wax from the berries is similar in character 

 to the myrtle wax derived from J/i/ricii rcn'teni, and will 

 probably be fouiul useful in .soap making and also in the 

 manufacture of candles. A nearly allied plant to .Vi/rini, 

 ii,n/if<i/i(i, is ,1/. rorincea, whiili is found in the West Indies, 

 and which also yields a wax. (I'.S. Consular Rtjjort, 

 November 1907.) 



