201 



THE AGRICULTUKA.L NEWS. 



Jlkk 21, 1913. 



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GLEANINGS. 



The first edition of the prospectus for the Fourth Inter- 

 national Tiubber and Allied Industries Exhibition (19 1 -t) h.as 

 recently been received at this ottice. 



The fibre plant, Cdlotrupis proi-tra, on u of the Asclepia- 

 deae, called sometimes in the West Indies, French cotton, has 

 bsen found to contain the attive principle called calotropin, 

 which belong.s to the drugs that acton the heart like digitalis. 

 (From the- Jnumal of tlie Clii-iiticdl. .Sin-ien/, April 1913.) 



The attention of planters and others may be directed to 

 the Annual Keport on the Peter's Hall .Medical District, 

 3)emeraia, for the year 1911-12. It has recently been 

 published in the form of a Circular in the Ojlin'iil Gaiette^ 

 of the various C'olonial Governments. 



It is stated in the Louidarui Planter Sot April 19, 

 1913, that a certain organization in Germany is planning to 

 Lave a course of study for sugar factory managers and .super- 

 intendents. During the summer months, special lectures 

 will be delivered on the economics of the sugar industry. 



It is stated in A>ijjtoiiniti': und Consular Jiejifirls, 

 No. 5060 — Annual Series, that in connexion with the trade 

 and commerce of St. Pierre and Miquelon, it is interesting to 

 note that a considerable quantity of flour, tinned provisions 

 and West Indian rum is imported from Halifax, Nova 

 Scotia. 



A recent press bulletin of the Hawaii Agricultural 

 Jlxperiment Station advocates the manufacture of silage for 

 atock feeding purposes in that territory. Among the crops 

 that are lecommended for use are the following: maize, cane 

 tops, sorghum, marsh rice, velvet beans, s«y bean.s and 

 cowpeas. 



According t(p '/'/n JJoard <;/' Trade .fvnrnal for May t^, 

 1913, the quantity of rubber exported from Para, Manaos, 

 Iquitos and Itacoatiara during the first quarter wf 1913 was, 

 to the United states, .^,0S3,8i^2 kilos.; to Europe, 8,41.5, !(;?< 

 kilos., makins; a total of U.129 0.5(> kilos. (1 kilo,^ 

 i-2046 th..) 



Information has been received from the Curator of the 

 Botanic Station, Antigua, to the effect that the young cane 

 crop in that island is decidedly healthy, and more promising 

 in appearance than it has been, at this time, for some years. 

 The demand for lime and coconut plants in Antigua is small 

 compared with that of last year, though several lime nurseries- 

 are laid out in various parts of the island. 



The result of the Trinidad cacao i)rize com[)etition is 

 given in the I'lniof-Sj'uin (!a:die. for May 28, 1913. These 

 competitions appear lobe a succ.ssful mean* i^f improving the 

 cacao cultivati<in of the Trinidad pea.fanlry. Already forty- 

 three prize.* of a total value of .*1,631 have been awarded to 

 .-icrrssfnl rompetitors The hii,'he.~t [iri/e was .^911. 



It i3 5.tated In' the Curator of the Botanic Gardens^ 

 Dominica, that the Easter cacao crop in that i.-.land is now 

 over and that, as regards limes, the outlook is promising. 

 Green limes are selling at 10.<. to 12.<, unpacked. During 

 the month of May the following plants were distributed from, 

 the gardens: limes, 5,268; Para rubber, 100; Viudded citrus, 

 22; grafted mangoes; 8; miscellaneous, 12; making a total of 

 5,410. 



An interesting account is given in the (lardtner'^ 

 Chronicle for May 17 of the digestive juices of i)lants. It 

 is pointed out that any of these enzymes arc much more 

 powerful than those of anini;d origin. Thus a mixture of 

 diastatic and proteolitic enzymes, which may be obtained 

 easily from the latex of the fig {Fints Coriri) has beea 

 shown to act on proteins twice as vigorously as the ferment 

 which occurs in the intestines of animals. 



An interesting comparison of sugar production in 

 Louisiana and Cuba is made in the Aini-rk-xn Swiar 

 Iiidiistri/ for May 1913 An average of five years' figures 

 shows that in Louisiana, IGI'9 lb. of sugar goes to the ton 

 of cane, as against 2293 lb. to the ton in Cuba— a differ- 

 ence of 6T'4 Mb. in favour of Cuba. The extraction was 

 16 per cent, in Cuba as c<imi)ared with 1D5 per cent. ir. 

 Louisiana, 



I>n regard to the influence of potash on the elaboration 

 and degradation of carbokydrates in the higher plants, it is- 

 stated in the International l!>iiijar Journal for Maj' 1913,. 

 that an investigation has shown that potash is indispensable 

 for the elaboration of carbohydrates, for the process of 

 physiological combustion, fer the transition of substance in 

 the chlorophyll containing and chlorophyll free cells. Thi» 

 fact is interesting, in view of the circumstance that large 

 amounts of potash have not been found necessary ior the 

 production of sugar by the sugarcane. 



Notice of .Judgment No. 21611 of the I'nited States- 

 De[)artnient of Agriculture concerns a case of adulteratioi*- 

 and misbranding of Jamaica ginger. The product was 

 labelled: concentrated essence of Jamaica ginger. Analysis 

 of a sample of the product by the Bureau of Chemistry 

 showed the following results: specific gravity at 155°C. 

 0-8890: non-volatile solids, grammes per 100 c.c. 0'969; ash, 

 grammes per 10<l c.c 123;alcoliol by volume, 674 per cent.; 

 La Wall's test for capsicum, positive; Nelson's teat for capsi- 

 cum, positive: Seeker's test for ginger, positive; caramel, nojie. 

 Adulteration and niLsbrauding of the product were alleged in 

 view of the fact that an appreciable quantity of capsicum had 

 Vicen substituted for Jaraaioa ginger, and because of the 

 presence of (i04 per cent, of alcohol, the proportion t>f 

 which was not declared on the label. 



