Vol. XII. No. 292. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



n? 



British Universities and the West Indies. 



In connexion with the subject juat discussed, it 

 may be of interest to consider briefly such lines of 

 action as have already been taken by liritish Universi- 

 ties to further educational conditions in the \\ est 

 Indies. 



Previous to 1902, the Local Ivxaminationa Syndi- 

 cate of the University of Cambridge continued to 

 publish a syllabus for Agricultural Science and for 

 Botany adapted to meet the circumstances obtaining 

 only in temperate countries. During the above year-, 

 however, chietly on the strength of modifications 

 suggested by the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 a change was made, as is intimated in the following 

 extract from a letter received from the Secretary: 

 'The modifications in our schedide for Agricultural 

 Science (Seniors) suggested for centres in the West 

 Indies, have now been adopted by the Syndicate; and 

 I have to thank the Imperial Department of Agricul- 

 ture for the assistance which they have given us in 

 this matter.' (See AgricuUund News, Vol. I, pp. 27, 

 91 and 187.) 



Further evidence of the apjireciation, on the part 

 of British Universities, of the growing requirements of 

 the Tropics is afforded by the decision some years ago 

 of the University of London to extend its examinations 

 to the Colonies. Another case was the afiiliation of 

 Codrington College, Barbados, to the University of 

 Durham, and still another, the institution of special 

 examinations conducted at Queen's College, Demerara, 

 Haurison College, Barbados, and other schools by the 

 University of Cambridge. 



Facts like these show that a move has already 

 been made by British Universities for some years : it is 

 an acceleration of this movement, towards higher 

 agricultural education, that is the crying need. 



Notes on West Indian Oils. 



A great deal of useful information is contained in 

 the Semi- Annual Report for April 1913 on Essential 

 Oils published by Messrs. Schimmel & Co., of Miltitz 

 near Leipzig. 



The first point of interest is the reference to the 

 recent isolation of banana oil, constituting the odori- 

 ferous principle of that fruit. It is stated that during 

 the course of this investigation amylacetate was 

 proved to occur in ripe bananas. 



"^The next oil referred to is bay oil, and a long 

 abstract is given concerning the bay oil and bay rum 

 industry in the West Indies. It is said that the 

 qualities of the West India oil are still inferior to those 

 of oil distilled from leaves by perfume manufacturers 

 in Germany and elsewhere. A short note ap])ears next 

 in regard to the essential oil of cacao, which was 

 formerly considered to be identical, or associated with 

 cacao-red. This assumption, however, appears to be 

 quite erroneous, for cacao-red is an entirely odourless 

 body. 



Numerous West Indian lemon grass oils have 

 recently been examined, and these, also are reported on 

 in the publication under consideration. An interest- 

 ing point noted is that West Indian oils which had 

 originally contained from 78 to 80 per cent, of citral, 

 showed after .some yeais' keeping, a drop of from 

 -!■ to -J per cent. 



Some months ago an enquiry was made at the 

 Head Office of the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 concerning the supplies of West Indian sandalwood for 

 distilling purposes, in this connexion it is of interest 

 to note that the trade in West Indian sandalwood oil 

 has ijrofited from the advance in jiast Indian oil, to the 

 extent that sales have been brisker because the West} 

 Indian oil plays a considerable part in the cheapening 

 of the East Imlian article. Messrs. Schimmel «.^ Co. 

 state that they have lately again made contracts for 

 large parcels of the West Indian article. 



The last note of interest in this useful report is 

 one on vanillin. It is stated that the raw material has 

 recently become dearer and that few manufiicturers 

 derive any particular satisfaction from trading in this 

 article. An interesting discovery bearing on the 

 subject of vanillin, is the detection of the presence of 

 this oil in the fiowers of CymnMlcnia alhida, Rich. 

 (N. O. Orchldaceae). The flowers have a pronounced 

 odour of vanilla, which was extracted from an ointment- 

 like substance of most exquisite aroma left behind 

 after the ilowers had been treated with alcohol and 

 ether, and the solution dried after precipitating it with 

 sugar of lead. 



Varieties of Soy Beans in Bengal. 



The general conclusions reached by Messrs. 

 Woodhouse and Taylor, in India on the commercial 

 possibilities of Bensral varieties of soy beans appear at 

 the end of Vol. V, No. 3, of the Meinoirs of tli.e Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in India. It is stated that the 

 objection raised against the cultivation of this crop in 

 the plains of Bengal are by no means unsurmountable. 

 The price of soy bean meal is increasing and the use of 

 soy beans for food could be extended if the educated 

 classes appreciated its value as an addition to a rice 

 diet. 



As a field crop, in the plains, it can suitably replace 

 Urd {Pliascolus tnungo) as a mixed crop with mmze, 

 in which oase the mai^e must be harvested in 

 September and the soy beans in Dec-mber. It could 

 also take the place of the Kulphi (Dolichos bi/iora). 



It appears that soy beans find more suitable 

 conditions for growth, in India, in the hills, than in 

 the plains, and it is expected that success in 

 acclimatizing soy beans will not extend, at present, far 

 beyond the foot of the Himalayas. In the West 

 Indies the soy bean has not proved a success, and 

 would not appear to be able to thrive vigorously under 

 strictly tropical conditions. 



The question of variety, however, is an important 

 one, and the fact that the Bengal strains take .'^ome 

 200 days to mature, as compared with 1.50 days in the 

 case of American varieties, would appear to make thei 

 trial in the West Indies at least interesting 



