Vol. VII. Xo. 158. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



1.53 



Mangrove Bark in British Guiana. 



A sample of mangrove bark (I'rom Rli'i-^uplinrn 

 Mangle) was forwarded to the Imperial Institute some- 

 time ago for examination and report. It consisted of 

 a thiciv, daik, reddish-brown bark of dense structure, 

 which contained very little fibre, and was readily 

 ground to powder. On analysis at the Imperial Insti- 

 tute this l)ark yielded 2.5 per cent, of tannin. When 

 tested in tanning the bark produced a medium reddish- 

 brown leather, of the kind furnished by typical 

 mangrove barks of commerce. The report points out 

 that the percentage of tannin is not sufKcieutly high 

 to allow the l>ark to be e.xported to Europe with any 

 expectation of profit, but that it would probably yield 

 a satisfactory mangrove extract, whii-h should answer 

 well for local use. 



Rubber Exhibition in London. 



The International Rubber Exhil)ition, to be held 

 in London in September next, and of which full 

 particulars were given in the Agricidtiiral News of 

 JIarch 21 last, is apparently being well supported by 

 planters, manufacturers and others, since, on account of 

 the large number of applications for space that have 

 been received, it has been decided that the Horti- 

 cultural Hall, where it was first intended to hold the 

 show, will not be large enough, and the exhil)ition 

 will therefore take place at the Olympia. Further, it 

 will reiriain open for a fortnight from Septemlier 1-i, 

 instead of for a week only. As mentioned in a previous 

 issue, Trinidad and Dominica have already arranged to 

 send samples of rubber, etc, to the exhibition, and 

 later reports state that British Guiana is also forwarrl- 

 ing specimens of (S'a^^i'ur/i rubber together with balata 

 of various grades. It is suggested that the smaller 

 islands should combine to make a joint exhibit, entrust- 

 ing the arrangements to the Secretary of the West 

 India Committee, to whom all correspondence and 

 specimens might be addressed. 



Tobacco-breeding Experiments. 



Experiments in plant selection and plant breeding 

 are always of interest to cultivators, since they indicate 

 a line of work which, if consistently followed uo on 

 a definite basis, necessarily results in improvement in 

 the type of plant cultivated. 



A bulletin (No. 96 of the Department of Plant 

 Industry) lately issued by the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture contains much information as to varia- 

 bility and its causes among tobacco plants, together 

 with an account of plant-breeding experiments having 

 for their object improvement in the shape of the leaf, 

 modification of size, control of number of leaves, 

 production of non-suckering types and of early varieties, 

 and improvement of burning qualities. The bulletin 

 also includes descriptions of methods of saving seed, of 

 seed separation, of a new variety raised by seed selec- 

 tion, and of others produced by cross-fertilization. 



Danger from Imported Seeds and Plants. 



A planter in (Grenada, who at the end of last year 

 imported some maize from the United States, found 

 on examination of the grain after it had been stored 

 for a time that it was infested with thousands of small 

 caterpillars. In the usual course these caterpillars 

 developed into small brown moths, which laid eggs not 

 only on the maize, but on some unbagged cacao stored 

 in the same place. The caterpillars of the next 

 generation attacked the cacao as well as the corn, doing 

 equal damage to both. 



Specimens of the moth were submitted to the 

 Entomologist of the Imperial Departmentof Agriculture, 

 and in the opinion of this officer the insect is the 

 Angoumois Grain molh {OeWIt la cerealella). Sugges- 

 tions were offered as to the likely methods of getting 

 rid of the pest, and the steps taken are reporteil as 

 having been attended with success. The room has been 

 fumigated, and caoao is no longer stored there. A few 

 grains of corn were scattered daily to attract the moths 

 for egg-laying purposes, these grains being afterwards 

 fed to hens and i-eplaced by fresh ones. 



The above incident illustrates the bad results 

 which may easily follow importation of seeds and plants 

 from other countries if these imiDorts are not submitted 

 to fumigation on arrival. In this case, fortunately, the 

 results were not as serious as might easily have been 

 the case. 



Agricultural Co-operation. 



The lienefits of co-operation among agriculturists 

 for the sale of crops (more especially fruit and vege- 

 tables), and for the purchase of manures and necessary 

 supplies are stated in recent reports to bs widely 

 recognized in the United' States, and such organiza- 

 tions exist in that country in large number. By their 

 means small growers are able to coml)ine their produce 

 and secure minimum transportation rates on account 

 of the larger volume. They are also in a position to 

 secure more advantageous terms on the market, not 

 only because they approach it as a united bod}', but also 

 because in the case of an organization handling a large 

 quantity of produce, uniform grading and packing, etc., 

 are more possible, which has an influence on the prices 

 oV)tained. Further, through the association, members 

 can obtain implements, manures, packing materials, 

 spraying outfits, etc., at greatly reduced cost. 



In the United Kingdom, more particularly in 

 Ireland, the co-operative movement has made greats 

 advances during recent years. The chief agricultural 

 co-operative organization in England is the Agri- 

 cultural Organization Society, the headquarters of 

 which are in London, and which has some hundreds of 

 branch associations in all parts of the country. The 

 chief value of the Organization lies in its power to 

 purchase farm supplies from wholesale merchants and 

 manufacturers at greatly reduced rates, which supplies 

 are then distributed to local societies and through these 

 to the individual members. It is by some such method 

 as this most probably, that any co-operative movement 

 would be most beneficial to the planting community 

 of the West Indies. 



