120 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



April 12, 1913. 



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G 



^gruultural Driui) 



Vol. XII. SATURDAY. APRIL 12, 191.3. No. 2Se.. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



■<Dontents of Present Issue. 



The editoinal in this number deals with the subject 

 of The Improvement of West Indian Pastures. The 

 Btnatter is dealt with from the point of view of the 

 productive powers and hygienic characters of grass 

 3and. 



On page 117 appears an article concerning the 

 jprodtiction of hydrocyanic acid in plants and seeds. 



Under the caption Book Shelf, on page 119, will 

 1)8 found a review of West Indian Tales of Old and of 

 a Handbook of Trinidad and Tobago. 



The subject of root borers and other grubs in West 

 Indian soils is continued from the last isstie of the 

 Agricultural News under Insect Notes, on page 122. 



Recent results in connexion with soil sickness and 

 partial sterilization are abstracted on page 12:5. 



The Fungus Notes, on page 126, describe the 



present position in regard to the parasitology of the 



red rot fungus of the sugar-cane. Results obtained 



recently in the West Indies will be given in the 



■ succeeding issue of this journal. 



Osmosis in Soilsv. 



Hitherto the mbveraents of water in ihe soil have 

 been at.tnbuteil to gravitation, caj>ill.iiy action and 

 heat. To these must now be a'ided osmotic pressure. 

 Two abstracts in iheJowrani of the Chemical Society 

 (February 191:5) oniain the results of recent work oa 

 soil osmosis by Hynde and Bates. The chief experi- 

 ments consisted in determining the rise of water in 

 clay c lis of varying thicknesses fitted with capillary 

 tubes. The pre-deterniined capillary rise of each 

 solution was deducted from the total rise, the remainder 

 being the osmotic rise. The osmotic pressures obtained 

 with the thickest layers of clay were the highest, but) 

 the concentrations of the soil solutions were also 

 highest in these cases. It is calculated that about 

 two metres thickness of clay would be a perfect; 

 semi-permeable membrane. In all cases the osmotic 

 rise at .36 -5' was somewhat higher than at 167 C. 



It is suggested that osmotic effects pky an 

 important part in agricultural operations, particularly 

 on heavy clay subsoils. Tillage, drainage, manuring 

 and mulching, by favouring bacterial action, increase 

 the proportion of soluble matter in the soil, and there- 

 tore the amount of moisture which is raised osmotically 

 through the subsoil. The same effect may be brought 

 about by the addition of mineral fertilizers and such 

 substances as gypsum and talt which are not directly 

 plant foods. 



The third and concluding article on Wattle Bark 

 is presented on page 127. 



The Trade of Dominica. 



At a recent meeting of the Legislative Council of 

 Dominica, His Honour the Administrator, in the course 

 of an address. Congratulated the Council on the steady 

 progress made by Dominica during the past ten years. 



He said the returns that had been furnished 

 him showed that the total local trade of the island for 

 the year 1912 was valued at .£291,.S.>() (£148,977 for 

 imports and £142,:57:i for exj)orts) compared with 

 £243,241 (£142,.).36 for imports and £1(M),70.5 for 

 exports) for the year 1911, and .£177, -542, the annii.il 

 average total for the previous ten years. 



The lime crop for the year 1912, as shown by the 

 export returns, was cahulated at -370,000 barrels, and 

 would be the largest yet realized. Fvidence of the steady 

 growth of this staple industry was furnished by tiie 

 fact that the lime crop of the island had doubled in 

 ten years. For the three years 1903-5, the lime 

 crop had represented an annual average of 172,000 

 barrels. I'or the next three years, 1906-8, the 

 annual average crop had been 2(1'!, 000 barrels, and for 

 the three years 1909-11 the average crop had been 

 33(;,000 barrels. The value of the lime products of 

 the island exported during the year 1912 was given at 

 £9<),673, compared with £7.3,88:5 fur the previous year, 

 and £53,841 the annual average for the ten years 

 1901-10. 



( )f the other exports of the pRMluce and manufac- 

 ture of the island for the year 1912, cacao was valued 

 at £26,327 (an increase of £4,624 on the previous year); 

 lumber at .£11,488, and coco-nuts at £1,12.5. 



