380 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



November 22, 1913. 



With reference to the article on dual-purpose cattle in 

 Jamaica, in the last issue of the Agrictdtural ycicx, it may 

 interest readers to learn that the lied Poll breed has also 

 been found to answer dual-purposes in Victoria. (See the 

 .lournal of Depart imnVoj A'jiiculture oj Victoria, September 

 1913.) 



GLEANINGS. 



During October the weather was very wet in St. Vincent. 

 Sakellarides cotton was badly attacked by the angular leaf 

 spot disease. 



Some few acres of cotton were planted during September 

 in the Virgin Islands, but owing to continued dry weather 

 the peasants have in general delayed planting. 



A meeting was held at Sauteurs in Grenada during 

 October, at which it was resolved that a branch agricultural 

 society should l)e formed in St. Patrick's parish. 



In St. Kitts-Nevjs the condition of the cotton and 

 sugar cane crops has greatly improved since the receipt of 

 rain. The cotton crops in both islands appear to promise 

 extremely well. 



In Dominica the main lime crop was practically finished 

 by the end of October. A very fair second crop is expected 

 during I )ecember and January. The cacao crop is now 

 commencing. 



It is stated in The Field {Ocioh^r 4, 191.3) that in 

 certain parts of Ireland on the sea coast where fodder is 

 scarce, the cows eat seaweed readily and appear to like it, 

 although the quality of the milk is not improved on this diet. 



A feature of the tea industry in As.sam is the large 

 amount of .seed that is exported. One planter in Darrang is 

 reported in the Jimmal of the Royal Society of Art^, 

 October 10, 1913 to have exported 100 maunds of seed to 

 Java last year. 



Amongst the autumn lectures given at the New York 



Botanical Garden are two on Tropical Vegetable Foods by 



Dr, H. H. Itusby and the Uses and Characteristics of Palms 



by Dr. N. O. Britton, respectively. {Journal oj the New 



York Botanical dardni, September 1913.) 



The Louisiana Planter (October 4, 1913) refers to D.74 

 -as a godsend to Demerara. This cane not only grows more 

 tonnage per acre with a richer juice, but it is more resistant 

 to cold and disease and insects and more suitable for syrup 

 making than any other variety. 



An instructive Bulletin (No. 82 — Forest Service) 

 entitled The Protection of Forests from Fire, has been 

 received from the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 It contains interesting illustrations showing the damage 

 done by and the methods of preventing and fighting forest 

 conflagrations. 



The Turkestan and Trans- Cauca.sian cotton harvest at 

 the commencement of September 1913 was more satisfactory 

 than in previous years. As in past years the cotton 

 cultivated in Turkestan has in most districts been chiefly, 

 in some cases entirely, grown from American seed. {Tli^ 

 Board of Trade Journal, October 16, 1913.) 



According to the Planteri Chronicle (September 20, 

 1913) the total area of Ceylon is 25,331; scjuare miles and 

 the population 4,106,350. In 1911, 1,359 acres were 

 planted with coffee, 457,277 acres with tea and 184,551 

 acres with rubber. There are 7,592 Europeans in the island 

 and of Indian families 301,400 men and 229,583 women. 



Cotton cultivation is increasing in Siam. The growers 

 are chiefly Chinese. Most of the cotton reaches I'.angkok in 

 an unginned state, hence the recent erection of a ginning 

 plant and press will enable the cultivators to retain valuable 

 seed which at present is largely lost. Freight charges will, 

 of course, also be saved. (The Board if Trade Journal, 

 October 9, 1913.) 



An interesting report on copal from Mozambique appears 

 in the Agricultural Journal oT the Coiapanhia de Mmam- 

 hi'iue (September 1912). The tree from which the copal is ob- 

 tained has been identified at Kew as Coparijera Gorskinna, 

 Benth. There appears to be a good demand in London for 

 this class of resin, which should be readily saleable if 

 properly cleaned and graded. 



A notice appears in the Uganda Goi-emment 6''(:t7<e (Sep- 

 tember 15, 1913) to the effect that tht' Agricultural Depart- 

 ment in that Protectorate has for sale locally a large quantity 

 of seeds and seedlings of ornamental fruit md timber trees, 

 Krythriiia acelsa is recommended for shading cacao and as 

 a green manure; Machdia Champaia is recommended as 

 very suitable for wind-breaks and timber. This tree attiiins 

 height of about 20 feet in three years. 



In connexion with the 'Demerara' sugar question, the 

 International Sugar Journal says that Demerara should get 

 the law established so that only sugar manufactured in 

 British (Juiana shall henceforth be classed as Demerara 

 It does not sympathize with the 'dyed imitation' accusation, 

 especially when the imitation is a colonial product of probably 

 equal quality. 



