Vol. VII. No. 171. 



THE AGRICULTURA.L NEWS. 



359 



COCOA-NUT PRODUCTS IN CEYLON, 1907. 



Tlie aecmupaijying |),irticuiais in legaid to tlie 

 extent of rhe conoa-nut crop of Ceylon, and the 

 products y)rc|iai'ed from it ajipear in the latest annual 

 report of the Planters' Association of thfc island : — 



The year 1907 ha.s been quite the J^st on record for 

 cocoa-nut planter.s in Ceylon, for though crcjps Mere i;eucially 

 short, yet the Ingh price of copra in the eai-^- part of the year 

 more than coni)>en,sated owners for such sliortage. On 

 Feliruary 27. the price rose to £.") 16j.;Gf/. per 500 It)., 

 which is the highest figure on record for tjii.s article in the 

 annaf-< of C^eylon hi.story. The total lexport of copra 

 (3-17,970 cwt.) was about 7(),000 cwt. short of the quantity 

 sent out in 1906 ; tlie cocoa-nuts in the shell were loss by 2^ 

 million nuts. Oil also shows a falling off in shipment by 

 00,000 cwt,, 460,GtS3 cwt. going out this year, as against 

 511,720 in 1906; whilst jjoonac, i.e., the cake l^ft after 

 expressing the oil from cocoa-nut pulp, naturally slmws 

 a similar decline. 



This falling off in the crop is generally considered to be 

 due to the very dry sea.son of 1906, which seriously atlected in 

 many districts the young nuts then setting for maturity in 

 1907. Germany was again this year the best customer for 

 copra, and took almost half of the total export, while purchases 

 !iy Belgium come next, which show a heavy increase over the 

 business done in the previous year. 



THE VALUE OF F'ARMYARD MANURE 



AS A FERTILIZER. 



The value of farmyard inaiinre as :i fertili/.inL,' 

 ao;ent in connexion with the cultivation of l-^nelisli 

 ci'ops is discussed at considerable length in the dune 

 nnml)ei' of the Joirnnil of tlie British Bo.ird of A'jri- 

 ciilture. The average pen niannie of tlie West Indies 

 no doubt differs considerably in composition from the 

 average farmyard manure of Great Britain, although 

 this difiference is but small in comparison with that 

 which exists between the conditions of climate and 

 crops, and the tillage methods of the two parts of the 

 woi'ld. Yet many of the considerations which apply to 

 farmyard manure are eipially applicable to the uses 

 and qualities of pen m.amire. 



From a large number of analy.ses, it appears that farm- 

 yard manure consists, on the average, of about 75 per cent, of 

 water, about two-thirds of 1 per cent, of nitrogen, one-quarter 

 of 1 I'.er cent, of phosphoric acid, and one-third of 1 per 

 cent, of potash, or per ton about 15 lb. of nitrogen, 5 ft), of 

 phosphoric acid, and 7 & of potash. The compo.sition, hfiw 

 ever, naturally varies with the feeding of the animals and tiie 

 manner in which tlie manure has been stored. 



During storage, various chemical changes go on in the 

 lieaps of manure. As a result, many compounds are given 

 otf ill gaseous form. Some nitrogen is lo.st in this way, but 

 the projiortion of non-nitrogenous organic matter which passes 

 otf is still greater. Water is also eva[)orated, and as a result of 

 all the changes, the manure which has been stored for a con- 

 siderable time is more concentrated, containing more dry 

 matter, and a higher percentage of nitrogen, ])otasli, and 

 phosphoric acid in the dry matter. One effect of the fermen- 

 Jation which is in active progress is that the active comjiounds 



of nitrogen, such as amnioniiiMi carbonate, grijw less on 

 storage of the manure, as they are converted into in.soluble 

 protein-like bodies. Hence, old pen manure is slower in its 

 fertilizing action, and less caustic in its effect apou the 

 delicate roots of seedlings, than fresh manure. 



As a direct fertilizing agent, the chief value of pen man- 

 ure lies in the fact that it contains all the elements of a plant's 

 nutrition -nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash — although 

 the phosphoric acid is deficient compared with what it should 

 l)e in a well-lpalanced fertilizer. As a result of the various .stages 

 of availability in which the nitrogen is present in pen manure, 

 its effect is not fully evident .shortly after application, but its 

 influence is continuous for a more.|or less considerable time 

 after being put on the land. 



It is often pointed out that the value of farmyard 

 manure to the land is nf)t altogether couKned to its fertilizing 

 properties ; its jihysical effects upon the texture and water- 

 holding powers of the soil are equally important, and indeed, 

 in droughty seasons, particularly with some cro|)S, these 

 cttects count for more than fertilizers towards en.suring a good 

 yield. The manure as it rots down into the soil goes to' 

 restore the stock of humus which is always undergoing oxida- 

 tion, and tending to be diminished in quantity. Humus acts 

 beneficially both on light and heavy soils ; to .sands it gives 

 cohesion and water-retaining jiower, while by loosely binding 

 together the finest particles of clay .soil, it renders them more 

 porous and oliable. 



As already mentioned, a soil which has been enriched in 

 humus by continued applications of pen manure will re.sist 

 drought better than one in which the humus content is low,, 

 and investigation has shown that the difference does not 

 depend so much upon the greater amount of moisture present 

 iii the soil containing humus, as in the way this soil will' 

 absorb a large amount of water temporarily during heavy 

 rainfall, and then let it work more slowly down into the .soil, 

 thus keeping it longer within reach of the croj). 



FIBRES FOR PAPER-MAKING. 



Various fibrous waste materials are under investi- 

 gation by the Department of Agriculture of the United 

 Spates, with a view to determining the possibilities 

 of their utilization in paper-makiog. Some results of 

 the experimental treatment of maize stalks have been 

 ))ronounced .satisfactory. 



A note in Xntun- of (.)ctol>er 22 points out that this 

 matter is one of importance, and refers to the number of 

 waste fibrous materials such as inega.ss, colton-.seed liull.s, flax 

 and hemp straws wliieli ci>ntain flbres useful for paper-makinu, 

 and are available in sutticienfly adecptate (juantity in certain 

 |iarts that, if utilized, they Avould form a serious factor in 

 determining the world's supply, as well as the ultimate cost 

 ot paper. 



All the above-mentioned waste fibres have lieen many 

 times worked up into l)a])eis of good (piality, but, with the 

 exception of the fibre of the cotton-.seed hull, this has not 

 been done under ordinaiv industrial conditions. It is satis- 

 factory to note that within the past two years, a definite 

 commercial success has been recorded with cotton-seed hulls, 

 as the result of a treatment which is mainly mechanical. 

 The resulting product is now on the maiket under the name 

 of ' Virgo fibre ' paper. 



