Vol. VII. No. 159. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



169 



Rubber in New Guinea. 



From the particulars contained in a note in the 

 Board of Trade Journal (No. .5fS9) it would appear 

 that the natural conditions which exist in Papua (New 

 ■Guinea) are e.specially suited tor the cultivation of 

 rubber trees. The territory possesses a larcje area of 

 easily accessible virgin forest and other land near the 

 ■coast, and there are tracts of equally good land in the 

 interior'. It is mentioned that in one district there 

 are cultivated Para rubbei- trees, three and a half years 

 old which are 18 inches in circumference at .S feet above 

 the ground, and seeding in their fourth year, which gives 

 evidence of early maturity. These trees were raised 

 from seed. Other trees, notably the rubber-producing 

 Ficas (dastira, it is stated, have also shown remark- 

 able development during four years of growth. 



Canadian Cattle and the West Indies. 



As a result of the interest that has lately bren 

 created on the subject of increased trade between the 

 West Indies and Canada, the Dominion Government 

 recently sent Mr. E. B. Elderkin of thi' Live Stock 

 branch of the Canadian Department of Agriculture, 

 to the British West Indies, to enquire into and report 

 upon the prospects of extending the trade in live stock 

 between Canada and these colonies. Mr. Elderkin 

 visited Demerara, Trinidad — -where he addressed 

 a meeting of the Agricultural Society on the subject 

 of his mission — and Barbados, and also c;dle<l at some 

 of the Northern Islands. 



While the Dominion would naturally reap the 

 chief benefit from increased trade in this direction, 

 yet there is no doubt that West Indian stock owners 

 might with advantage look to the Canadian market for 

 animals for stufl purposes, since the Dominion is so 

 famous for the excellent ipialities ofitsbr<'e(ls of live 

 stock. 



Rice Cultivation in Argentina. 



An official document giving particulars of the rice- 

 growing industry of Argentina was lately issued by the 

 Agricultural Department of the republic. From this 

 it appears that rice cultivation is on the increase, and 

 the crop is now grown in six or seven provinces, the 

 total area devoted to this cereal being nearly 11,000 

 acres. It is in the province of Tucuman that rice 

 growing receives most attention, and this province 

 contains more than half the total acreage under the 

 crop. The average production of rice per acre isestimated 

 at about ]i tons(2,()40 lb.). The rice-growing land is 

 comparatively cheap ; there is a sufficient rainfall in 

 the provinces mentioned, while the numerous rivers 

 afford facilities for irrigation, and manual labour is 

 not expensive. Last year the total production of rice 

 in Argentina amounted to about l.S,000 tons. The 

 quality is somewhat inferior, but it is believed that 

 great improvement would result if more care were 

 shown in the selection of the seed. 



Sorghum Poisoning. 



The Joanud nf Ayriadture of A^ictoria contains 

 an article, contributed by the chief veterinary officer of 

 the State, on the danger of feeding green sorghum 

 (also known as Guinea corn and millet) to cattle, and 

 from the particulars given it would seem that the risk of 

 poisioning, which is due to pru.ssic acid contained in 

 the plant, is in an inverse ratio to the vigour of the grow- 

 ing crop, since prussi<-acid is found present in increased 

 (.|uantity in stunted crops and during dry seasons, while 

 It is almost absent in the ease of plants that have grown 

 fpiickly on moist land. Second growths, which are 

 usually inferior in quantity and quality, are also stated 

 to be more dangerous than first crops. The amount of 

 prussic acid present in the plant is also largely increased 

 as the resultof heavy dressings of nitrogenous manures. 



The prussic aciil is present in dangerous amount 

 only in certain stages of growth, from five to seven 

 weeks usually, and gradually disappears shortly after 

 the blossoming stage when the ears begin to form. 

 By the time the seed is ripe the poison has completely 

 disappeared. 



Green sorghum should be fed only in small quantity, 

 and never when in an immature state. If the plant is 

 put in the sun to dry after cutting, the danger quickly 

 disappears, since prussic acid is a volatile compound. 



An article dealing with the subject of "Green 

 Sorghum Poisoning' appeared in the IIV.s/ Iinlinn 

 Bulldi.n (Vol. Ill, p. 326). 



Preservation of Pen Manure. 



The losses undergone by farmyard manure (which 

 in England corresponds to the pen manure of the West 

 Indies), and various methods of preventing these 

 losses form the subject of an instructive article in the 

 Journal of the Briti.sh Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries (April 1908). The loss froni the manure is 

 chiefly one of nitrogen, which passes off as ammonia. 

 Several preservative agents have been tried which, 

 when mixed with the fresh manure, either combine 

 with the liberated ammonia, thus preventing its 

 volatilization,orhave the effect of reducing the bacterial 

 action which results in the formation of the ammonia. 

 Nearly all these agents, however, are reported as being 

 too costly to be satisfactory, (iypsiim (calcium 

 sulphate) is one of the materials that has been longest 

 in use in this way, but the quantity required is too 

 large for the process to be economical. Another draw- 

 back to the use of this material is that it is liable 

 to be itself reduced to calcium sulphide by bacterial 

 action, and this latter compound has an injurious effect 

 on plant life. Kainit is somewhat more satisfactory in 

 preventing the volatilization of the ammonia, but it 

 is stated that experiments carried out in CJermany have 

 shown that the only practical method of reducing the 

 losses of nitrogen is by placing a layer of ol<l well-rotted 

 farmyard manure as a basis for the new manure 

 heap. This always resulted in smaller losses, a result 

 which is thought to be due to the constant evaporation 

 of carbon dioxide from the layer of old manure, this 

 carbon dioxide combining with the free aiinnonia to 

 form ammonium carbonate. 



