Vol,, XVII. No. 428. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL 5EW8. 



in British Guiana, with the result that on plantations in 

 ^Surinam — plantations havina; from, say, 400 to 800 acres 

 of Liberian colfee in full-bearing— returns of eoflfee per 

 acre were attained which, to growers having only local experi- 

 ence in British Guiana, were almost incredible. 



Cacao planting does not appear ever to have been a 

 prominent or even a very promising industry in British 

 Guiana, it being, nevertheless, one of the earliest followed. 

 Berbice appears to have been the part of the oniony where 

 ii) early days cacao was principally produced. The maximum 

 export, 115,000 lb. in those early day.s, was in 1S20. In 

 1896 the export was about 47,000 Bb., increasing in 1897 tc 

 10-5,000 BE)., and attaining its maximum of 124,000 1b. in 

 1900. The present stagnation in the cacao industry. Pro- 

 fessor Harrison think.s, has been largely due to the fact 

 that the planters of cacao in the seventies to the nineties of 

 the last century were wedded and adhered to the Trinidad 

 policy of densely shading the trees with the Bois Immortel 

 or Oronoque trees, this practice, in his opinion, not being 

 suitable to the conditions of British ( iuiana. 



The address then deals more nr less extensively, accord- 

 ing to their relative importance, with the rubber industry, 

 in connexion with which the late G. S. Jenman played so 

 prominent a part: fruit, fibres, minor industries generally, 

 the concluding portions being devoted to the varied mineral 

 resources of the colony. 



Regarding the mineral resources, these are among the 

 chief fundamental industries of British Guiana. In addition to 

 .gold and diamonds, the recent discovery of bauxite is a 

 matter of vital importance to the future development of the 

 colony, having regard to the fact tliat British Guiana is the 

 only part of the British Empire in which large deposits of 

 this mineral exist, all other known deposits existing in 

 foreign countries. Professor Harrison narrates the circum- 

 stances which led to the chance discovery by himself of the 

 widespread deposits of bauxite in the Christianburg-Akyma 

 district whilst President of the Society in 1897, in company 

 with the then Curator of the Museum, Mr. J. J. Quelch — the 

 latter in search of zoological specimens, the Professor enijuiring 

 into the physical nature of the soils. Profe.ssor Harrison 

 by chance noticed the occurrence of sinall blocks and gravel 

 of hard material all along the paths, from the riverside to the 

 house at the summit of the low hill at Three Friends, 

 Akyraa. He collected samples iml asked Mr. <!^uelch 

 if he knew what the^stutf was. .Mr. t^luelch said it was 

 an indurated clay (exactly what it was), and that there 

 were very wide areas of it in tha* district. Professor 

 Harrison suspecting the concretionary mineral might be 

 phosphate of alumina, afterwards analysed the specimens 

 and found that they contained exceptionally high proportions 

 of a hydrate of alumina. Thus to a chance visit of the then 

 President of the Society, accompanied otlicially by the 

 Curator of its Museum, the colony, and it may be added, the 

 Empire, are indebted for the finding of the large superficial 

 deposit of bauxite of the C.uianas, which, with its vast 

 water-power resources are among the most valuable of the 

 potentialities of the colony. 



Professor Harrison must be c';>ngratulated on the 

 valuable and instructive fund of information which he has 

 supplied in the address under review. He has dealt with the 

 subject as only one of his long year-^ of active experience, 

 observation, and research in a colony [wssessing such diversi- 

 fied industries conld be expected to do. Efforts such as 

 these cannot fail t;. receive the full measure of appreciation 

 frrn: those imme'iiitely concerned; they should tend to revi- 

 vify ivaning interest, and give stimulus to greater activities 

 amcntist member" i' th-^ Roya' \i;r.'ciiltura! <i.nd C'TDineroial 

 Society. 



PRODUCTION OF SANITARY MILK. 



Experiments undertaken with the object of investigating 

 and determining the four essential . factors in the production 

 of milk of low bacterial content are presented in Bi-Uttin 

 No. 642, of the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 The summary of results with the conclusions arrived at, 

 indicates, amongst other things, that in general the greatest 

 contamination of milk comes from the use of unsterilized 

 utensils, and that the use of small-top pails, that is pails 

 with a hood on the. top, was found t'l lessen the quantity of 

 manure and dirt which may gain entrance into the milk, and 

 to assist in lowering the bacterial count. 



In view of the efforts taken from time to time by the 

 proper authorities to ensure the production of pure milk, 

 thai; is, milk free from dirt and other impurities (in contra- 

 distinction from fraudulent adulteration) in these islands, the 

 chief of the conclusions reached are here reproduced: — 



Milk of low bacterial content and practically free from 

 visible dirt, when fresh, was produced in an experimental 

 barn under conditions similar to those on the average low- 

 grade farm. 



' Three simple fa.tors were necessary for the production 

 of milk with a low lacterial content, namely, sterilized uten- 

 sils, clean cows with clean udders and teat.«, and the small- 

 top pail. Washing the udder and teats of the cows not only 

 caused a decrease in the bacterial content of the milk, but 

 also more nearly uniform counts. 



A study of the bacterial groups in the low count milk 

 showed that they correspond closely to those in the milk 

 <lrawn directly from the udder. 



A practical demonstration of the value of the three 

 essential factors was made on six farms. The results indicate 

 that it is possible lor the average farmer with inexpensive 

 equipment to produce railk of low bacterial content with 

 little extra work. 



The results of the experiments indicate that it is possible 

 for the average dairyman on the average farm, without 

 expensive barns and equipment, to produce milk (practically 

 free from visible dirt) which when fresh has a low bacterial 

 count. By the use of the three simple factors, namely, ster- 

 ilized utensils, clean 'Ows with clean udders and t?at8, and 

 the small-top pail, it should be possible on the average farm 

 to produce milk which corresponds closely to milk as it leaves 

 the udder of the cow. 



In connexion with the production of milk o! low 

 bacterial content, and which is practically fres from visible 

 dirt, it seems evident from the results that undue emphasis 

 has been given to factors and methotls of minor importance, 

 while those which directly affect the bacterial content have 

 not been sufficiently emphasized. 



Acid Phosphate versus Raw Rock Phos- 

 phate.— The superiority of acid phosphate over raw rook 

 phosphate when applied in equal amounts, both alone and in 

 combination with muriate of potash, lime or manure, is 

 thought to be fully 'icmoustrated in experiments involving 

 rotations of corn, oats, and clover, conducted at Woost-.r for 

 thirteen j'ears, and of oorn, wheat and clover in practice for 

 twenty years, as indicated by both crop and money returns 

 based on values prevailing up to 1914, and on current values. 

 An experiment recently established, involving a rotation of 

 corn, oats, wheat, and elover, and in which 480 lb. of acid 

 phosphate and 76^ R. oi raw rock phosphate, representing 

 equal recovery values, were used, in addition to 8 tons of 

 manure, has given the same relative results. -E\p-:ri»tfnt 

 Station Recori, May 191^. 



