Vol. VII. Xo. 170. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



343 



SALE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE 

 AT GRENADA. 



An (Jnlinance liiis recently been passed in Grenaiiu 

 which has for its object the amendiiient of the law- 

 relating to the sale of cacao, niitmesfs, and cotton by 

 peasant proprietors to dealers in the island. 



By this uinLMidment it is provided tliat no [ictsou iiuiy 

 <;arry on business as a dealer in agricultural produce in 

 Grenada unless he has previously appliedUor and obtained 

 a licence from a magistrate in the i.sland. * 



It is further enacted that all cacao, isstton, or nutuiegs 

 purchased from a peasant proprietor sliall be paid for in cash, 

 and payment, either wholly or partly, lijj, means of goods, 

 .shall be illegal, so tliat no licensed dealer can maintain an 

 action at law against a jieasant pro])rietor in respect of goods 

 stated to be delivered as the price of any cacao, nutmegs, or 

 cotton. On the other hand, a •-mall proprietor can recover 

 from a dealer to wlunu he has sold his produce, the money 

 value of the whole or any part of this province which sliail 

 npt have been paid for in cash. 



If, however, any sum of mnney h>^s been lent or 

 advanced by the dealer to small cultivators, the produce of 

 the latter may be legally retained by the dealer on account 

 of the debt. 



RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTAL RUBBER 

 CULTURE AT DOMINICA. 



Three kinds of rubber-yielding trees, Para (Hercu 

 hriisillensis). Central American {CuMillow dusticd), 

 and Fantwmia elastica, are being grown experimentally 

 at Dominica, and during the past twoi nv three years 

 samples of rubber have on several f occasions been 

 prepared, in order that some idea might be gained as 

 to the possibilities of return which may be expected 

 from these varieties of trees in the island. The follow- 

 ing account of the latest e.xperiments in rubber tapping 

 and preparation at Dominica appear.s in the 1907-S 

 report of the Curator of the Botanic Station : — 



Since the publii-ation of a brief note in the Wml Jiidinn 

 liidlctiii., Vol. Vlfl, Xo. l!, on rubber-] iroducing trees at 

 Dominica, e.xperuucnts ui tajiping three Para rubber tree.s 

 ■(Ileven /jrasiliensix) at the Botanic Station jiave been made. 



Daily tappings on the half spiral system were made 

 until .several cakes of rubber had been obtained. This rubber 

 was foi'warded to London in Xovember 1907, for report, 

 along with samples of Castilloa and Funtumia rubber obtainetl 

 from trees growing at the Botanic Station. |The Para rubber 

 was valued at from ix. to is. id. per ft)., aijd was described 

 .as being by far the best of the various sample.s sent. 



This is the first occasion on which Para rubber trees 

 have been tapped in Dominica. The tree is very easy to taj), 

 and the yield of latex is good. After collection in the early 

 morning, the milk was strained through fine gauze. It was 

 then placed in a circular ves.sel, and a little iime juice added 

 to hasten coagulation. Twenty-four hours later the cake of 

 lubber was ready to be lifted out. It was pressed to get 

 rid of as much moisture as possible and afterwards placed to 

 ■dry in the shade. By this system nice' amber-coloured 

 biscuits of lubber we're obtained. The process is simple and 

 the results good. 



Judging by the above experiment the Hevea a[ipears 

 to give a greater yield of rubber than Castilloa trees of 

 a similar age. The preparation of Para rubber is shorter and 



easier than that of Ciustilloa. The drawback to Hevea 

 cultivation in Dominica is the liability of the trees to become 

 uprooted during the prevalence of high winds following 

 heavy rains. If planted in Dominica, the trees should be 

 given sheltered jio.sitions. 



During 1907, the Department .jf .\giiculture imported 

 3,000 Para rubber seeds from OeAdon. Many of the seeds 

 had couuuenced to germinate on the way, but this did not 

 result in any loss. The iniportaticyi was very successful, over 

 80 per cent, of plants being i-aised. If desii-ed by planters, 

 importations of these seeds will ie made yearly from the 

 East until the trees at the P.otanfc Station can supjily thi^ 

 luuulier of seeds sufficient to meet the local demand. 



Two .samples of Castilloa rubber, one from the Botanic 

 Station and one from Stowe estate, ha\-e also been forwarded 

 to London for report and valuation. This took place in 

 August 1907, and the samples \vere valued at U. per lb. 

 The samples were obtained by creaming. This process is 

 very tedious. Some acid or other igent is required that will 

 coagulate Castilloa latex as readily as acetic, citric, and other 

 acids coagulate the latex of Hevea trees. The preparation of 

 C"a.stilloa rubber would then be considerably simplified. 



Although a considerate (juantity of Castilloa seed was 

 distributed to planters, it is evident that during the year 

 under review but little planting of Castilloa trees was done. 



Some Fuutuniia trees at the Station wiiich were tapped 

 but gave only an unsatisfactory yield in 1905, were again 

 tapped in the past year, but the result was once morp 

 unsatisfactory. In Dominica this variety caimot compare in 

 yield with Hevea and Castilloa trees of the .same age. In 

 order to reconnnend themselves for general (-ultivation, they 

 must give a fair return of rubber when eight to nine years 

 old. Funtumias do not fulfil this requirement at the Botanic 

 Station in Dominica. It may be that the climate is too dry ; 

 lint, on the other hand, the tiees are healthy and grow well, 

 though sonu'wiiat liable at times to attacks of black blitrlit. 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF 

 GERMANY. 



From particulars given in iW- Ej'pcr'i ntciit titittiDii 

 Record of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture (July 190S), ]t would appear that tin; Agricul- 

 tural Sueieiy ol Genuaiiy is the largest ot HiS kind lu 

 the world. 



The Society has a membership lOf about lo.OOO, audits 

 wide range of activities incbule not only experimental work 

 and the di.ssemination of agricultural information, but also 

 the purchase anil inspection of supplie.s. For example, it has 

 departments for the purchase of fertilizers, feeding stufls, and 

 seeds, and all members buying their supplies by this means 

 have the quality of the various articles guaranteed. 



A recent report shows that during the yeai' 1907 mem- 

 bers bought through the Society some 373, l.")0 tons of 

 fertilizing materials. Analyses of the feeding stutfs and 

 fertilizers are made by the agricultural experiment statif)ns 

 free of cost to the members under a»i arrangement by which 

 the manufacturers pay the stations for the analytical woi-k. 

 During the past year 3,936 analyses of fertilizers were made 

 under this arrangement, of which 3,490 were found to be up 

 to the guaranteed quality, and 446 or 11 "IS were found to 

 be too low. The largest purchases made through the 

 Society were of potash salts — 260,000 ton.s, while basic slag 

 came second in quantity, 74,000 tons ; followed by lime 

 23,000 tons, and smaller amounts of superphosphates, nitnite, 

 of soda, bone-meal, and calcium cyanamide. 



