Vol. XVII. No. 421. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



185 



lying on the surface is quickly revealed, and as a result, 

 measures are usually taken to provide for its speedy 

 escape froia land under crops — a process not entailing 

 great expenditure as a rule. Subterranean drainage 

 is a much more serious and complicated art'air, while 

 its influence upon the fertility of the land iscorresp<ind- 

 ingly great and far-reaching. Stagnant water under 

 the surface is as great a hindrance to the growth of 

 plants as water on the surface, and its harmlul influence 

 spreads far more widely, neutralizing all other eftorts 

 to promote increased fertility, thus giving it an impor- 

 tance much exceeding that attaching to any temporary 

 surface flooding. 



False and True Economy in Food. 



Une of the vitamines that is necessary for the 

 maintenance of health is always found present in cer- 

 tain animal fats. It is found in butter fat and also in 

 the fat of eggs. Consequently it is false economy in 

 arranging a dietary to reduce the consumption of dairy 

 products, for this vitamine though not present in veget- 

 ables except in the leaves of certain plants, is obtained 

 in milk and butter. The use of these substances in the 

 human diet is the greatest safeguard to nutritive food. 

 As an article in the Journal of Ai/ricidture, Victoria, 

 Australia, March 1918, remarks, the first and safest 

 way to economise in diet is in the consumption of 

 meat. Human beings can do without meat without 

 any detriment to health or strength: they only have 

 to give up the pleasure that is derived from eating 

 meat. Most human beings like meat, and it will 

 probably continue to be an article of human food. 

 Besides, other industries are dependent upon the beef 

 industry: the leather industry for instance. But 

 nevertheless, wherever it is necessary to economise in 

 the dietary, the wise thing to do is to lessen the 

 expenditure on meat while "keeping the consumption 

 of butter and milk, using meat chiefly for conferring 

 palatability on vegetables, and in the form of soups 

 and gravies. Especially could this be done with 

 advantage bv the inhabitants of the tropics. 



The Vanilla Crop in the French West Indies. 



The Perfumery and Essential Oil Record. April 

 1918, states, on the authority of the United States of 

 America Consul in Cuadeloupe, that the crop of vanilla 

 of that island for 1917, the picking of which commenc- 

 ed in L>ecember, is expected to be at least :>.'> per cent, 

 larger than the output of 1910, which amounted to 

 7:^,000 lb. of cured beans. Until November 1 there 

 was every indication that the coming crop would be 

 an especially fine one, but from that time on the dry 

 weather caused many of the beans to drop off, thus 

 spoiling the chances of a record year. The action of 

 the French Government in prohibiting the importation 

 of Mexican vanilla, will probably increase the demand 

 in France for beans from her West Indian colonies. 

 The exports of vanilla from Martinique for 191ti were 

 valued at .<3,(J10, as compared with $7,412 for the 

 previous year. This decrease is stated to have been 

 largely due to inability to obtain transport facilities. 



Butter Substitutes in Trinidad 



The 1' art- of -Spa in Gazette, April 14, 1918, states 

 that the recipe for making coco-nut butter has met 

 with the greatest appreciation in that colony as well 

 as in the Northern Islands. Coco-nut butter is largely 

 employed for family use, being made regularly in 

 small quantities. Some enterprising firms in Port-of- 

 Spain have begun manufacturing on commercial lines 

 coco- nut butter prepared by some patented method, 

 whereby it can be preserved for months. This article 

 is, coming into general use at present in the colony. 

 It is said that scrupulous cleanliness and care are 

 observed in the manufacture. The following certificate 

 by the Acting (Tovernment Analyst shows that the 

 local butter substitute is quite up to the mark of any 

 such preparations. The local butter is certified to 

 contain: non-fatty organic matter, 1-00: salt, ;V10; 

 water, 12'S5: fat, 8o05. With the large local supply 

 of coco-nuts, Trinidad ought to be independent, at 

 least during the war, of imported butter. 



New Strain of Cowpea. 



The cowpea. (Vigna unqniculata) and its con- 

 vener the black -eye pea ( \^igna Catjang) have been 

 cultivated in the West Indies as green dressings or 

 articles of diet from a very early period. As was 

 pointed out in an article on these peas in the Agri- 

 cidtural Neivs, Vol. XIII, p. :^70. the imported strains 

 of cowpeas from America hnve been found to be very 

 susceptible to attacks of insect pests, and it was 

 suggested that work in selection and cross-breeding in 

 these plants might prove of value. We are glad to 

 notice that Uv. S. C. Harland has been experimenting 

 in this direction, and has produced a hardier strain 

 of cowpea, which at the same time is very productive. 

 He proposes that this variety be known as the 

 'St. Vincent brown- eye" pea. Small parcels of this 

 new pea have been forwarded for trial to the otticers 

 in charge of the Kxperiment Stations in other islands. 



Nutritive Value of Butter Substitutes. 



Apropos of the question of butter substitutes, it 

 may be useful to direct attention to the following 

 conclusions drawn from experiments to determine the 

 nutritive value of margarins and butter substitutes 

 with reference to their content of fat-soluble accessory 

 growth substance, published in the Experiment 

 Station Record. April 22, 1918:— 



'The fat-soluble accessory growth substance is 

 present in beef-tat and "oleo-oil", and is present in 

 margarins prepared upon such a basis. .Such margarins 

 are nutritively the equivalent of butter. 



'Coco-nut oil, cotton-seed oil. arachis oil, and 

 hydrogenated vegetable oils contain little or none of 

 this accessory substance, hence margarins prepared with 

 a basis of these fits have not an equal nutritive value 

 to that of butter. Xut butters prepared from crushed 

 nuts and vegetable fats are similarly not equal to butter.' 



