21C 



THE AGRICULTURAL KEWS. 



JiLv 13, 19IS. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 



\^ NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 epecimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All .-ipplications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 Ts'ews' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents will be found on 

 page 4 of the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Sir Francis Watts, K.C.M.G., 



Agricidtureforthe West Indies D.Sc, F.LC, F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Scientific Assistant and 

 Assistant Editor 



Mntomologists 



Mycologist 



Assistant for Cotton Rtsearcli 



fW. R. Dunlop.^- 



(Rev. C. H. Branch, B.A. 



JH. A. BallDu, M.Sc. 



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



W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



S. C. Harlanrl, B.So.t 



A Seaweed Substitute for Cotton. 



According to a note in TIk Board of Trade Juur- 

 rt(d. ifay lt>. lOlfs, an interesting account of a substi- 

 tute for cotton in Japan has been published in a reci'nt 

 issue of the Japan Ad^xrtiser. The discovery of the 

 substitute, which is said to he a good one, was 

 reported to the Japanese Federation of .Marine Indus- 

 try Associations by the Vice-President of the House of 

 Representatives. Seaweeds called 'sugamo' and 'goiuo- 

 gomo' form the raw m.^terials from which the cottoa 

 substitute is extracted. These weeds are found in 

 abundance in the seas around Japan, and have been- 

 chieHy utilized hitherto as good fertilizing material. 



The j)rocess of manufacture is stated to be com- 

 paratively simple. The weed is boiled in water to 

 which ashes ha\ e been added, and then in water mixed 

 with rice bran. When it is thoroughly boiled it is 

 then bleached. This is stated to be all that is necessary 

 to produce good fibres. It is also said that the Tokio 

 P^ibre Laboratory, where the diseoxery was made, has 

 taken out a patent for the process, and it is estimated 

 that an annual production of about 'S2G, 700,000 lb. can. 

 be attained. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



A. G. Howell. 

 (L. A. Corbin. 



(h. A. Corbm. 

 -^P. Taylor.* 

 I.K. R. C. Fust 



Chief Clerk 



Clerical Assistants _ 



stet. 

 Typist Miss B. Robinson. 



Aisistant Typist Miss W. Ellis. 



Atiistant for Publications A. B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



*Seconded for Military Service. 



f Provided by the Imp'rial Department of Scientifi': and 

 Industrial liesearrli. 



giflricultural |leirfi 



YoL. XVII. -SATUltDAY, JULY 13, ms. No. 42.3. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial draws attention to the advantage 

 vhich more scientific forestry would confer on these 

 islands. 



Under Insect Notes, on page 21><, an article will 

 be found on the substitution of starch for lime in 

 arsenical mixtures for insect control. 



On page 2i:-i' there appears an article describing the 

 ■wonderful sweet content of .i Parnguayan plant. 



Figures showing the total production in the world 

 of agricultural artificial '"■■t''li/"- :ur pr. .^iitcd in ;in 

 article on page 21 t. 



A New Food Mammal. 



Referring to the article under this heading in the 

 Ayriculturai K'eus of April 20, li>l.s, Mr. Joseph 

 Sturge, of Birmingham, contributes the following 

 interesting note: 'I expect you have seen, as I have, 

 the manatee swunming about in the lake in the 

 Botanical (Jarden at Georgetown, Deinerara, but 

 probabl}' you have not heard of an interesting use 

 for the creature. Mr. Wrigglesworth, of the Demerara 

 Hallway, told me that he had two long wayside tanks 

 to provide the locomotives with water. These con- 

 stantly needed freeing from grass growth, which 

 encumbered them. He bought a young manatee. ,ind 

 put him into one of the tanks; in a month he had 

 absolutely fieed the tank from grass. He then had the 

 manatee caught in a strong net, and taken to the other 

 tank, which he cleaned out in like manner. The 

 creature filled this useful oftice for years, until it had 

 grown !• feet long, when it escaped in a time of Hood. 

 When there was no grass left in the tank the manatee- 

 would come to the watchman for its food. 



The Home Vegetable Garden. 



In another column in the present i.ssue of this .lour- 

 nnl is reproduced from Farmers' Bidlrihi, SIS, of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, interesting 

 and usefid advice on the management of small vegetable 

 gardens. As supplementing the advice there given, it 

 may be worth while to udd the following admonition 

 published in the JnuriuU of (lir Nnr Vorl.- Ji(>/a7iiraf 

 Carile'n, April IS, 1918, on the subject of the 'home 

 vegetable garden.' It is stated there that one of the 

 strongest national ap[)eals this year for the home food 

 garden is to save transportation space. Cargo for all 



