392 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 6, 1913. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the AgentS; and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Agents: Advocate Co., Ltd., Broad St., 

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 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 28. 2d. Post free, is. id. 



glgricultural ^xm 



Vol. XII. SATURDAY. DECEMBER C, 1913. No. 303. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In this number the editorial deals with the law of 

 diminishing return in its application to the extension of 

 cultivated areas, the commercial investment of capital, 

 and scientific investigation. 



Lime Cultivation in the West Indies. 



It is gratifying to be able to state without qualifi- 

 cation that Pamphlet No. 72 has received a very wide 

 and favourable reception. By referring to the cover of 

 this issue of uhe Agricultural Nnrs the reader will rind 

 full evidence in support of this statement in the form 

 of extracts from notices that have recentl}- appeared in 

 leading technical journals, and in West Indian news- 

 papers published in those Colonies where a lime 

 industry is already established or where doing so is in 

 conteinpl."t.iiin. 



There are two industries which ha\ e one great 

 point in common, and they are the lime growiiig and 

 the sugar industries. Each has its rival. The lime 

 must Compete with the lemon, and the sugar-cane has 

 to contend with the beet. Cacao, coffee, rubber, rice and 

 tea are to a large extent, free in this respect. Hence 

 in the production of lime and sugarcane products, 

 economy is of first importance; and just as in the case 

 of sugar-cane cultivation and manufacture, improved 

 methods are continually being introduced, so must this 

 take place also in connexion with lime growing and the 

 manufacture of lime products. At present high prices 

 prevail. Should there, with increased supply, occur 

 a tendency for prices to fall, the importance of economy 

 in production will be manifest at once. The necessity 

 for new markets and new uses will become urgent also. 



Pamphlet No. 72 shows that the production of 

 lime products is an industry, and an industry involving 

 a knowledge of techique based on biology, chemistry, 

 engineering and economics, having, as already intimated, 

 its parallel in the sugar industry. But the pamphlet 

 by no means says the last word on the subject. 



Under the caption Departmental Reports, on page 

 387, a review will be found of the work of the 

 Agricultural Department, (Irenada, for 1912-1.3. 



A suggestive article dealing with the effect of 

 different light intensities upon the growth of plants 

 will be found on page 3<S.S. 



On page 389 there appears a summary of sugar- 

 cane experiments in Barbados, 1911-13. 



The British Cotton Crowing Association's efforts 

 to establish a cotton-growing industry in Australia are 

 dealt with on page 390. 



A very interesting notice of agricultural and 

 industrial conditions in the Dutch West Indies appears 

 on the opposite page. 



Insect Notes, on page 394, comprise a continuation 

 of the article which .appeared in the last issue of this 

 journal on insect pests at St. Croix. 



l\[yeological investigations in Florida are dealt 

 with under Fungus Notes, on page 398. 



India and Agricultural Research. 



The issue of the Agricultural Journal oflmlia for 

 October 1913 contains a reply to a review of 3Ir. W. 

 Lawrence Ball's book The Cotton Plant in Egypt — 

 Studies in Physiology and Genetics. This review was 

 dealt with editorially in the Agricultural Xeivs some 

 months ago, just after its appearance, and readers who 

 are interested in the discussion should refer to this 

 leading article. 



The reply under consideration deal.s with the 

 opinions expressed in the review with regard to their 

 bearing upon official agricultural policy in India. The 

 writer of the reply quotes the following passage from the 

 review: ' "the large amount of work here recorded [refer- 

 ring to Balls' book] does not appear to be of any imme- 

 diate economic importance. .^Ioreover it maybe sug- 

 gested that even from the scientific point of view the 

 expenrliture of time even by an official of an Agricultural 

 Department on such work is a mistake". This can 

 only mean [continues the writer of the reply] that in 

 the publication work of our own [the Indian] Depart- 

 ment for instance, no work which is not of direct 

 economic importance should appear, and no officer of 

 the Department should take up any piece of work 

 unless he can, practically speaking, guarantee that it 

 will lead to some commercially profitable result'. 



