Vui,. VII. Xo. 157 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



rsr 



Para Rubber Seed Oil. 



Para ral>ber seed is riow in great demand for 

 |ilaiiting purposes, and for the present tliere is no need 

 to consider other methods of utilization, but it may l)e 

 well to point out that the seeds possess a commercial 

 value on account of their oil content, and when the 

 supply exceeds the demand of planters, a market will 

 still be available. 



The oil of the seed of Hrrca lii-iisiiten'<is is similar 

 ii; character to linseed oil, and is quite equal in value to 

 the latter for the preparation of paints, varnishes, etc. 



The Agririiltiimi Bulletin ot the Malay States 

 (November 1907) re[)Oits that offers have been received 

 from manufacturers and others for decorticated Para 

 seed in good condition at from £10 to £12 per ton. 



The shell of the seed, which has no commercial 

 value, should be removed before shipping, in ord?r to 

 reduce the cost of freight. 



Indigo Production in India. 



As is generally known, the indigo acreage in India 

 has tended to fall off of late years, as the result of the 

 competition of the synthetic product. While the 

 average indigo acreage for the five years preceding 

 1904-5 was 7.5.5,900, the area planted in 190(3-7 had 

 decreased to 329,800 acres. 



It is now believed, however, that the lowest 

 possible point has been reached in the cost of producing 

 synthetic indigo, and the Consul-General of the United 

 States at Calcutta reports that many growers are 

 strongly of opinion that, with new methods of cultiva- 

 tion and more economical processes of extraction, which 

 are claimed to have been recently discovered in India, 

 natural indigo can be produced more cheaply than the 

 synthetic article. 



A proof of their convictions in regard to this point 

 lies in the fact that in the United Provinces, 47,319 

 acres were planted to indigo in li)07, an increase of 

 6,935 acres as compared with the previous 3'ear. 



Nitrate of Soda Output in South America. 



Re[)orts from Valparaiso place the total output of 

 nitrates from the deposits of Chile and Peru, during 

 the period from 1830 to 1907, at 30,443,327 tons,valuecl 

 at £231,818,492. As much as 40 per cent, of this total 

 was produced during the last teri years. At present 

 the output approximates to nearly 2,000,000 tons per 

 annum. These beds of nitrates are very remunerative 

 to those working them, and it is stated that half the 

 price obtained is net profit. A new process has lately 

 been introduced which will diminish the proportion of 

 nitrates left in the waste from about 10 per cent, to as 

 little as 2 per cent. 



The fine which must elapse l>efore these beds 

 will be exhausted has been variously estimated. It is 

 stated by some that the supply, even at twice the 

 present outf)ut, will last another tivo hundred years, 

 while others are of opinion that the beds will give out 

 in another fifty years or less. 



Botany of Bahamas and Caicos Islands. 



A report on a botanical exploration of the Bahamas 

 and Caicos Islands, lately made by two members of the 

 staff of the New York Botanic Gardens, is given in 

 the Jowrnal of the CJardens for March last. 



The total number of herbarium specimens collected 

 in this visit were about 8,000. The marine algae are 

 mentioned as being of special interest. Among the 

 interesting plants found at Watling's Island were 

 EuphorlKU r<i<jliuil(if(i, Griseb. (which occurs there 

 in great quantity, though formerly known only from 

 Turks Island), and some marine algae of rare 

 occurrence, including Htdimeda tridens, previously 

 reported only from Porto Rico. Several species of 

 plants which it is believed arc new to science, were 

 discovered at Atwood Cay, an uninliabited island, 

 visited only by gatherers of cascarilla bark (from Croton 

 Eleuteria). Seven hundred specimens of plants were 

 collected at Mariguana, an island notable as the resort 

 of many interesting birds. Large docks of the red 

 flamingo were seen there. A specimen of the lignum- 

 vitae {(fuaiactnn officinale) was obtained on South 

 Caicos Island. 



North Caicos is mentioned as the most interesting 

 of all the islands visited during the voyage, on account 

 of the abundance and development of its vegetation. 

 It is remarked that a more thorough exploration of 

 what is known as the ' Kew ' district of this island at 

 some future time would undoubtedly yield results of 

 much scientific value. 



Propagation of Camphor. 



Attention has of late years been given in Ceylon 

 to the cultivation of camphor trees, as a result of the 

 increasing price obtained for the product. Gn account 

 of the difficulty experienced in getting a good supply of 

 seed from Japan, however, experiments in vegetative 

 methods of reproduction have been carried out at the 

 Royal Botanic Gardens of the island. 



The process of layering was tried with young 

 branches of the camphor trees, and this was usually 

 successful, although very slow. At a convenient point, 

 just below a bud, the branch to be layered should be 

 half cut through on the lower side, and split upwards 

 for an inch or so. This portion should be inserted into 

 the ground, and kept in position with a hooked peg. 



The most successfid of the methods tried was that 

 of propagation by ' root cuttings.' Adventitious buds 

 readilj- develop on the lateral roots of camphor trees, 

 esjjecially where the roots are a little exposed, these 

 buds afterwards developing into suckers. Cuttings of 

 roots, ahout the thickness of an ordinary lead pencil, 

 and bearing adventitious buds were made and planted 

 out. Over 50 per cent, of these cuttings struck root, 

 and are reported as growing well. Such cuttings may 

 be made anything from 2i inches in length. The top 

 cut should be made in a slanting direction just above 

 a bud, the lower cut being horizontal and just below 

 the bud. In placing the cutting in the soil, the upper- 

 most portion must be the end which was nearest the 

 stem of the parent tree. 



