Vol. XII. Xo. 289. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



1G9 



Agricultural Progress in British Guiana. 



A copy of the agenda of a meeiing"of the Board 

 of Agriculture of British (iuiana on May 7, 1913, 

 together with a siiniiiiary of the proceedings contained 

 in the Daily Argosy of the same date, has just been 

 received from the Secretary of the Board. ^ 



Interesting facts are contained in this communi- 

 cation concerning thp census of agricultural industries 

 in British Guiana for 1912- 1 M. In some respects it is 

 to be feared that the returns show a serious falling off. 

 There was nevertheless a large increase in the area under 

 rice, 41,100 acres being under this cultivation as against 

 ;^6,000 acres for the pre\ ious year. Coco-nuts, which had 

 increased in round figures by 2,000, were now 1-1,000 

 acres, (^xcao showed a falling off of some 300 acres. As 

 regards rubber, the return was 3,000 acres, showing an 

 increase of practically SOO acres. Limes now worked 

 out at 739 acres as against 658, for the previous year. 

 Oround provisions remained stationary at 18,000 acres. 



Serious reductions have occurred in the number of 

 live stock. There was a reported decrease of 15,000 

 head, though the figures sent in are said to need 

 confirmation before being taken too literally. 



A Handbook of Queensland. 



Interesting and reliable agricultural information is 

 contained in the recent publication having the above 

 title, compiled by Mr. W. B. Baton, M.A., and issued by 

 the Emmigrants' Information OfHce, London. 



The section dealing with the agricultural industries 

 in Queensland, which are to a large extent tropical, gives 

 statistics showing that the area under sugar-cane and 

 maize are respectively 130,37(i and 153,916 acres. 

 The State and Experimental Farms situated near Bris- 

 bane and the (^)ueensland Agricultural College are insti- 

 tutions for research and education. The cultivation of 

 land is stimulated in Queensland by the Agricultural 

 Banks Act (Consolidated) 1911, bv which the (govern- 

 ment is authorized to establish and maintain an agri- 

 cultural bank to make advances to farmers for improving 

 their farms. Sugar land may be obtained at the rate 

 of £2 to £6 per acre. To clear and cultivate uncleared 

 sugar land in <^)ueensland a capital of £G to £8 is 

 required. The canes mature usually in twelve months 

 after planting. 



After providing information on the different tropi- 

 cal crops other than sugar-cane grown in Queensland, 

 which include rice, cotton, pine-apple^, coffee and bananas, 

 the publication deals in an interesting manner with the 

 labour conditions, describing the employment of vvhite 

 labour in sugar cultivation and the occasional employ- 

 ment of the South Sea Islanders. From .January 1, 

 1907, to January 1, 1913, a bonus was given by 

 the Commonwealth (iovernment on sugar-cane grown 

 by white labour only, of (is. per ton calculated 

 on cane giving 10 per cent, of sugar, and 60s. 

 per ton on the sugar-giving contents of beet. By 

 ^\o. 20 of the Coniuionwealth .Acts of 1912, the Sugar 

 Bounty Act 1905-12 is repeakil. 



Lime Juice and Scurvy. 



The most notable example of the effect of certain 

 substances existing in food in only minute traces is 

 afforded by the investigations that have led to the 

 discovery of the cause of beri-beri. \'olume IX of the 

 Annual Reports of the Chemical Society (1912) con- 

 tains a review of this work, where the well-known fact 

 is referred to, that the disease is prevalent among rice- 

 eating communities in which decorticated or polished 

 rice is consumed. Whole rice does not induce the 

 disease. The substance inhibiting beri-beri has been 

 extracted from rice husks by water or alcohol, and an 

 alkaloid has been isolated to which the name of oryzanin 

 is gi\en. Small quantities of this substance keep 

 animals free from the disease. 



More recently, in the Journal of the Chemical 

 Society for March 1913, an investigation along similar 

 lines is referred to, which has brought to light the fact 

 that lime juice contains an anti-iieuritic substance which 

 is probably a specific cure for scurvy. The investiga- 

 tion was hampered by the guinea pigs experimented on 

 refusing to take oats — a diet which leads to scurvy in 

 these animals. Several new nitrogenous compounds 

 wei'e isolated from the lime juice, however, and a con- 

 tinuation of the investigation will in all probability 

 lead to the recognition of lime juice as a valuable 

 source of anti-scorbutic substances. 



Feeding Value of Cacao Husks. 



An article in the Journal d' Agriculture Tropicale 

 for January, 1913, deals with the results that have 

 recently been obtained in regard to the nutritive value 

 of cacao husks fed to milch cows. 



According to chemical analysis, 2 ft. of cacao is 

 equivalent in feeding value to IJlb. of bran, and this 

 proportion was employed in the experiments. The 

 price of the bran u.sed was about twice that of the cacao 

 husks. 



The trial was conducted with twenty cows over 

 a period of four months At the commencement, about 

 -1 ft. of husk per cow per day was added to the basal 

 ration, but after the quantity had been increased to 

 about 7 ft)., considerable difficulty was experienced in 

 getting the animals to consume it. They became more 

 rlifticult to milk. After a few days the yield of milk 

 became lower by 7 to 8 per cent., and in one case it 

 dioiipeil to 20 per cent, of the normal quantity. 

 On the other hand, the feeding of the husks increased 

 the percentage of fat in the milk, so that the total 

 fat content of the milk produced by the two foods 

 was apuroximately the same. 



Reference is made in the article to Italian work 

 on the same subject carried out with slightly fermented 

 cacao husks. The results of these experiments showed 

 that the husks were of very considerable value as a food, 

 and it is thought that the fermentation may remove 

 certain astringent substances which are normally pre- 

 sent in the untreated material. 



