THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 9, 1918. 



GLEANINGS. 



According to preliminary estimates, the sugar crop of 

 Cuba this year should yield 3,462,000 tons, as against 

 3.019,900 tons in the year preceding. The harvesting of 

 the crop, however, may he ditiicult owing to a .scarcity nf 

 labour. (The /'/V/flmc/- ««</ .^/////w/Z.f/, January 23, 1918.) 



I'liultry of all ages are fond of turning over manure as 

 it leaves ihe stable in order to find 1 irvae an<l remnants of 

 food occurrinfi between the layers of litter; the voracity with 

 ■which poultry destroy the larvae is a very important factor 

 in rural hygiene. {Iiiteniatidiial ]Rvvii7v nf the Sr/f/nv and 

 Practice of Ai^nciiltKir, October 1917.) 



In Trinidad the l)ej)artment of Agriculture states that 

 from a plot 100 feet by 25 feet, there should be obtained in 

 a year, with good cultivation. "lOO lb of yams, 250 lb. of sweet 

 potatoes, 80 R). of tannias, ISO Bb. of cassava, 80 lb of corn, 

 iis well as some miscellaneous vegetables such as tomatoes 

 and cabbage. (The Cohmial Jnumal, January 1918.) 



An advertisement in the Port-vf Spain (razcttc, Feb- 

 ruary 7, 191s, sei-ms to show that Trinidad is able to 

 stand a shortage of impor ed butter. A coco-nut butter 

 substitute is advertized as having stord the te?t of the 

 prejudice against local products, shown by the fact that within 

 the pirvious six months over 10,000 lb. ha»e been supplied 

 to dealers both in town and country. 



According to the Vfhrinarii Record, January 12, 1918, 

 ar. Italian veterinary surgeon has employed sugar in the 

 treatment of numerous lesions, and has reached the conclu.sion 

 that on account of its absrirbent, antiseptic, and cicatrizing 

 properties, su^ar represents a therapeutic agent of the first 

 order, which may render i reat servi<e in veterinary surgery, 

 fspeeiilly in priviite practice, as a substitute for the common 

 anti.»eptic powders. 



Considerable atteo'ioii is now being given to cotton 

 production in South Africa. ar.d 30 tons rf cotton have recently 

 beun shipjK-d to the United Kingdom. The success of cotton 

 C'ltivation depends largely on the ute jf b\ products, espec- 

 ially the seed. The Imperial Institute has examined a sample 

 of cottr.n sied from Sill th Africa wh'ch was found to be of 

 good quality, containing about 20 fSer cent, of oil. ( 77/c 

 Jtian/ of Trade Jniinial. J:)nuary 24, 1918.) 



The market for llie essential oils produced in the West 

 Indies continues steady at high and remunerative prices. 

 According to the market report in the I'nfvmeri/ and 

 Ei'i'ntial Oil Recoxl, January 1018, bay oil is in good rei|Ucst, 

 ar.d the price is maintained at from 13.«. lo 14.<. per B). 

 West Indian lime oil is cjUoted at S». to 8.«. %d. for distilled, 

 and at 20«. to 21 ». fi^r hand pre.s.sed. Jam lica oraniie "il is 

 qi-oted at 8s. to 8.«. fW/. per Ih. 



It cannot be too strongly urged that all liquid manure 

 should be saved and applied to the land, if for no other reason 

 than because of its richness in potash. Heiidrick has shown 

 that 1,000 gallons of liquid manure contain nearly 50 tt). of 

 potiish, equivalent to that present in 3 cwt. of kainit. In 

 addition, there is about 20 ft), of nitrogen, equivalent to 

 that present in 100 ft), of sulphate of ammonia, and also 

 there is a little phosphoric acid. ( The/rw;v/a/ of tite Board 

 of Ag^riciiltiiie, December 1917.) 



Attempts to acclimatize the camphor tree have extended 

 in different parts of the world over a good many years. In 

 America particular attention has been given tj jjlanting 

 CiruiaiiwiKKiii Camphora in Florida, where extensive planta- 

 tions already exist, and others are in process of formation. 

 In America all the leal attempts to obtain camphor appear 

 to have been directed to the leaves and young twigs, the 

 distillation of the wood having apparently been found to be 

 unsuitable lo the locality. (The /Vr/'/o/t-ry and Essential. Oil 

 Record, January 22. 1918.) 



The carambola (Averr/ioa Caraintiola). belonging to the 

 family Oxalidaceae. produces an ovate fruit fiom 2 to 5 inches 

 long, with five prominent acutely angled ribs The skin is very 

 thin, light yellow in colour when ripe, and the flesh is waterj- 

 and crisji. There are two distiict varieties, the sweet which 

 is eaten fresh, and the sour which is very acid and is used 

 for pickles. An excellent drink is also made frotn the mature 

 fruit in much the same manner as lemonade is prepared. This 

 species must not be confused with A'vn/toa Bilim/ii, which 

 has smooth, green, cucumber-shaped fruit", which make 

 excellent pickles, but are far too aiid to be eaten raw. 

 (The //(i"'(i'/)'i?i Fiirciter and Agciciillurist, October 1917.) 



The cultivation of Ipecacuanha {Psi/chotria ipecaiaanhi) 

 is being experimented with at the Kuala Lumpjr Experi- 

 mental Plantatiim in Malaya. Propagntion is b\ root, stem 

 and seed. The permanent distance of planting is 18 inches. 

 Ipecacuanha must have shade throughout its period of 

 growth. The plants are ready for lifting when two and a 

 halt years old. anH yield from 2 to 3 oz of marketable root 

 per plant. The roots require to be carefully lifted, thor- 

 f'Ughly washed, sun dried, and a'l foreign matter rem )ved 

 before being sold. Ipecacuanha can be grown as a citch crop 

 under moderate shade. The present value of the roo' is 

 about 8.<. per B). (The Ai;riciiltiiial Ihill-tin of flic Fcder- 

 attd Afa/ay States, August and September 1917.) 



The t'"''))i?(/;,/oi()«aHor January 1918 states that His 

 Majesty's Government have recently ap[)ointed a comtnittee 

 to investigate the best means of de%'e!('piiig the growing of 

 cotton within the Empire, and to advise the Governmei:t as 

 to the necessary measures to be taken for this purpo.-e. The 

 committee have prepared a statement of the point* on which 

 they de.'-ire information from various parts of the Empin, ind 

 the Secretary of State has asked the Colonial Governments, 

 which are or might be concerned, for their observations. The 

 first i|Uestitin (lut relates to the area of suit.ible land which 

 could be made available, tinder three hpad>: (1) without 

 public expenditure: (2) with moderate expenditure on roads, 

 etc.; (3) with extensive programme on railways, etc. Other 

 points are the supply of labour, and the best method of 

 development. 



