ToL. VII. to. lloS. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



30» 



RICE CROP PROSPECTS IN BRITISH 

 GUIANA. 



Messrs. Sandbach, Parker & Co., writing on 

 September IS last, rejjort as follows on the present con- 

 dition and prospects of the rice crop of the colony: — 



The weather during the fortnight ha.s been rather too 

 wet, .several heavy .showers having fallen. Reaping has 

 .started in a few .scattered districts, and will be geneifal 

 throughout the colon}' in the ne.xt two weeks. The frei|ueut 

 showers are atl'ecting harvesting and milling operations, and 

 a spell of dry weather is anxiously looked for. 



Very little cleaned rice has come to town during the 

 fortnight, and the market is bare. The few small lots offered 

 met with ready sale at S=5'40 to ^o 50 per bag ot ISO It). 



There have been no shi|inieuts to the West India Islamls 

 during the fortnight. 



Present prices for rice of good e.xport quality are- -23.s. to 

 .:23.<. 6(1 per bag of 180 lt>., and 21.s-. Qd. to 22.s. per bag of 

 164 B)., f.o.b. Demerara. 



FORAGE CROPS IN THE PHILIPPINE 

 ISLANDS. 



Large numbers of live stock such .is horses, mules 

 and cattle are kept in the Philippine Islands, 

 and these necessitate the importation of considerable 

 quantities of forage every year for their support. It 

 has been thought possible that the needs of these 

 .-iinimals, may be largely, if not entirely, supplied bv 

 home-grown fodder, and numert)us experiments in the 

 cultivation of both local and imported fui'age crops 

 have lately been carried out in the islands. 



No hay is made in the Philii)pines, althous;h in the 

 course of an article in a recent number of the J'/ii/ij'i/iiiir 

 Agrii-altural Rcinvii\ it is suggested that hay farms in the 

 neighbourhood of ilanila would be both successful and |>rofit- 

 able, and the animals are therefore largely ted on gieen t'onige 

 crops together with imported hay and grain. 



Among the crops, the forage value ot which has been 

 investigated by the liureau of Agriculture of the Territory, 

 are native and ini[)orted varieties of maize, rice, Kattir coni 

 and other .sorghums, as well as Teosinte {Rcann lii.nn-iiins), 

 Bermuda grass (Ci/iiodoii. dactyloii), Guinea grass (Punic inn 

 /iiaj-iniiiin), a native variety of grass known as ' Zacate ' 

 {Hr)inal<>cencliru» /ir.nini/rn."), Puxjudnni dllntutniii. Velvet 

 beans, and cowpeas. 



The native Philippine varieties of maize do not appear 

 to liave given good results as fodder crops : they do not 

 withstand heavy rain, and the amount of vegetation produced 

 in dry weather is insignificant. Better results are obtained 

 when these varieties are grown for the grain than whtin 

 raised for green fodiler purposes. American varieties of 

 maize, both Dent and Flint kinds, have been intro<luced, and 

 the wliite l)ent variety has .so far given the best results. 



Itice is grown extensively all over the Philippine Islamls, 

 a large number of varieties being cultivated. The grain is 

 used on a large scale for stock feeding, and it al.so produces 

 a heavy yield of green forage, wliich is, however, of poor 

 quality. Broken rice and rice meal produced in milling are 

 also .sold as suitable stock feeds. The Bureau of Agriculture 

 has made trials with several im])orted varieties of rice, and 

 the ' Carolina Golden,' together with a niimbei- of varie 

 ties of mountain lice, have produced excellent yields of grain. 

 Promising results have al.so been obtained in certain experi- 



ments in which rice was grown, cut in the green state, and 

 cured as a fodder for use in mixing with other food stuffs. 



Kaftir corn and other varieties of sorghum are also 

 commended to the notice of agriculturists in the Philippine 

 Islands by the othcers who are carrying out these forage 

 experiments. Kattir corn has shown itself to be very resis- 

 tant to drought. It produces a good .supply of green forage, 

 and abundance of seed. All animals eat it readily when green, 

 but it is difficult to dry, and is not a palatable stock food 

 when cured. Some very satisfactory results were obtained 

 from planting a mixture of Kaffir corn and ^'elvet beans. 

 The corn serves as a support for the beans and the two arc 

 cut together for use as green fodder. The hjarly Amber and 

 Orange varieties of sorghum proved satisfactory and are 

 stated to almost as good as Kaffir corn. They are not so 

 resistant to drotiglit, however, and produce a smaller yield of 

 seed. 



Teo.sinte {Rcnnti Inrnruins), a crop which is grown on 

 a small scale in Dominica and other West Indian Islands, is 

 a plant which has received a good deal of attention in the 

 PhiUppines. It is reported, however, that it has not been as 

 satisfactory as v,'a.s at first anticipated. It does not .stand 

 drought as well as the sorghum, and produces but a rather 

 small amount of seed, wliich deteriorates during the rainy 

 season. T'eosinte, however, makes excellent forage, although 

 not of such desirable ipiality as Kaffir corn. It is succulent in 

 nature, cures well, but the amount of dry matter produced 

 is not large. 



Bermuda giuss (Vi/nod'ni ,/<irti//un) is a native of the 

 Philippine Islands, and is the standard forage grass through- 

 out the provinces of the Territory, and is also believed to be 

 admirably suited for the production of hay. It grows quite 

 well from .sea level to a hijfh latitude, and will stand great 

 extremes of wet or dry weather. 



Guinea grass is also under exi)erinient at several Agri- 

 cultural Stations in the Philippines, and a recent report 

 states that for the jiroduction of green forage, the crop is the 

 most promising among the introduced plants. The indica- 

 tions are that the grass will give from 5 to 15 ton.s per acre 

 per crop, and that it may be cut at least once every three 

 mouths, assuming the rainfall to be satisfactory. The South 

 American grass {I'lix/Kihini (li/nfdlnni) has been recently 

 introduced, but has not been so successful as Guinea gras.s. 



The Florida Velvet bean has lately been grown in the 

 Islands, and the vines utilized for forage pur|)o.ses. This 

 imported bean has not, however, jiroved so satisfactoiy as 

 a native species (Mwnnn li/nnii) which grows much more 

 vigorotisly and produces a heavier weight of forage. 



Cowpeas imported from the United States, have also 

 been experimentally grown, but v ith rather poor success, on 

 account f>f the fact that they are badly attacked b}' insects 

 during the dry season. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Secretary of .State for the Colonies has beer> 

 pleased to appoint Mr. F. A. Stockdale, B.A., F.L.S., 

 late Holmes Exhibitioner at ]\[agdalene College, 

 Cambridge, and for the past three years Mycologist 

 and Lecturer in Agriculture on the staff of the Imper- 

 ial Department of Agriculture, to the newly created 

 post of Assistant Director to the Depailment of 

 Science and Agriculture and Covcrnment Botanist, in 

 the colony of British Guiana. 



