Vol. XVII. No. 424. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



231 



early stage seedlings can be recognized in respect of reds and 

 white.s", and there is in t}ie siiecies described a correlation 

 between leaf and flower colour — that is, seedlings which will 

 produce pink and red flowers have reddish-brown leaves of 

 different shades, and those which will produce white rtowers, 

 green leaves. The distinction is noticeable in the tint rosulate, 

 .sagittate, submerged leaves of the seedlings, and is very 

 pronounced in the earliest floating ones. Seeds can of course 

 be collected, and sown in pots or bo.xes under water, it so 

 desired. 



Oo one occasion a fruit of a Zanzibar lily, from which 

 seed was specially desired for sowing, liberated its seed 

 before it could be secured, and forcuaately no other seeds 

 were being germinated in the pond at the time. After a few 

 days a large number of small seedlings, possessing one minute 

 leaf and one or two fine roots only, with the seed still 

 attached to the little plant, were discovered in various places. 

 The seedlings were so small — less than iinch long — 

 that they were difficult to handle. A novef method was 

 deused in order to transplant them into bo.xes. The boxes 

 were filled with sandy soil, and submerged in the positions 

 they were to occupy. Then some clay was obtained, and 

 rolled into small balls about the size of a playing marble. 

 Each small seedling was then placed in the ball of clay, 

 leaving only the small leaf e.xposed. The seedlings with 

 their clay 'sinkers' were then planted in the soil of the bo.xes 

 under water, at distances of about an inch each way. This 

 method proved successful, and the seedlings were successfully 

 established. 



When floating leaves have been formed, the selected 

 seedlings are transferred to boxes large enough for them to 

 produce a few flowers in. These boxes can be made con- 

 veniently out of the ordinary kerosene box, by sawing it in 

 half, and boarding up the sides cut through. These boxes 

 are prepared for the plants in a similar manner to that des- 

 scribed in the case of the tubs. The seedlings will -declare' 

 themselves in a few months, and then if they prove to be of 

 sufficient interest, they can be propagated vegetatively in 

 the manner already described. The fact that most water 

 lilies can be reproduced by vegetative means eliminates the 

 ditticulties usually met with in fixing hybrid plants that 

 have to be grown from .seed. 



For the amateur with limited facilities it is suggested 

 that a start might be made with the nyniphaeas named 

 below; these are easy to grow, are robust, flower freely, and 

 have not been found susceptible to disease:- - 



A'. Lo/us, var. deiitato Large pure white 



N. hybrida Large light pink 



N. fiiberosa, var. rosfir Bright deep pink 



x'V. zanzibarensis Intense blue 



N. zanzibarensis, var. msi'd Heliotrope 



N- 'William Stone' Klue 



The above named lilies give charming floral displays. 

 Several others might be named, and the list added to or 

 modified, but, at the outset, most growers will find that these 

 will meet their requirements. 



Although the parentage of natural hybrids from probibly 

 impure varieties is always open to question, and cannot be 

 exactly given, yet several excellent hybrids have been raised; 

 among these are a fine white one, named 'Rena Sands', and 

 two large and distinct maroon forms, to one of which has 

 been given the name of 'St. V'^incent'. These are merely 

 mentioned here to indicate that, with even a few good varie- 

 ties, striking novelties can readily be obtained, which adds 

 much interest to the culture of these beautiful flowering 

 pliuits. 



DEVELOPMENTS CONNECTED WITH 



THE CO-OPERATIVE PURCHASE 



OF COTTON AND CORN IN 



ST. VINCENT. 



A further example of the value of cooperative work 

 in agriculture to the small grower is exhibitad in some 

 recent developments connected with the co-operative purchase 

 of cotton and corn at the Government Ginnery in St. Vincent. 

 Jlr. W. N. Sand,s, Agricultural Superintendent in that 

 island, in forwarding the information below, remarks that 

 the small grower of cotton usually requires all his available 

 ready cash for planting his land, so that if he can obtaia 

 corn meal for food, and seed for planting, on credit, he is 

 encouraged to do his best in improving his cultivation with 

 the resources at his disposal. 



During the 1917 18 season 1,427 passbooks were issued 

 to growers .selling seed-cotton to the St. ^'mcent Government 

 Ginnery and (iranary on a profit-sharing basis, and 346 

 to those selling corn, making a total of 1 773, many of 

 which contained several entries. The transactions connected 

 with the purchases are not yet complete, .so that the actual 

 figures are not available, but approximately the sales 

 amounted to 223,920 lb. of Sea Island seed-cotton; 132,000 B». 

 of Jlarie Galante, and 147,840 lb. of 'wet' grain corn. 



In order that the sellers of both cotton and corn 

 might obtain kiln dried corn meal for home consumption at 

 a time when local foodstutt's were comparatively scarce and 

 dear, and during the period when planting operations were in 

 progress, a new scheme was inaugurated in June last at the 

 granary under which any person who sold cotton or 

 corn to the amount of |6'25 and $500, respectively, might 

 obtaia on credit 2-5 B). of corn meal at the rate of 5c. per tt)., 

 on the security of his prospective bonus. These were the 

 minimum amounts for which corn meal was is.sued, but larger 

 quantities could be obtained in proportion to the value of 

 the sales made. 



The scheme is working well, and is likely to have an 

 excellent ett'ect on the growing of both cotton and cora 

 by the peasantry in the colony. 



For the past two seasons it has been possible for the 

 small grower to obtain on credit at the ginnery all the cotton 

 seed he required for planting. This had a most beneficial 

 influence, because it practically assured the planting of seed 

 from a selected strain of good ordinary Sea Island cotton, and 

 greatly facilitated the grading of the cotton when offered for 

 s-ale. 



Grape Culture in South America— 27/c Times 

 Trade Supplement, .lune 19 IS, in an article on the indus- 

 tries of South America, draws attention to the fact that 

 grape culture both in Argentina and Chile is an industry of 

 great commercial importance. 



In Argentina the grape is very extensively cultivated 

 in the neighbourhood of the town of Mendoz^, where an 

 extensive system of irrigation has been introduced by the 

 damming of a river which flows down from the Andes. 

 A marvellously fertile district has thus been brought ioto 

 being, from which enormous quantities of wines of essentially 

 sound character are produced. These wines, however, are 

 seldom kept long enouah to mature thoroughly. 



Chile is admirably adapted for grape cultivation. It 

 specializes in the quality of its wine which is unuauatly fine, 

 many growths challi-nging comparison with any of the 

 a verage vintages of tin famous vriae-producing countries of 

 Europe. 



