Vol. VII. Xo. 174. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



407 



AGRICULTUilAL BANK IN CYPRUS. 

 The Annual Colonial Office Report (1907) on 

 Cypi-us states that an Agricultural Bank commenced 

 operations in the island during the year, in accordance 

 with an agreement entered into by the Government 

 wUh the Anglo-Egyptian Land Allotment Comp.my. 

 Under this agreement the capital of the bank was wt 

 to be less than £100,000, and its principal business was 

 to make advances to the agricultural and industrial 

 classes of the (Milony upon security of immovable 

 property, stock, agricultural and industrial produce, 

 personal security, and such other security as the Com- 

 pany might determine. 



The rate of interest was fixed not to e.Kceed 9 per cent, 

 per annniii. Tlie advantage.s of this bank Lave been 

 greatly apjireciated. ;ijk1 it has brought relief to many 

 belonging to the classes for whom it was desired to iH-ovide 

 a more reasonable sj'stem than that which had hitherto 

 I>revailed locally, of borrowing money for legitimate enterprise, 

 or of tiding over temporary difficulties. To December .SI, 

 I'.HJ7, £20§ had been lent for short periods, of which 

 £165 had been repaid, while to the same date, but for longer 

 ])ciio<lg, a total of =£53,-573 had been advanced. 



LEGUMINOUS PLANTS AS SOIL 



IMPROVERS IN CACAO AND 



RUBBER PLANTATIONS. 



In further reference to the utilization of certain 

 leguminous plants as agent? for the improvement of 

 the sdJl fn cacao plantations, concerning which a short 

 article appeared in the last issue of the AgricuUartd 

 News (page 389), it may be mentioned that consider- 

 able attention is being paid to this question of under- 

 planting w ith (:recn crops by the officials of the Fede- 

 rated Malay States Agricultural Department. Rubber 

 trees, however, and not cacao, form the perra.anent 

 ccop under which planters in the 5Ia,lay States are 

 urged to make trial cultivations of the legunnnous 

 plants. 



In conne.xion with tlie progress of rubber culture in the 

 Malay States, the Director of Agriculture, in his latest 

 Aniuiii.l Rejjort, raises the question as to whether clean 

 weeding is advisable in permanent cultivations, under tropi- 

 cal conditions, or whether some more economical and equally 

 .satisfactory method of cultivation cannot be adopted. 



Clean weeding uudoubtedly ensures quick growth of 

 young rubber trees, but objections arc that all protection is 

 removed from the surface of the soil, that a good deal of heat 

 radiation and evaporation of moisture takes place which 

 would otherwi.se be prevented, and that on sloping land the 

 surface soil is frequently washed away by heavy rain. This 

 entails a considerable loss of plant lood. If the laud is 

 covered with some under crop, these disadvantages are 

 removed, and the surface soil is kept moist and in the most 

 suitable state for encouraging growth. The high cost in the 

 Malay States, of continuous weeding operations carried out 

 for many years, is a serious point to be taken into considera- 

 tion in connexion with this matter of clean culture. 



The Director of Agriculture mentions three plants, viz : — 

 C'rotolarid, s-tridtit, M iiiiosn j)iidicn, and DesmoiliiiiH triflofuiii, 

 which investigation appears to indicate that if grown under 

 rubber trees, would euorniouslv reduce the labour bill on 

 estates Ijy doing away with the necessity of weeding, and, it 

 is thought, would not diminish the rapidity of growth of the 



rnliber trees themselves. The three iilants mentioned are 

 Well known in the West Indies, and might suitably be given 

 a trial in cacao plantations. They all belong to the legunnnous 

 taniily, and would therefore be the means of enriching the 

 soil by the sup[)ly of nitrogen assimilated from the :ur l>y 

 the bactei'ia associated ^^•ith their root .system. 



The Crotolaria is a quick-growing plant, which when 

 sown thickly on good soil, and a sufficient rainfall is experi- 

 enced, completely covers the ground with vegetation within 

 a few weeks. Experiments carried out in Ceylon, in which 

 Crotolaria was grown under cacao^ .showed that organic 

 matter was added to the soil by the plant at the rate of 

 14,000 lb. per acre per annum, the nitrogen in this organic 

 matter being equal to 700 lb. of nitrate of soda. No weeds 

 can grow under the dense cover of the Crotolaria. 



Muiiosii piidica, or th« ' sensitive iilant', is cultivated as 

 a green .crop-in'connexion with sugar-cane planting in Fiji 

 and one or two other countries. It grows readily, "and does 

 especially well under moist conditions. 



The third ])lant, the Desmodium, is small, and grows 

 only a few inches in height. It is somewhat difficult to 

 establish, but wh&n once it hasbeen succe.ssfully started, it 

 covers the ground with a thick, close tuif. 



AGRICULTURE IN THE FIJI ISLANDS. 



The British colony of the Fiji Islands, it will be 

 remembered, is situated in the South Pacific Ocean to 

 the east of Queensland, and in latitude of from 16" to 

 21 . The islands conipi'ise a total area of 7,451 scjuare 

 miles (or nearly twice the area of Jamaica), and the 

 soil, in general, is of good fertilitv. 



The staple igricultural products of the Fiji Island.s, and 

 the jM-incipal items of export are sugar, copra, and green 

 fi-uit (chiefly bananas). 



The total area under sugar-cane cultivation is 39,464 

 acres, which in 1907, according to the iigures given in the 

 Annua/ Export on the colony, yielded an average crop of 

 14-7 tons of cane jier acre. The total export of sugar in 1907 

 was G6,597 tons, valued at i:f)02.820. Six large" up-to-date 

 sugar-mills exist in the colony, which together are capable of 

 turning out 420 tons of sugar per day. 



Cocoa-nut plantations under European management 

 extended to 28,634 acres, but native plantings also exist. 

 The total quantity of copra exijoited in 1907 was 11,290 

 ton.s, valued at £182,788. 



Bananas and pine-apples are cultivated over an area of 

 3,477 acres, exclusive of native plantings, (jreen fruit to 

 the value of nearly £80,000 was exported in 1907. An 

 Inspector has lately been a|)poiuted to supervise the export 

 fruit trade, witli the olyect of improving the grade of produce 

 sent abroad. 



An AgricultuiMl Department was started in the colony 

 in 1 905, and two ICxperimeut Stations have been established. 

 Sea Island cotton formed the chief crop grown at one of the.se 

 Station.s, the lint obtained being shipped to the British 

 Cotton (Jrowing Association. This cotton was described as 

 ' clean, very bright, long in staple, rather wanting in fine- 

 ness and fairly strong, ' and valued, in 1907, at 1 6rf. per lb. 

 Experiments in the cultivation ot nilibcr ( Hevea and 

 Oara), cacao, coffee, cloves, nutmegs, liananas, maize, rice, 

 grouiul nuts, si.-al hemp, aiul otljer fibre jilants are also in 

 jirogress. Limes and tobaco too, it is stated, are under 

 consideration as po.ssible crops. 



The total area of (_Vown hind in the colony is estimated 

 at 32,600 acres. 



