Vor.. VII. Xo. 171. 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



365 



C^- 



fr* 



■erz^^^mj: 





'fS-ri-,T-»su^t)TE3.Jvd'KKVl2:V3; 



J: 





77/A' Frrrni-: of cacao i'LAXTix<r. v,y 



Harold Hrtiiifl Smith. Lmiduii : .h,l,n lUtU:^ .V-;».s <(■ Lhiinc!- 

 s'ln, Ltd. Price l^. ut-t. 



Ill tliis book is rc'piinted a lecture on the subject of cacao 

 jilantiiig, luaiiui'iug, jnuiiiDg, and the preparation ot the 

 produce, ■which was delivered by Mr. H. Haiiiel Smith 

 (Editor of I'ropii-til Life) at the Colonial Fruit 8ho\\ held in 

 London in .Tune last, together with the discussion which 

 followed. 



There is a Ijriet introduction by )Sir l.laniel Alunis. i)i 

 wkicli reference is made to ihe present condition of t!;e cacao 

 industry in the West Indies, and the Imperial Cy'omniissioner 

 of Agrieultiue ex|nesses an appreciation of the efforts of 

 Mr. Haniel Smith in endeavouring to arouse the activities of 

 jjlanter,s and others in improving the cultivation and curing 

 of cacao and generally extending the industry. 



The points of chief interest dealt with in the lecture are 

 the cultivation of legumincjus crops in cacao plantations for 

 green manurial purpose.s, the best methods of pruning, the 

 }»ropagation of cacao by grafting, the t|Uestion of .shade in 

 cacao plantations, the utility of growing belt.s of rubber or 

 other tree.s i^f economic value in cacao jilantations, and the 

 use of vacuum chambers for drying the cacao beans. 



In the discussion «'hich followed the reading of 

 Mr. Smith's paper many luen who.sc names are well known in 

 connexion with the cacao planting industry of the West 

 Indies and other tropical countries, took part. These 

 included Messrs. Wm. Fawcett, W. Cradwick and .\. X. 

 I»ixon (.lamaica), G. S. Hudson (St. Lucia), Bernard .Ai'liani 

 (Trinidad), and A. V.. Evans (Gold Coa.st), and it need 

 hardly be .said that their remarks on the various blanches of 

 the cacao industry contain many points worthy of note by 

 tho.se inteiestcd. 



SOUTH KRX A tiRlCVLTl-RE. By Prof. F. S. Earle. 

 Xciv Y'/iL- : The Mai-iniHuii ('aiiijidin/, Ltd. Price Sl'li-'i. 



In tliis book of 'I'd! pages Professor Earle, who is 

 Director of the Cuban Agricultural Expeiinicnt Station, deals 

 tvith agriculture as carried on under the conditions which 

 jirevail in the Southern States of America.,- It need hardly 

 be .said, however, that a good deal of information is included 

 which i.s also of practical intcri'st and importance to West 

 Indian planters, since the characteristics, and methods fif 

 cultivation of tropical, as well as subtropical, cro[is come in 

 for full discussion. 



The first part of the book comes under the heading 

 ' General Consideration.s, ' and in this .section the formatinu 

 and nature of soil.s, their management, and methods of tillage, 

 improvement of soils by drainage, irrigation and manmiiig 

 are dealt with at eon.siderable length. Hints are also given 

 ;is to the u.ses of the various kinds of modern tillage imide- 

 ments. In that part of the book which deals with green 

 manuring the cowpea is described as being without doubt 

 the most imiiortant crop for this pur[)ose in subtropical and 

 tropical America, although the velvet bean is a formidable 

 competitor. The cowpea can fre(piently be grown between 



the rows of other crops, such as sugar-cane or corn, whereas 

 the velvet bean must occupy the ground alone. The insect 

 and fungus enemies of crops receive attention, and although 

 the wlnilo subject is necessarily corfsidered in outline only, 

 full directions are given for the .preiiaration and u.se of 

 ,1 nunilirr nf insecticidew and fungici.rjes. 



Part II of the book deals with Jthc chief subtropical and 

 tropical crop.;, the methods adopted'*for their cultivation in 

 ditterent imits, and the manner ofi preparing the produce. 

 The sugar-cane naturally receives Srst attention, and the 

 different systems of cultivation which j)revail in Louisiana,, 

 <_'uba, Hawaii, and Porto Rico are all described. Reference, 

 is made to the number of varieties,, of cane which are in 

 existence, and to the pi-oduction of seedling canes at Barbados 

 and Demerara. Xo description i.s, however, given of the mill- 

 ing of the canes and the subsei|uent processes in the manufac- 

 ture of sugar. The chapters following describe, in order, the 

 cultivation of the grain eroi)s of the South (rice, maize, etc.). 

 the pasture and ferage crops, the fibre plants — including sisal 

 and cotton— tobacco, cotlee, cacao, and rubber, as well as of 

 both tropical and subtropical fi'uits. A feature of ]jart II 

 is the account that is given at the close of each section, of 

 the insect and fungus enemies of the various crops dealt with. 



Profe.s.sor Karle's book is cleiuly written and contains 

 a number of illu.strations ; it should be of special value to 

 students in agricultural schools, while planters in Central 

 .America and in the West Indies may read it with interest 

 and profit. 



CINNAMON OIL INDUSTRY IN 

 THE SEYCHELLES. 



Tlie possibility of the [)rofitable e.stiiblishmeiit of an 

 essential oil industry in the Sexchelles Islands lias 

 loncf been under expeninentil consideration, and abont> 

 two years ago, the idea was first put into operation or» 

 a eonimoicial seale, when a imidern factory provided 

 with a boiler and a still of 4 OOO litres capacity was 

 erected. 



In 190(;, work was started by the distillation of 

 citronella and lemon grass, but owing to the late fall in pricr 

 of the oil:, iibtained from these two grasse.s, it was decided iu 

 19<l7 ti> make cin'jauion oil the chief product of the factory 

 for the pri'seiit. 



The ciiinainoii grciwii in the Seychelles (Ciaii'iiiiuinu.t- 

 Zei/hiiiicinii) is the .same variety as that cultivated in Ceylon. 

 Oil is yieldeil by the root.s, the baik and the leaves of thi>i 

 jilant, but that from the bark is the most valualile nf the 

 three products. The trees are cut down periodically, ami the 

 bark from whicli the oil is distilled is obtained from the 

 voung shoots arising from the stumps. These shoots art^ 

 available for the purpose in about two years. It is not only 

 the young shoots, however, from which bark is obtained 

 yielding the i-inn.imon oil. This is contained in the same- 

 proportion by the bark from older tree.s, and tall trees about 

 i foot in diameter are .said to yield as much as 100 lb. of dry 

 bark, when cut clown. The average tree, however, does not 

 give more than al)out 20 II). of dry bark. This contains from 

 1) to !>4 per cent, of cinnamon oil. 



Samples (if oil produced in the Seychelles by water 

 distillation about two years ago were forwarded to luirope 

 and valued at about £'i G.s. per litre (a litre being apj)roxi- 

 luately 1 i; [lints). It is anticipated, however, that with the- 

 imtuovements in the |>roduct brought about as the result of 

 the establishment of the new factory, a higher price will be 

 obtained in fntu;-e, and the industry p'aced upon a sure 

 footini;. 



