92 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 23. 191S. 



In Zululand a fair average yield seems to be about 

 ^U tons of i-ane to the acre, aud it ranges as high as 50 tons 

 ■>r more. This would seem to prove that in the matter of 

 growing <ane that country is not far behind many of the 

 best sugar-producing countries in the world, while it actually 

 gives a much higher return per acre tlian an old-esiablished 

 sugar-growing country like Louisiana. (The Smith Africirn 

 Sugni- Joiinia/, I )ecember 1917) 



GLEANINGS. 



Liquid manure is applied to tlie roots of young plants to 

 push them on, and should not be sprinkled over lettuces and 

 cabbages ready for cutting. Apart from this being a most 

 in.sanitary practice, the liquid manure would burn the leaves. 

 Only the purest of pure water should be applied to jilants 

 like lettuce, (The fonrnal of the Jamaica Agricu/titra/ Society, 

 .lanuarj' 1918.) 



A report by the Im|)erial Institute on samples of castor 

 seed grown in Xorthern Rhodesia states that the seeds con- 

 tained a normal amount of oil, and were in good condition. 

 The ffiaxinium controlled price of castor seed in the United 

 Kingdom was £37 per t^n in August 1917, but in normal 

 times the value is only about £1 1 per ton. (The Rhoilrsia 

 Aip-iai/tiinr/ Journal, December 1917.) 



In searchinL' for uses to which molasses might be put 

 it seems very probable that solidified molasses may become 

 a practical proposition some day, and a remunerative one also. 

 Java has produced 96,281 tons of solidified molasses, and the 

 output of this commodity is steadily increasing, it having 

 been less than 07,000 tons in the previous year. (The Sonth 

 African .Sui;or Joiirna/,'Sr)\<imher 1-"). 1917,) 



An exhibition of the products and industries of the 

 Turks and Caicos Islands was held on January 2-t, 1918; 

 789 e.xhibits were presented under nine classes. In the 

 agricultural class there were 143 exhibits, sixty-two of which 

 were of beans and peas, and thirty of Indian corn. The 

 exhibition .seems to have been a very great success, according 

 to the report of the < .'onimittee of Management. 



Owing to the enormous demand in Japm for sulphate 

 of amuioni;i, and the consdiuent rise in prircs onf Japarps(> 

 f«rbidf factory. «iih a (•apacity of from •J."),000 i.. oO,ijU(J 

 tons per annum, is now concentrating it.s efforts on the 

 production of sulphate of ammonia, the ammonia being made 

 from calicium cyanamide produced from the carbide liy the 

 fixation of nitrogen drawn from the air. ( 'J'hc llonrct o/ 

 Trade Journal, January 10, IDIH.) 



According to Cvloni.ii Reports — Annual, .No \\\'\, loi 

 l!il()-17, the natives r)f Swaziland are beginning to use 

 ploughs more generally in their agricultural oi)erations. 

 They di not grow enough food crops however for their own 

 ro<|uirementH, and the shortage is m.ide good by iiii))orts of 

 grain from the Transvaal. The principal crojjs of the natives 

 are mealies, Kaflir corn, ground nuts, [jumpkins, melons, 

 and sweet pot-i*oes. 



In the Philippines it has been repeatedly demonstrated 

 that Phnscohis liniatiis answers the purpose as a cover crop 

 for rubber better than perhaps all other plants that have so 

 far been tried. Passifiora fa-tida (known in the West Indies 

 as Love-in-a-mist) also makes an excellent cover crop, but 

 does not enrich the soil to the same degree as Fhaseo/us 

 /uiiatiis. (The Philippine Ai:;ricnltural Review, Vol, X, 

 No. .3.) 



The Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at 

 Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba, has just announced that exten- 

 sive experiments will be carried on there in developing better 

 varieties of canes from seed, and in the event of varieties 

 appearing whicli are better than those now planted in Cuba, 

 these will be distiibnted among the planters much after the 

 system now in use at the Audubon Park Experiment Station 

 in New Orleans (The Louisiana Planter, March 2, 191.S.) 



.\ note in the South African Sn^ar Journal, November 

 l."i, I 91 7, .states that sweet potatoes and garden vegetables 

 are planted in L'uba between the rows of sugar-cane in the 

 fields. It is held that by this means not only are valuable 

 cr< ps grown, but the umlliplication of weeds is greatly dimin- 

 ished. Maize and Kngish potatoes even are grown between the 

 rows of cane while the latter is still too small to overshadow 

 the other crop?. This has resulted, amoDg.st other things, 

 in improving the quality of the cuUivalion, which was .sadly 

 needed in many parts '^f Cuba. 



In the l.awton method of (jrcserving perishable food- 

 stuff's the produce is kept under an;crobic conditions so that 

 putrefactive and other changes are arrested, but the objection 

 to it is that the gas u.-ed contains carbon monoxide, forming 

 an explosive mixture in the preserving chamber. Dr. S, A. 

 Kapadia has made an improvement in the system by using 

 a gas consisting nl nitiogen and carbon dioxide, with only 

 a trace of oxygen. Salteil fish kept in the preserving eh unber 

 for sis weeks ap|uMred lo an expert to be in exactly the same 

 condition as when introduced. ( \v//;//-c, I'ebniary 7, 1918.) 



It is a matter of regret to all botanists that South 

 .America, so rich a storehouse of botanical treasures, should 

 contain but few imiiortant botanic gardens. The magnificent 

 garden al Rio dc .laneiro, which was founded in 1 80S, the 

 Rolani? Gardens at Santiago in('hili, at Georgetown in 

 Kritish Guiana, and at I'.uenos Aires represent the 

 lae.isure of botanical enterprise in the Continent. The 

 botanical possibilities at Rio de Janeiro are very great, 

 and the garden, in addition to its collection of living 

 |)laMts, pos.sesses the herbarium of Martins, a library, 

 and laboratories. When interest in bf.tauical .science 

 becomes fully arou.sed in Krazil, a striking development of 

 the Rotanic <iarden may be confidently expected. {Annals 

 ill th Missouri /lo/onical Gartkn, Vol, II. N(is. 1 and 2.) 



