310 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Sectembee 27, 1913. 



SOIL INVESTIGATIONS 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date September .S, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



About 120 bales of West Indian Sea Islands have been 

 sold since our last report, chieflj* second quality Nevis, Mont- 

 serrat, St. Kitts and St. Croix at Ibd. to 16 id., and a few 

 liarbados at 18rf. Prices are steady. 



The report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending August 2:5, is as follows: — 



We have only to renew our last quotations in the absence 

 of any sales. 



We quote, 

 Extra Fine 28c. to 29c. = IM. to 16id. c.i.f., & 5 per cent. 

 Fully Fine 26c. to 27c. = U^rf. to IS^rf. „ „ „ 

 Fine 25c. = 14-^cf. „ „ „ 



?^*^^^'°^."*^l24c.to26c. = 13id.tol4U„ „ „ „ 

 in preparation i -^ - " " 



Fully Fine off \o2(. = 12W 



in preparation j "" ' - ' d » . •> 



Fine off in \^q = lUrf 



preparation J 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool, 

 Manchester and Havre up to August 23, 1913, were 

 3,146 bales, 7,731 bales, and 4,823 bales, respectively. 



Cotton in Nyasaland. — At the one hundred and 

 fifteenth meeting of the British Cotton Growing Association 

 it was mentioned that a report had been received from the 

 Director of Agriculture in Nyasaland stating that the cotton 

 crop now approaching harvest is not going to be such a good 

 one in the Uplands, where it is cultivated principally bj- 

 European planters, and the crop has never been so late. 

 The conditions on the Shire liiver, where the industry is 

 carried on largely by native cultivation, are reported to be 

 most promising; the area under cotton is larger than in any 

 previous year, and it is anticipated that there will be a con- 

 siderable increase in the native crop, but some decrea.ge in 

 the total European crop. 



The tobacco industry is nmking great progress in 

 Nyasaland. It is understood that one of the reasons why 

 tobacco cultivation has made such rapid advances is that 

 the planters are able to rtalize their produce (juickly, and 

 the Association are accordingly arranging to purchase cotton 

 outright from any planters who wish to sell their crops. 



Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G., Imperial Commissioner of 

 Agriculture for the West Indies, was at Manchester on 

 September 5, 191:3, and exchanged views with the British 

 Cotton Growing A.ssociation. The (Jonimissioner also attended, 

 during September, the meeting of the I'.ritish Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, held at Birmingham. 



RECENT AMERICAN WORK. 



The folluwing notes on diti'crent aspects of soil 

 investigation have been taken from the Experiment 

 Statiov Record, Vol. XXVIII, No. 9. The experi- 

 ments on which the results are based were carried out 

 at the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 U.S.A. 



EFFECT OF SULPHUK SUPPLY OX PLANT GEOWTH. 



Cireenhouse experiments showed that 'in the case of 

 rape and radishes, both plants high in sulphur, sulphur 

 fertilization had a marked effect on the yield of dry matter.' 



INFLUENCE OF GPvEEN MANURING UPON OEP.MINATION OF 



COTTON, 



In pot tests it was found that the decomposition of 

 clover used as a green manure sometimes interferes with the 

 germination of cotton seed, 'but does not have any material 

 effect on the germination of corn, wheat and clover. Two 

 experiments conducted with flax have, however, shown 

 a similar detrimental effect to that produced on cotton. 

 The results so far secured indicate that the decomposition of 

 green manures results in a reduction of the oxygen supply 

 and an increase in the carbon dioxide present in the soil 

 atmosphere It is thought that this charge in gaseous 

 content of the soil prevents the germination of the cotton 

 and flax seed, which contain a high percentage of oil, and so 

 require irore oxygen for germination than such seeds as 

 corn, clover, and wheat.' 



INC'REASEIi NITROGEN FIXATION l'K0A[ APPLICATION OF SUGAR 



The application of sugar markedly increased the fixation 

 of atmospheric nitrogen by the soil organisms which are 

 able to fix nitrogen in the absence of any legume. This 

 increased activity of these bacteria produced an actual 

 increase of nearly 1,000 lb. of nitrogen per acre foot in three 

 years. Similar results, though not quite so striking, were 

 secured by the application of starch to the .soil. It is inter- 

 esting to note that when kainit and floats were applied 

 together with either sugar or starch, the increase in the 

 nitrogen-fixing power was not so marked. 



Interesting results appear in the Acfriciiltural Bulletin 

 of (he Federated Malta/ Stales (July 1913) in regard 

 to the composition of some paddy soils in that 

 country. It ha.s been found that it is in phosphoric acid 

 that the soil of only average fertility is most hkely 

 to be deficient. A correlation was found between 

 yield and available phosphate. It would seem to be im- 

 portant to find a fertilizer sufficiently cheap and beneficial 

 to be commercially applicable to paddy soils in Malaya. The 

 Department is arranging experiments to test the relative 

 effect of the various phosphatic fertilizers. It is interesting 

 to note that Malayan paddy soils are invariably clay soils, and 

 hence are all rich in potash. 



In Katanga (Congo) the TJoverninent some years ago 

 conducted experiments to demonstrate the value oftimbered 

 lands for agricultural purposes. Thay were found to be 

 useless. The reason for the failure of the crops experimented 

 with was the presence in the soil of a large percentage of iron. 

 Much time and money would have been saved if the analyses 

 had been made before attempting to cultivate in the first 



instance. {Dijilomatic and Cimaiilar Reports No. 5165 



Annual Series.) 



