Vol. XVII No. 432. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



361 



As our space is limited we could not publish a 

 large number of offers in any one issue of the Weekly 

 Bulletin, but we shall be glad to publish a few ever}- 

 •week.' 



It is requested that a separate letter be written for 

 each subject under correspondence, and that all com- 

 munications be addressed to the Commercial Intelli- 

 gence Branch, Department of Trade and Commerce, 

 Ottawa, Canada. 



Anyone in the West Indies whb may have com- 

 modities to place on the market, especially any pro- 

 ducts the market for which is not yet developed, 

 would do well to avail himself of this opportunity of 

 advertising, which the Canadian (iovernment places at 

 his disposal. 



The Epidemic of Spanish Influenza 



The accounts received both from America and 

 England of the widespread outbreaks of a virulent 

 form of influenza, and of the serious consequences 

 following attacks of the disease,have caused considerable 

 apprehension lest it should spread through the West 

 Indies. The following note, which is reproduced from 

 Scievce, September 20, I91iS, is of interest, and may 

 be of use under the circumstances. 



In an effort to prevent an epidemic of Spanish 

 influenza throughout the United States, Surgeon- 

 General Blue, of the Public Health Service, has pro- 

 vided a list of methods for the control of the disease. 



Dr. Blue's bulletin of information on the disease, 

 issued primarily for physicians, contains information 

 as follows: — 



Irtfectiflus agent — The Bacillus influenzae, of 

 Pfeiffer. 



Sources of infection — The secretions from the nose, 

 throat, and respiratory passages of cases or of carriers. 



Incuhation lyeriod — One to four days; generally 

 two. 



Mode of transTnission — By direct contact or indi- 

 rect contact through the use of handkerchiefs, common 

 towels, cups, mess-gear, or other objects contaminated 

 with fresh secretions. Droplet infection plays an 

 important part. -^ 



Periocl of communicability — As long as the per- 

 son harbours the causative organism in the respiratory 

 tract. 



Metliods of control — The infected individual and 

 his environment. 



Recognition of the disease — By clinical manifes- 

 tations and bacteriological findings. 



Isolation— Bed isolation of infected individuals 

 during the course of the disease. Screens between 

 beds are to be recommended. 



Immunization — Vaccines are used with only pir- 

 tial success. 



Quarantine— ^ one; impracticable. 



Concurrent disinfection — The discharges from 

 the mouth, throat, nose, and other respiratory passages. 



Terminal disinfection — Thorough cleansing, air- 

 ing and sunning. The causative organism is short- 

 lived outside the host. 



General measures—The attendant of the case 

 should wear a gauze mask. During epidemics persons 

 should avoid crowded assemblages, street c irs, and the 

 like. Education as regards the danger of promiscuous 

 coughing and spitting. Patients, because of the ten- 

 dency to the development of broncho-pneumonia, 

 should be treated in uell-ventillated, warm rooms. 



Prince Bonaparte's Collection of Ferns. 



A letter has recently been received by the 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West 

 Indies from the Custodian of Prince Bonaparte's Her- 

 barium in Paris. A portion of this letter is repro- 

 duced below, as some of the readers of this Journal may 

 take a fancy to make a collection of West Indian ferns, 

 and forward them as requested. Ferns are among the 

 easiest of botanic specimens to dry and press for her- 

 barium purposes. 



'His Imperial Highness who has devoted many 

 long years to the study of ferns has established, in 

 order to facilitate the determination of the pterido- 

 logic collections that may be entrusted to him, a her- 

 barium, which at the present time contains .SOO.OOO 

 specimens. 



'Being desirous of still increasing it by the addition 

 of the ferns of your regions, allow me to ask you if you 

 know any people who could gather and forward the 

 said ferns to us. The more there will be the better. 



'It is understood that we will pay the expenses of 

 carriage, and that we will give the collectors the 

 amount asked for their trouble. If you know any who 

 are willing to do this, please give me their names 

 and addresses so that we can write to them.' 



Any letters or specimens are to be addressed to 

 Monsieur C. Belhatte, Conservateur de I'Herbier de 

 S.A.I, le Prince Bonaparte, 10 Avenue d'lena, Paris. 



A New Citrus Fruit of the Philippines. 



An article in the Philippine Agricultural 

 Review, Vol. X, No. 4, by P. J. Wester, gixes an 

 interesting account of the 'miaray', a new species of 

 citrus, discovered b}^ him. 



Apart from a purely botanical point of view, 

 new forms are at present also of great interest as 

 opening up new possibilities in hybridization, espe- 

 cially in connexion with the problem of breeding new- 

 types resistant or immune to citrus canker (Pseudo- 

 monas citri, Hasse). 



The 'miaray' (Citrus miaray, n. sp.), described 

 and named by the author, was found by him in August 

 1917 in the interior of Mindanao, at an elevation of 

 750 metres. 



With its willowy, slender, drooping branches, and 

 dense crown of dark-green foliage, the miaray is an 

 exceedingly handsome tree, about metres in height. 

 The fruit is about the size of a lime. It is pleas- 

 antly acid, and may be used like the lime. The 

 clean, vigorous growth of the tree indicates that it ia 

 likely to prove a desirable stock for other cultivated 

 varieties of the citrus. 



