Vol. XVII. No. 426. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



265 



In order to ascertain the resources of the \\ est 

 Indies and British Guiana in this wood, Mr. E. B. 

 Fairweather, who holds a contract to supply fustic to 

 American manufacturers, and who is on a visit to these 

 parts, was rectntiy for a short time in British (Uiiana, 

 awaiting the granting of licenses by the United States 

 (Tovernment for the shipment of fustic to America. He 

 left a few weeks ago for Trinidad, whence he will ship 

 about 50,000 tons of fustic. 



With regard to British Guiana, application was 

 also made for the shipment of wood to the United 

 states, but some hitch occurred and the export license 

 was not allowed up to the time that Mr. Fairweather 

 i-ft the colony. While he was there he interested 

 himself in the logwood industry, and it is understood 

 that he is returning, on completion of his business 

 abroad, to initiate schemes for the development of this 

 industry. 



New Sources of Food Supply 



A note in the Geographical Journal, June 1!>1<S, 

 points out that there is need of paying attention to new 

 sources of food supply by those concerned with increas- 

 ing the world's food both during and after the war. 

 Apart from animal food, much may be done to supple- 

 ment the staple diets of the human race by judicious 

 cultivation of other vegetable products besides cereals. 

 The agricultural development of the United States is 

 taken as an example of what has been the custom of 

 agriculturists in the past, ("ultivators have usually 

 adhered to the staple crops to which they have grown 

 accustomed, and thus great areas — the corn belt, the 

 wheat region, the cotton belt — have been occupied by 

 these particular crops, because of the suitability of the 

 soil and climate to their production. When the land 

 suitable for these crops was fully occupied, resort was 

 not had to land of other character in the same region 

 b\ using it for other products, but the cultivators 

 either spread out into new regions, leaving much of the 

 land in the older districts uncultivat'-:d, or wasted their 

 energies in vain endeavours to grow the old staples 

 upon unsuitable ground. With the rapid diminution of 

 new land, and the increase in population, new methods 

 must be adopted, so that the productive power of every 

 kind of soil maybe drawn out in full measure. Already 

 much has been done in the great arid region of the 

 -west by 'dry farming' methods, both by revising the 

 miethods of tillage, and by cultivating a different set of 

 plants, or special varieties suited to dry conditions. The 

 wet lands, especially in the south-east, present a differ- 

 ent problem. It is calculated that there are about 

 .SO,000,00() acres of such lands now useless because too 

 wet, and though much may be done by drainage, a wise 

 selection of crops will do more. An extended cultiva- 

 tion of rice, for instance, may be well looked for in this 

 ri'gion, but besides that familiar crop, certain species of 

 Aroideae with tuberous roots, such as the dasheen, 

 particularly suited for cultivation in damp soil, would 

 form a good substitute for potatoes, and afford a large 

 and wholesome additional supply of food. 



Agriculture at Oxford. 



In The Times, May 80, 1918, attention is drawa 

 to an important statute promulgated in Congregation at 

 Oxford on May 28, the object of which is to establish 

 a new School of Agriculture and Forestry at the 

 University. The novel feature of the school proposed 

 is that it will be neither a pass nor an honour school 

 according to the old definition, but will be a piss school 

 leading up to a degree in arts, in which candidates 

 adjudged worthy will receive 'distinction'. 



The statute was introduced by the Warden of 

 All Souls College, which college it may be interesting 

 to note has a sort of connexion with Codrington 

 College, Barbados, through the benefactor of both. 

 Sir Christopher Cudrington. In introducing the 

 statute, the Warden explained that it grew out of 

 a suggestion of the Board of Agriculture, and that it 

 was designed to provide education especially suitable 

 for men who would become owners or managers of 

 land, not a few of whom go to Oxford. 



This new move appears to show that the older 

 English Universities are really beginning to recognize 

 that classics and mathematics do not constitute the 

 only subjects which are worth studying. 



Forestry in Cyprus 



In a recent number of this .fournal the editorial 

 pointed out the benefits that would accrue to these 

 West Indian islands by more attention to scientific 

 forestry. An article in the International Revieir of 

 the Science and Practice of Agriculture, April 1918, 

 on Agriculture and Forestry in Cyprus, gives a striking 

 instance of the progress made in forestr\' in that 

 island. 



In ancient days Cyprus was known to be rich 

 in timber, and its mountain districts were clothed with 

 trees. In 1878, v^'hen C^'prus passed under British 

 control, the condition of the so-called forests had 

 become deplorable under centuries of Turkish misrule 

 Steps were at once taken to appoint Government 

 Forest Officers with scientific knowledge in order to 

 remedy this condition, and to stop further destruction 

 of the forests remaining. The forest areas were grad- 

 ually delimited and settled. They now extend to 

 some 700 square miles. 



Owing to the fact that very small sums were for 

 some years voted annually to the Department of Fores- 

 try, the work of protection was the only course opened 

 to' the officers, and no progress in artificial re-afforesta- 

 tion was made for nearly thirty years after the British 

 occupation of the island. Since 1907, however, special 

 tree planting has made considerable progress, and there 

 is no doubt that the forests of Cyprus are now on the 

 high road to recovery, and ai-e likely to become an 

 added source of beautv and prosperity to the island. It 

 mav be interesting to note, although the connexion 

 between forests and rainfall is open to question that 

 the rainfall of Cyprus appears of late years to have 

 increased. 



