200 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 27, 1908 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Barbados. 



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^grtniltuTiil^nus 



Vol. VII. SATURDAY, .TUNE 27, 1908. No. IGl. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



A method of e.xpressing the etticiency of sug^ir- 

 cane mills, in terms of the amount of sucrose remain- 

 ing in the megass per 100 parts of fibre, is discussed in 

 the editorial, and the work of the Antigua Central 

 Factory compared with that of mills in other countries. 



The area under seedling canes in Briti.sli Guiana 

 continues to extend each season. The manurial experi- 

 ments (19011-7) with sugar-cane in the Leeward Islands 

 indicate that nitrogen is the constituent of greatest 

 value to ratoon canes. The year 1907 was; a highly 

 favourable one for the sugar industry in .Tava(i;age 

 195). 



An account of the methods followed, in the gu.iva- 

 growing districts of Florida, in the preparation of Jelly 

 and other conserves of guava, will be founil on page 

 19(i. 



The method of grafting cacao by ;ipiir(iaeh, as 

 practised at the Dominica Botanic Station, is deseribed 

 and illustrated in an interesting article on ])age 

 197. 



Cotton Notes (page 198) include market reports, 

 together with a resume of the crop I'onditions and 

 results in St. Vincent during the j)ast season. '■"''■ 

 destruction of cotton jilants, after the ])i(king ol 

 second crop, has been made compulsory in St. Ci 

 -■- the hope of preventing the spread of insect pests 



se 

 in 



roix, 



Plant Importation into Jamaica. 



In order to protect the coffee plantations of Jamaica 

 against the possible introduction of the leaf disease 

 {Hnnilela raf<tatrir),i\. law was passed in 1887 prohibit- 

 ing the injiortation into the island of any seeds or 

 plants from Natal, South India, Ceylon, Mauritius, Java, 

 and Fiji 



On the recommendation of the various agricultural 

 bodies of Jamaica, and the Imperial Commissioner of 

 Agriculture, however, this prohibition has recently been 

 withdrawn, since it is now generally agreed that there 

 no longer exists danger of infection to the coffee planta- 

 tions, and a demand has arisen in Jamaica for a supply 

 of Para rubber seeds which can best be obtained from 

 Ceylon. 



All plants and seeds brought into the island, how- 

 ever, have to be fumigated at the expense of the 



importer. 



^ I ■ 



Molasses for Farm Stock. 



Results of investigations as to the value of molasses 

 as a food for stock are contained in Bulletin 7 7.S', lately 

 issued by the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment 

 Station.' The point emphasized in the conclusions 

 drawn from this work is that it is uneconomical to feed 

 a ration containing an unduly high proportion of 

 molasses, since the excess of carbohydrates contained 

 in the molasses tends to reduce the digestibility of the 

 other constituents of the ration. The same result h.as 

 been noticed in experiments carried out at other 

 stations. Molasses is best given in combination with 

 some fodder food, such as hay. and together with 

 a certain amount of an albuminous food, as cotton- 

 cake meal or pea meal : 2 or 3 lb. of molasses per day 

 are recommended as a suitable allowance for cows and 

 horses. In Hie IMassachusetts e.xperiments the molasses 

 proved a valuable coiidiment, and indueeil the animals 

 to eat inferior and unjjalatable fodder which otherwise 

 they would have refused. 



' Pre-cooling ' as a Preventive of Fruit Decay. 



Fruit growers in California have, in the past, suf- 

 fered great loss through the decay of their produce 

 while in transit to markets in the Eastern States. Some 

 three years ago the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture appointed an expert to make a thorough study 

 of the causes of the trouble, with the v.iew to devising 

 a remedy. It was found that the loss was greatest in 

 the hot season, and that fruit picked and packed at 

 a very high temperature frequently travelled 1,000 

 miles on the journey before the ice with which it was 

 packed had lowered the temperature to a degree below 

 that at which it was ])ossihle for decay to take place. 

 I5y that time, natur.illy, much of the riper fruit was 

 already spoiled. 



In order to cool the fruit before starting there- 

 foi-e, a method has been devised for exhausting the air 

 in the car betore loa<ling, and replacing it by air made 

 cool by p.issing over ice. By this .system of ' pre-cooling,' 

 a carload of fruit can, at a very small cost and in a few 

 hours, be reduced to a temperature at which there is no 

 danger of decay. Cooling plants are being installed 

 at the chii'f California railway stations. 



