44 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



February 1, 1913. 



-'^fV 







GLEANINGS. 



A Law of St. Lucia, entitled An Ordinance to Regulate 

 the Importation of Bees (Xo. 8 of 1912) was gazetted as 

 having come into force, on Decen.ber 7, 1912. 



.\ note in the International Sugar Journal for Decem- 

 ber 1912, states that the exports of sugar from Peru in 1909 

 amounted to 12.5,3.51 tons, value £1,1. ")9, 899. Most cf this 

 sugar went to Chile, while the LTnited Kingdom was the 

 second largest customer. 



Information has been received from the Curator of the 

 Botanic Station, Montserrat, to the effect that the continued 

 rain has maintained thp growth of the cotcon crop and the 

 fields have Howered again profusely. The total crop for the 

 present year promises to be higher than was anticipated. 



Serious damage to the lime nurseries in St. Lucia was 

 caused by the heavy rains that fell on December 7. Special 

 efforts are being made to resow lime seeds and .save the 

 seedlings not beyond recovery. It will be remembered that 

 similar damage was occasioned by the October flood mentioned 

 in the Agricultural News, November 23, 1912. 



A consular report has been issued in Belgium which 

 draws attention to the fact that the consumption of 

 cotton by Russia amounts to about 400,000 tons yearly. 

 The I'lUssian Government is making s^pecial eHbrts to [irotect 

 cotton production in that country and to encourage it, so that 

 the importations from abroad may be lessened as much as 

 possible. 



Among the improved weighing machinery exhibited bj- 

 Messrs. Avery, Ltd , at the recent Smithfield Cattle Show, was 

 a scale for the weighing in or weighing out of goods, having 

 a printing arrangement attached by means of which the 

 weight is indelibly printed on a ticket at the time of weigh 

 ing, so that the likelihood of disputes between the buyer and 

 seller is lessened. 



The British Vice Consul at Ensenada, Lower California, 

 reports favourably on the possibilities for cotton-growing in 

 Southern California and the adjacent province of iMexico. 

 It is .stated that under irrigation, which is now provided, the 

 area is supposed to be able to produce about .500,000 tons of 

 high-class cotton in each year. Mention is also made of 

 another district to the south which is three times as big, 

 and may probably eventually produce a large amount of 

 the crop. 



The Board of Trade Journal for December 19, 1912, 

 states that the value of the rice exported from Siam in 

 1911-12 was £1,989,458, which is lower than in any year 

 since 190.5-6. The quantity was 627,467 tons, and this was 

 lower than the amount in any year since 1903-4. When 

 compared with those of 1910-11, the figures show a decrease 

 of 4 19,459 tons and £1,970.534. 



A communication received from the High Commissioner 

 in England for the Commonwealth of Australia states that, 

 with a view to preventing the introduction of foot and mouth 

 disease, 'a recent proclamation of the Federal Executive 

 Council prohibits the absolute introduction of hay and straw 

 for fodder purposes into Australia. Formerly hay and straw 

 could be introduced into Australia under a special license.' 



In a short note in the Erpiriment Station Record for 

 July 1912, mention is made of investigations that have led to 

 the conclusion that the commercial preparation known in 

 England as Raticide, and in America as Azoa, cannot be 

 recommended for destroying rats This is in accordance with 

 other experience with special preparations for rat destruction 

 that has been given attention from time to time in the 

 A'irindtural Ntivs. 



It is stated in Peru To-dai/, for December 1912 that 

 certain beetles resembling the hard back beetle, which are 

 found in great quantities near Quito, are toasted by the 

 natives and eaten as a delicacy. They are also .sold in the 

 streets just as nuts would be. The taste is said to be very 

 much like toasted bread with no particular flavour. This 

 custom is analogous to the practice of .some of the natives of 

 British Guiana, of consuming the gru-gru worm. 



Extensive field trials have been carried out recently by 

 the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for 

 Ireland to test the yielding capacities and quality of certain 

 French and Danish varieties of wheat. The work, which 

 was carried out in a very thorough manner, showed that 

 during 1911-12, the Danish v.iriety Queen Wilhelmina, gave 

 the best results, and it is recommended for the attention of 

 Irish wheat growers. 



Aluminium nitride has l>een referred to already in this 

 journal (At/riru/iin-al Sews, Vol. IX, p. 188) as a possible 

 manure. In Emjrais, 1912, p. 577, a discussion is given of 

 the production of this substance as a practical means of fixing 

 the nitrogen of the air. It is indicated that aluminium 

 nitride may becomn useful in agriculture r-.| account of the 

 facts that it contairs about one-third of its \.cii:ht of nitrogen 

 and that it can be produced fairly cheaply. 



The Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, has issued 

 recently Bulletin 29, which contains directions for the cultiva- 

 tion of Eri silk. It is stated in the preface that the Bulletin 

 is written to provide rearers and intending rearers of Eri 

 silkworms with a brief practical manual on the subject. 

 A more detailed ar...ount is to be found in the .Memoir on Eri 

 Silk published as Part I of Volume I\' of the series of entomo- 

 logical memoirs issued by the Department of Agriculture in 

 India; and those v :o require fuller details are referred to this 

 work. 



