^,V: 



THE AGRICULTUI5AL NEWS. 



PrCEMBEK 



1918. 



According to the entomologist at the l-^xperimcnt Station 

 of the Hawaiian Sugai Planters-' Association, good results are 

 being obtained in the carapaiun against field cockroaches by 

 the use of a wasp iinpoited from the Philippines into the 

 Hawaiian Islands a year ago Only a dozen pairs of speci- 

 mens survived the trip across the Pacific. These were releas- 

 ed, and are multiplying rapidly. The wdsp attacks young 

 cockroaches and kills them (The Loiiisiatia Piaiitcr, 

 November i', 19 IS.) 



GLEANINGS. 



A new tree, known as 'wild pimento', has recently been 

 discovered by the Government Rotanist, Mr. W. Harris, 

 F.L.S., in the icterior limestone mountains of Jamaica. It 

 grows to a height of 40 feet or more with a trunk 1 foot in 

 diameter. The leavts yield by distillation a very pleasan; 

 essential oil which is quite different from that of pimento or of 

 the West Indian bay tree. 



The report on the crops of As.~ain, for the year 

 1917- IH, by the director of the Department of Agricnlture,- 

 states that the area under cotton was estimated for the 

 season at .'M,0'.)1 acres against 32,290 acres in the previous 

 6£asijD. The people have extended their cultivation in cotton 

 on account of the hijih prices obtained. The cotton grown 

 in Afsam is usually .sold, curiously, as an adulterant of 

 wool. 



It is reported in the .Jamaica Gluitici, < )ctober 21, 

 191b, that there is a project of erecting machinery in that 

 island for the purpose of making bai.ana figs. If the support 

 •of the banana planters of the Itio Xuevo district could be 

 assured it would be likely that all small fruit which the 

 shipping companies do not handle would be disposed of 

 at a fair price. 



In the report of the Surgeon-General, British Guiana, 

 for the year 1917, it is noted that at the bakery of the 

 Lunatic Asylum in that colony special efforts were made to 

 use sub.stitutes for wheat flour, in view of the rapidly rising 

 price of this article and the possible ditiiculty of obtaining 

 any at all. l!oth rice Hour and cassava meal were found 

 <)uite .suitable for replacing fr<>in 2."> to 30 per cent, of wheat 

 flour in the bread. 



This year. Central Delicias, in the Griente Province of 

 Cuba, eetablished a world's record for sugar cane production 

 at a single mill, the crop having been 6irj,.S(iO bags of .sugar. 

 The previous record was held by Central Ghaparra in the 

 same province, and bi-longing tfi the same company .is Central 

 lielicias. this wa> GKi.HOO bags of sugar made during the 

 crop of 191.01G fThe Laiii^lana Vlo::lii Xovemlier !», 

 1918) 



The eilrac>:dinariiy liberal scale on which the American 

 CJovernnient subsidizes agricultural education and research is 

 «hown by the following figures which deserVc notice The 

 expenditure of the t'tiited Stales i»epartraent of .Agriculture 

 has risen from £234,00n in 1890 to upwards of .£.".,00<».000 

 in 1916, II figure which may be coDtra-stcd with the 

 i;.'!00 000 odd expended by the English lW)ard of Agriculture 

 in the luf.cv year ( V.///.'/--, Seplpmber 19. I'.MSj 



The banana industry, which is the mainstay of the 

 population in the Province of I.imon, Costa Paca, has been 

 decadent tor several years, chietiy on account of the spread 

 of the disea.se known as the "Panama banana disease'. The 

 reduction in the export of this fruit, owing to dt-creased 

 shippina facilities, has accentuated ecocomic distress in the 

 Province. Large numbers of IJritish West Indians are 

 leaving for Cuba and other parts where conditions are better 

 than they are at Limon. ( T'' il>-ii-,! nf TriH- /-v'".,/ 

 October 2-1, 1918.) 



An article in the U'ttKn J'usuir of the Department of 

 Trade and Commerce Canada. October 7. 1 918, points out 

 that in the five years, 1914-1>. the present production of cane 

 sugar has increased from 9.S.54.941 tons to 13,572,711 tons, 

 while the production of beet sugar has decreased from 

 t<,2 16,922 tons to 3,422,000 tons, making a decreased pro- 

 duction for the world's output of sugar of both kinds of over 

 2,00(),000 tons It is also noted that Cuba, with an output 

 of 3,350.000 tons of cane sugar in 191S produced one-fifth 

 of the total sugar output of the world. 



The /fVc/'/i Bulletin <A the Department of Trade and 

 Commerce, Canada, October 14, 191!?, draws attention to the 

 transformation of Mesopotamia under British occupation. 

 It is predicted that it will become one of the world's |,:reat 

 agricultural countries This years harvest !.« expected to be 

 the greatest in historic times, in spite of war conditions. 

 The British are reported to have dug out more than 100 

 canals, formerly u>ed for irrigation purposes in connexion 

 with the river Euphrates, "but disused for mai.y years. As 

 .\ result, some 320.000 crt-s have b. rn brought afresh under 

 cnltivation. 



the 



The prices of West Indian essential oils, as report 

 PcrfaineiY ciini llfseiifial Oil Rcuu-d, September 



rted Id 

 1918. 

 seem to be remunerative. Very littlH bay oil was 

 then on the marke', and tlie price had hardened to 22y. 

 per lb. With regard to lime oil, !.<■ to "is. Gd. was quoted 

 for West Indian distilled, and 16>. 6,/. to Us. (jrl. for hand- 

 pressed, ((range oil was c [noted at II. v. to 1 2.v. per lb. for 

 sweet Calabrian. while West Indian orange oil commanded 

 9v. to 9s. (ii/. per tt). I'or pimento oil 22.v. to 25.». per lb. was 

 wanted. 



The principal raisin-prodncing countries of the world are 

 Greece, t'alifornia, Turkey, Spain, and Australia. Greece 

 produces 60 per cent, of the total world production, almost 

 entirely in the shape of currants, and California comes next 

 with 22 per cent, of raisins. The California crop increased 

 from 4O,(»C0 to 128,000 tons (220 pe- cent.) between 1904 

 and 1915. During the same period the crop of Austr.ilia 

 increased 126 ])er f-ent., while that of Spain decreased 20 per 

 cent. The crops of Turkey and Greece were practically- 

 stationary. (Ihilletiii Xo. -'(>.'", University of Calif oinia 

 Publications./ 



