•204 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 29, 1918. 



In ihe Hawaian Fot-ester atid A'^ricitltunst, February 

 1918, it is stated that iluring the past two years experimei.'ts 

 have been carried on in Hawaii to produce a hybrid plaat 

 derived from the two parents, henequen (.Ix'it'c rinida, var:. 

 tlongtit'i) and sisal (.J. iisalana). It is hoped that thi» 

 hybrid will produce the superior qualities of fibre obtained 

 from A- sisaiaua, and partake of the much desired iinality of 

 the long life of the henequen. 



GLEANINGS. 



The best method of growing tomatoes is to train the 

 plants to one stem, plantinn them 18 inches apart, in rows 

 about -3 feet apart, or in a single row. Rooted cuttings pro- 

 duce earlier fruit than seedlings. (The Queensland Agri- 

 -cultural Journal, April lfll8.) 



Sisal is second only to cotton in being the most 

 ■extensively used fibre in the United States. Its importance 

 ~for the manufacture of binder twine is steadily increasing. 

 'The only important sisa! growing portion of the United States 

 is the territory of Hawaii. (The Hawaiian Forester and 

 Agriculturist, February 1918.) 



As a result of experiments on the culture of native 

 yellow Hint maize in the Philippines, recorded in the 

 riiilippiiie Agriculturist ani Fortster, March 1918, ii is 

 stated that the strains which take longest to mature, that is 

 about 100 days, are heavier yielders than those which 

 mature in nimty days, and that the tall-growing strain-s, 

 which attain a height of 300 centimetres or more, are mote 

 productive than the dwarf types, which are not recommended 

 therefore for field culture. 



A report has been submitted to the Federal Food Admin- 

 istrator showing that every sugar plantation in the Hawaiian 

 territory is now engaged in producing food for its own cod- 

 sumption. Many acres of hitherto idle land have been 

 turned into large gardens for the production of foodstuffs. 

 (The Louisiana Planter, May 4, 1918 ) 



The Port-ofSpain Gazette, May 7, 1918, says that 

 Tobago will again maintain her first place this year as far 

 as food production is concerned. All round the island can 

 be seen large areas of prepared land for the planting of corn 

 and peas as soon as the first heavy rains come on. Good for 

 Tobago! Tliere is certain money in corn and peas this year. 



Sir Charles Mandleberg of Manchester, has written to 

 the editor of this .Journal, drawing attention to a scheme 

 which he has put forward for increasing the British export 

 trade by the formation of a British Manufacturers' Corpora- 

 tion. It would appear that already some 2.50 firms in 

 various industries have agreed to be associated with the 

 proposals put forward. 



The Louisiana Planter, May 4, 1918, says that th* 

 cultivation and canning of pineapples is the second leading 

 industry of the Hawaiian Islands — second only to the suijar 

 industry — and \h\l it is rapidly increasing in importance. In 

 1917 the islands produced appri>xiroately 2,600,000 cases 

 of the canned fruit, and the estimated output for 1918 is 

 approxinutely .'5,000,000 cases. About one-half of the 

 winter output has been taken over by the United States 

 Government, which is to use canned pine apples as a portion 

 of its soldiers' rations. 



In a note on Jerusalem artichokes, the Journal of the 

 Board of Agriculture. April 1918, states that recent investi- 

 gations show that this vegetable is an excellent human food, 

 and moreover yields large crops. An average yield from field 

 cultivation is about 10 to 12 tons per acre. Another advan- 

 tage possessed by the Jerusalem artichoke is that it is not 

 subject to disease, and will grow in almost any soil and 

 situation, though it succeeds best on a friable, sandy loam. 

 It may be mentioned that this tuber can be successfully 

 cultivated under West Indian conditions. 



The Dutch East Indies are the world's chief producers 

 of nutmegs and mace. The production of the^e spices in 

 •Grenada in the British West Indies has increased during the 

 last few years, and the value of the crop exported in 191.J 

 was over £42,000. The cultivation of nutmegs, however in 

 Penang, Straits Settlements, has steadily declined. ( The 

 Times Trade Supplement, April 1918.) 



In an article dealing with the production of cotton in 

 the Sudan, the Agricultural! Journal of India for April 1918, 

 says that the general character of tlie cotton grown is excel- 

 lent. It is entirely of the Egyptian type. The most 

 striking feature of the district is the way in which the 

 ■Government, by careful control of the native handling of the 

 crop, has secured and maintained a high level of quality in 

 .he product as a whole. 



Mr. B. A Malcolmson, the Honorary Secretary of the 

 Agricultural Section of the Briti.sh Empire's Producers' 

 Organization, writes from Evelyn House, 62, Oxford Street, 

 London, W.I., to draw attention to the fact that, owing 

 chiefly to sentiment and custom, the British Friesian Society ' 

 are likely to eliminate from their register all 'dun' Friesian 

 cattle only allowing the registration of black and white, and 

 black bulls. In tropical countries 'dun' is a good colour for 

 cattle, and there are in Kngland some of the finest Friesians 

 of that colour, heavy milkers, and all pedigree stock. These 

 could be secured on much more favourable terms for export 

 than if they were black, or black and white. 



The I'lW grade of cotton produced in India has long 

 been a subject of remark. The Times Trade Supplement, 

 April 1918, .says that Lancashire interests should note the 

 declaration of Mr. (Jaramie, the cotton specialist, appointed 

 some time back by the Government of India, that since the 

 low grade varieties are profitable for the ryot, they will 

 continue to be produced until buyers are willing to pay 

 a bigger price for the longer stapled .sorts. It the price* 

 offered encourage the Indian cultivators to do so, they would 

 willingly take up the finer sorts, which, alter all, are just a* 

 easy to grow as the coarser varieties. 



