136 



THE AtJIRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



M vT 4, 1918. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 



Breeding Cane Varieties on Mendelian Lines. 



In an ;u-ticle on scientific progress in sugar 

 cultivation in Java contributed to the International 



NOTICES. Sugar Journal, Febmai7 HUS, Dr. Prinsen Oeerligs 



draws attention to the tact that in former times the 

 raising of cane varieties had more the character of 



— Barbados. ^^ lottery than of a scientific, thought-out plan. If 



a good variety had been obtained, no one could trace 

 back its origin. In order to remedy this haphazard 

 proceeding, the experiment station in Java is now rais- 

 ing seedling canes on Mendelian principles, and care- 

 fully recording the cross-fertilization of canes from 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 



specimens lor naming, should be addressed to the 



Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, different varieties. If by this methodical research a new 



variety is evolved which combines excellent qualities, 

 this cane may at any time be reproduced by following 

 the lines laid down in the plan for its production, and 

 noted down in the records of the station. Up to the 

 present the scientists of the station have not yet 

 raised a variety which may be considered superior to 

 the excellent ones now in cultivation, but they are 

 confident of attaining their aim, and presenting the 

 Java planters, not only with a good, sound, superior 

 cane, but also with the recipe to get the same cane 

 again, if through misfortune it should deteriorate after 

 the lapse of some years. 



.Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents will be found on 

 jpage 4 of the cover. 



Imptrial Commissiontr of 

 Agriculture for the West Indies 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF 



Sir Francis Watts, K.C.M.G., 

 D.ScF.I.C, F.C.S. 



Seientific Assistant and 

 Assistant Editor 



JBntomologists 



-Mycologist 

 Assistant for Cotton Eesearch 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



A. G. Howell. 



fW. R. Dunlop.* 



\Rev. C. H. Branch, B..\. 



I H. A. Ballou, M.Sc.t 



(J. C. Hutson, B.A., Ph.D. 



W. Nowell. D.I.C. 



S. C. Hailaml, B.Sc.tt 



0»t€/ Clerk 

 Clerical Assistants 



rL. A. Corbin. 

 Jl 



P. Taylor.* 

 Ik. R. C. Foster. 

 Miss B. Robinson. 

 Miss W. Ellis. 

 A. B. Price, Fell. Joum. Inst. 



Typist 



Assistant Typist 

 Assistant for Publicatiotts 



*Secouded for Military Service. 

 ^Seconded for Duty in Egypt. 



HPromded by the Imperial Department of Scitntifir. and 

 Industrial lieaearch. 



;^griculiiiral |leiu!i 



Vol. XVII. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1918. No. 418. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The benefit which would probably be derived by 

 the cacao planter from paying attention to the (pialitiei 

 desired by manufacturers of cacao, is difcusscd " 

 editorial. 



the 



Under Insect Notes, on page l:i«. will be found 

 the conclusion of the article on fleas and their control, 

 the first part of which appeared in onr last issue. 



The nature of akce poisoning, many cases of' which 

 have recently occurreil in Jamaica, is the subject of 

 an article on page 1 •"!!•. 



On page 1+3 will be found an account of educa- 

 tional functions which I'.otanic (Jardens may perform. 



The Peanut Crop in the United States. 



According to -the World Wide Magazine of 

 Montreal, February 10, 1918, the ravages of the boll 

 weevil have forced the cotton growers of the Southern 

 States to turn their attention to other crops, among 

 which the peanut has risen to prominence. 



It was estimated that the peanut crop in the 

 United States in 190S was worth ."t^I 2,000,000. The 

 valuation of this year's crop is put as probably more 

 than .%0,000,00(). 'In Texas alone there are 200,000 

 acres planted in peanuts. 



The high food value of the nut and the oil 

 extracted from it has been often emphasized in this 

 .lourn;il. The article referred to above states that pea- 

 nut oil can be extracted in the same mills by the same 

 machinery that turns out cotton-seed oil. This is 

 a great advantage in districts where cotton is largely 

 cultivated. J'he cotton-seed mills have a capacity 

 beyond the available supply of their raw material, and 

 therefore lie idle tor a large part of the year Now 

 that the machinfiry of these mills, with but slight 

 adjustment, can be turned into peanut-oil plants, they 

 will naturally welc6\ne the new industry that will 

 extend the yearly period of operation, and at the same 

 time increase the profits on their working. 



In adifition to the valuable products deriveii from 

 peanuts, they are, like other leguminous plants, of 

 great benefit in enriching the soil in which they are 

 grown. 



The planters of the Southern States realize that 

 there is considerable profit to be derived from the 

 cultivation of peanu^, so that the acreage in Texas 

 under this crop has iHfireased more than 1,000 per cent. 

 from lyio to IfUr,. In that Suite it is estimated thati 



