108 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Apkil 0, 1918. 



% 





GLEANINGS. 



The /hdiii A'/c/'/'<v U'ur/d for February 1, I'JLS, states 

 that the world's total production of crude rubber of all 

 grades is estimated at about 210,.500 tons, an increase of 

 nearly 40,000 tons on the previous crop. The rubber plan- 

 tations in the Far Kast are responsible for about 80 per cent. 

 ■of the \\orld'3 total present production. 



It is gratifying to learn from authoritative sources, says 

 the Dominica Chronkle, March 9, 1918, that the plaiiting of 

 ground provisions has of late been carried out on a very 

 appreciable scale. As one travels in the country districts 

 numerous new provision gardens are observed on all sides, 

 whilst many of those which were already in existence have 

 been considerably enlarged. 



As the result of a series f)f experinnnts with 'liurnDgen' 

 (bacterized peat) in the treiitment of beans and mustard, 

 the conclusion was reached that nitrogen, supplied in an 

 -active form like nitrate of soda, has been more cfieciive than 

 the same amount of nitrogen supplied in the less active form 

 of bacterized peat (lieport on Pot Culture Experiments. 

 191'), Woburn Experimental .Station.) 



It seems that unless the seedling cane B.64."J0 is planted 

 prior to the end of November, or very early in December, 

 it will always be found veiy difficult to establish fields 

 planted in this .seedling. The eye of this cane is small 

 and flat-lying, and for he^ilthy germination rcquin-s mo^t 

 favourable conditions as well as very careful filanting. 

 (The Barbados .\:;riatllii>-ixl Rr/>„rtei; March 23, 191s.) 



During the yuar 191<i. 11,772 tons of cacao were 

 exported from A^banti. a decrease of .'!, 1G7 tons on the 

 previous year. I'his was in no way due to a decrease in the 

 quantity prodnceable by the natives ot the Dcpeiidensy, but 

 solely to the fall in pri -es, which .so militated again.st the 

 industry that niaLy cultivators did not even trouble to pick 

 their fruit, while others refused to .sell at such l"w prices. 

 ■(C"/'////(j//iV"''''— Annual, No. 949.) 



The .Agricultural Department. St. Lucia, publi-hod in 

 Febru-iry a leaflet on war time recipes for using oirn and 

 corn mc.'al, gathered from various sources in order to popularize 

 this valuable fnod. In the introduction. Mr. A. .). lirooks, 

 the Agricultural .Suijerintcndrnt, draws attention to the fact 

 that a Government Granary is now being erected in Castries 

 to handle all the 'orn that the islan 1 can produce, and that 

 though the importation of corn meal from tlic I'niteil States 

 is now forbidden, corn can reiidily be obtained from 

 Venezuela, and the Agricultural Department is in a [tosiiion 

 to grind this corn into flour a> fast as the jocal .merchants 

 can handle it. 



Experiments ha\fe been made iu the Dutch East Indies to 

 determine the value of papain as a coagulant for Hevea latex. 

 It is reported that a watery solution of this preparation- 

 acted twice as powerfully as acetic acid of the same concen- 

 tration, llubber prepared with papain has normal tensile 

 strength and period of vulcanization, but it has the disadv.in- 

 tage that it dries with surprising slowness, and that smoked 

 sheet worked in the usual way can under no circumstances 

 be dried internally. ■'(The India Rubber World , February 1, 

 1918.) 



In the //(/(/, February liI, 191^, there is a notice of 

 a new vegetable gourd which might be worthy of trial in the 

 West Indies. This is known as the wax gourd (Boiitasc, 

 arifora), and is cultivated in India and other warm countries 

 as a ve>:etable, being used as we use the vegetable marrow. 

 The fruit grows to a l.irge size, between 2 and .3 feet in length, 

 and weighing up to . 'J or 8 3). The flesh is solid, snow 

 white, and there is little waste. The skin is covered with 

 a white waxy substance, which is -aid to be used in Jap^n 

 for caudle iiiaking. The .seeds yield an oil. The plant 

 thrives and fruits freely under the same cultural treatment 

 as tlie cucumber. 



In Cdloniiil Rcp'^rts — Annual, No. 94-, it is stated that 

 the exuberant fertility of the soil is the principal asset of the 

 Gold Coast. Unfortunately the ease with which valuable 

 economic plants and trees thrive iu the colony and Ashanti. 

 with practically no attention after planting, has engendered 

 in the native farmer a deep-seated reluctance to interfere in 

 any way with tlie course of nature until the fruit is ripe for 

 him to gather. The most difficult task of the .Vgricultural 

 Department is that of persuading the cultivators, e.«pecially 

 the cacao growers, of the importance of keeping their 

 plantations clean, and using such simple measures of culture 

 and sanitation as may precludo th- possibility of disease 

 .spreading, and becoming a serious menace to the industry. 



The Commiiice of the Imperial Institute for South 

 Africa and Khodesia reports, according to the R/h'disi: 

 Ac^riciiltmwl Aw^/^i?/. for December 1917, that in the past 

 much of the starch u.se.l foi indu-tri il purposes in the United 

 Kingdom has been imported from < .'ermany and Hollan.i. 

 I'onsiderable interest therefore attaches t') the possibility of 

 increasing such starch from British territories overseas, an.i 

 one of the most promising sources of supply is cas.sava, which 

 is widely grown in British tropical colonies. A sample of 

 cas.sava starch recently received it the Imjjerial Institute 

 from lihodesia was found on esiminition to represent a fairly 

 good i|uality of starch, which should lind a realy market 

 in the United KinKdom^ If oflered in commercial quantities. 



Fi-oin the fiiraih>n- oj Secdi mtd Plaitls Imported by 

 the Drtice of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. Bureau of 

 I'l.mt Industry, Unitcil States Department of Agriculture, 

 which was issued ■September 1 ."), 1917, it appears that the 

 discovery of a new oil plant seems to hive been made in 

 a ciesping plant ( /'//^/ir «<'//<' iv////,"//!//--') '-"elonging to the 

 l".ui)horbiaceae, which grows in Kamerun. West Africa, in 

 tlie (ields among maize, and can be obtained in grest 

 ipiautity. It bears a 'thin-shelled nut about the size of 

 a walnut, containing an oily kernel loose in the shell. It is 

 reported that these uiils contain a-'} 8 ;)er cent, of an ..il 

 which is used by the notivea for cooking, but which might 

 be a valuable iubsiitule for linseed oil, t" which it is very 

 similar. 



