360 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November 8, 1913. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 apecimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 (jommissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 'the Department. 



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 57, Soho Square, W. The complete list of Agents 

 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



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Agricultural "^tm 



Vol. XII. SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 8, 1913. No. 301. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



■Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number deals with the inter- 

 esting subject of the variability of rainfall. A study 

 of statistics has shown that the mean of the yearly 

 rainfalls, extending over a period of from thirty to 

 forty years, is nearly constant, whatever period of 

 thirty to forty years be taken. 



Some of the chemical problems of the rubber 

 industry will be found discussed on page 3-5.5. 



Under the heading Fruit and Fruit Trees will be 

 found information concerning the manuring of coffee 

 in relation to the composition of its berry, and a large 

 number of details concerning ripe vanilla pods. 



On page 357 appears an article on dual-purpose 

 cattle in Jamaica. 



Motor ploughing in St. Croix, D.W.I., receives 

 Attention on page :{.")9. 



Insect Notes, on page 362, constitute a continu- 

 ation of the article in the last issue of the Agricultural 

 News dealing with an entomological visit to the United 

 States. 



Fungus Notes, on page 366, include an article 

 entitled Infectious (Jummosis of Citrus Trees. 



West Indian Bulletin. 



The issue of^ihe above journal (Vol. XIII, No. 4), 

 which has just been distributed, contains articles dealing 

 with a variety of subjects of very general scientific 

 interest. 



A forestry paper, by Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G., 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture, gives an inter- 

 esting general account of the forestry conditions 

 obtaining in the Windward and Leeward Islands, and 

 puts on record important facts and suggestions concern- 

 ing legislation, and the significance of forestry conditions 

 in relation to the conservation of rainfall. 



The paperdiealing with the stomatal characteristics 

 of varieties of sugar-cane, by W. R. Dunlop, Scientific 

 Assistant on the Staff of the Imperial Department, 

 claims to show that certain varieties of sugar- cane 

 possess differentiating characteristics as regards the 

 leaf pores through which the plant breathes, and thafi 

 the curling of the leaf — which varies for different varie- 

 ties — is probably an important regulating mechanism. 

 It is suggested that the actual economic value of these 

 differences might usefully be investigated in the course 

 of the selection of new seedling varieties, when it might 

 be possible to evolve drought- resisting canes. 



The subject of syrup manufacture is dealt with 

 by H. A. Tempany, B.Sc, F.I.C., Superintendent of 

 Agriculture for the Leeward Islands. This paper, 

 which deals in a very comprehensive way with one of 

 the burning questions of the sugar industry, appeared 

 some time ago in a less elaborated form in the Agri- 

 cultural News. It now includes analyses of different 

 syrups, discusses the question of liming and other mat- 

 ters, and provides information in connexion with various 

 economic aspects of the subject. 



The paper on Insect Pests and Diseases in the 

 West Indies during 1912, written by the Entomologist 

 on the Staff of the Imperial Department (H. A. Ballou, 

 M.Sc), is constructed on similar lines to previous 

 reports that have been published in the West Indian 

 Bulletin, except that the present paper has been 

 extended to include notes on special features of 

 interest in connexion with the prevalence of plant 

 ailments — an innovation which lends a more lively 

 interest to the important observations recorded in 

 tabular form. 



The subject of cotton in Grenada, which is dealt) 

 with by G. G. Auchinleck, B.Sc, F.C.S., Superintendent 

 of Agriculture, Grenada, provides a historical account 

 of the industry and discusses very fully the factors 

 which have militated against the successful cultiva- 

 tion of this riup in many localities of the island. 



The paper on the Tuberculin Test in the West 

 Indies, by P. T. Saunders, M.R.C.V.S., Veterinary 

 Officer to the Imperial Department, describes, as the 

 title implies, the application of the test and the extent 

 to which it has disclosed the existence of tuberculosis 

 in certain localities. 



On page 367, nix article deals with a subject of 

 great local importance, particularly in the Leeward 

 Islands. 



A Plea for Citrus Cultivation. 



The full title of the paper to which the above 

 heading refers, is, A Plea for Citrus Cultivation ia 

 St. Lucia. It ia written by A. J. Brooks, F.C.S., Assis- 

 tant Agricultural Superintendent, St. Lucia, and 



