184 



THE AGIUCULTURAL NEWS. 



June 7, 1913. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Sarbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agnculiuntl 

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 the Department. 



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Slqricultiiral Mtm 



Vol. XII. SATURDAY. JUNE 7, 1913. No. 290. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Oontents of Present Issue. 



The theme involved in the editorial in this number 

 is the value of education as a means of contact 

 tetween the planter and the scientific specialist. 



On page ISO will be found an important article 

 containing information to show that the economic value 

 of gru-gru palm kernels is likely to prove as great as 

 that of oil-palm seeds. 



The final article on the subject of the preparation 

 of plantation Para rubber is continued on page 181. 



Infuriiatinn of practical value is given on page 

 18:{, in ati article entitled Problems in Propagation by 

 Cuttings. 



The concluding section to the series of articles on 

 root borers and other grubs in West Indian soils appears 

 in tabular form under Insect Notes, on page 18(j. 



L'nder the caption Veterinary Notes will be found 

 interesting inforniatiim connected with bovine tuber- 

 culosis in the West Indies, and the treatment of some 

 common diseases of po\iltry. 



Fungus Notes, which will be found on page 190, 

 •describe concisely the results of recent work in America 

 on the parasites belonging to the genus LJlomerella. 



Greenheart ia British Guiana 



The recent public.ii.ioii, by the United States For- 

 est Service, ot an excellerir, Bulletin on the oharairters 

 and utilization of th(; Greenheart tree {Neclandra, 

 rodiiti, Schoinb.) of British (iuiana, is a matter wbi.'h 

 )io>sesses .several points of significance that should be 

 ^utHciently obvious to make eniimeiation unnecessary. 

 '■ A great deal of intere.-tiiig information is contained 

 iu this iiullf-tirj: for instance, It is pointed out first thati 

 the e.xtraoniin iry freedom fiom decay is due in part to 

 I he presence in the wood of an alkoloid known as biber- 

 ine, and in part to the presence of resinous substances 

 known as tyloses, .^s might be expected, the black 

 variety of timber is the most durable on account of the 

 abundant development of tyloses to which the dark 

 colour testifies. 



Practical evidence of the durability of the wood is 

 evinced by the employment of greenheart in the con- 

 struction of the lock gates in the Manchester Ship 

 Canal, and recently, at Pananui. Wood used in the 

 gates of the Canada Dock, built in 18.5ti was employed 

 again in their reconstruction in 1894. Nansen's ship 

 The Fram. a.r)d the Antarctic ship. Discovery, were con- 

 structed of greenheart. 



As regards jihysical characters, greenheart has 

 a specific gravity of lOS to l"2:i or about 7.5 pounds per 

 cubic foot. (One cubic foot of water weighs t)2'42.5 lb.) 

 The wood has a crushing strength of 12,000 lb. 

 l)er .square inch, G.5 per cent, greater than that of Eng- 

 lish oak. One disadvantage of greenheart is that it 

 shows some tendency to split and cleave, and has to be 

 worked with great care. 



In refeninir to substitutes for greenheart, mention 

 is made in the Bulletin, of white cironaballi {Ncctan- 

 dra surinamensis, Mes.), to African greenheart (two 

 species of leguminous trees that grow on the West 

 Coast), to the Eist African greenheart ( Walburqin 

 ugandensis), to ironwood (Coiubrina ferruginosa, 

 Brongu.), and to various other trees in the West Indies. 

 None of these, however, occur to a large enough extent, 

 nor are sufficiently durable, to form a perfect substitute 

 for the greenheart of British Guiana. 



More Organic Soil Constituents 



It may be remembered that modern theories 

 concerning soil fertility were described at some length, 

 editorially, in the Agricultaral News, Vol. XI, Nos. 

 200 and 267, where reference was made to the well- 

 known investigations of the Bureau of Soils of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture on organic 

 soil constituents and their effect on fertility. In view 

 of the continuation of the work, the results obtained 

 may be brielly recapitulated. Whitney, Schreiner and 

 others having isolated a large number of complex 

 organic compounds from the soil, proceeded, by means 

 of water cultures, to test the effect of each upon the 

 growth of wheat seedlings. Some of these compounds, 

 for instance dihydroxystearic acid, were found to have 

 a distinctly deleterious action, whilst others, for example, 

 creatinine, were shown to be beneficial, the particular 



