12 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



.1 \\i u:\ 





The immense importance which maize has achieved, 

 only as a food for cattle, but also foi human consumption, 



rests largely upon its cheapness relatively toother t Istuffs. 



Maize has however isen greatlj in price during the las 



As compared with wheat, the average price pei 

 hundredweight was, in 1903, maize k Llfrf., wheal (British) 

 6*. :;/.. in 1912, maize 6*. 2\d., wheat 8s. Id. The 

 world's crop of maize in 1913 1 I was no less than 1,733,102,517 

 cwt., compared with 2,053,345,727 cwt. of wheat; and there 

 us iii which the world's maize crop is actuallj 

 he world's >p. i Tropin U I - November 191 I.) 



GLEANINGS. 



The -i iple industry of Turks Islands is salt raking, the 



produce being chieflj exported to the United Sta es. The 



value of this export in 1913 was £23,132 out ol the total 



>i £27,808. (Colonial Reports Annual No. 800.) 



TheBoardof Trad< Journal for November 12, 19] 1. 



iui tb Board of Trade is in receipt of information, 



through the Colonial Office, that telegraphic instructions 



i . ;, eat to all British Governments overseas to 



prohibit the exportation of rubber except to British ports. 



St. John, New Brunswick, will soon have one oi 

 finest sugar refineries in North Vmerica, run by the Atlantic 

 Sugar Refineries, Ltd. The output will be 500 tons of sugar 

 ]mt diem. The West Indies will furnish the raw sugars. 

 nished product will be marketed in Canada, and some 

 may go to Great Britain. (The Louisiana Planter, Novem 

 ber I, 191 I.) 



A start has been made at Searles Lake, California, in 

 the manufacture of potash for commercial purposes. It is 

 hoped ultimately that the plant will turn mit I jo tons a day, 

 roughly 37,500 tons per year. Statistics show that in 1911 



\ in. i iported 237,453 tons of potash from Germany, and 



in subsequent years the imports have been even greater. 

 (The Gardener.-,' Chronicle, November 1!)14.) 



[ri Madeira a company was formed in 1908 to develop 

 the growth ol tobacco, but it failed. In 1913 this industry 

 5 tin -• trted, and it appears to promisi to be a - 

 Spaniards are employed, who pronounce the soil i 

 to be very suitable for tobacco. Havana seed - 

 planted besides Kentucky and Virginia, but th 

 is said to be best, as the leaves from the two latter at 

 too coarse. The most modern machinerj for making cigar 



tnd cigars i being erected, and if the grow 

 sui essful, there can ' qo doubt that this new industry will 

 flourish. (Diplomatic and Consular Report/, Annual S 

 N'.,. 5356. ) 



The cultivate f lily bulbs in Bermuda for the United 



States market is one i f the chief agricultural industries. In 

 1913 the quantitj and declared value of the export of lii\ 

 bulbs wereas follows: 2,357 packages, oi a declared value of 

 L'.i. I T' >. The export of onions during the same year had 



fallen to 65,074 crates as < ipared with 232,368 crates in 



1909. (Colonial Reports Vniiudl No. 803.) 



The Director of Industries $1 Madras reports that at 



leginning ol Septembei there were about 16,000 tons 



c ,f ground nuts in Madras ports awaiting shipment to 



iUes. Tl timate of the drop in December is about 



11 ' a Th g I inn deteriorates very rapid 



ng. Dealers with their present stock on ] i. . t ■> 1 are 



1 y, o i he crop is being throw n back on the 



hands ut the cultivators. The question of ■ plants 



for expressing oil fr thegr id nut is now being considered, 



in view of the continual closure of the Marseilles market. 

 (The Board o) Tra ' '■■- <<. November 12, 191 1.) 



The Annual Iteporl of the Education Branch ol the 



British Board of Agriculture on the disposal of grants for 



education and research, for the year 1913 II, 



shows that the Board is making satisfactory progress with its 



gricultural work. It has arrange I 



of the Universities to undertake special work in 



i nexion with the various counties, and, in addition, it 



supports a number ol research institutes. The who! 

 has been carefully planned to avoid overlapping. It is 

 claimed that the scheme is yet perfect; indeed it is not yet in 

 full working oidcr. 1. ut it is clear that the fully develo 

 scheme will serve the purpose for which it was intended. 

 Provision is made fpr higher agricultural education, 

 provision of technical idvice to farmers, the investigation of 

 local problems, and for carrying out agricultural research. 

 The ' ital amount ol money granted .lining the year was 

 £67,939, against £32,434 last year (ffatu ; mem- 

 ber 3, 191 l.i 



\,i wticle in Tlie Times for November 24, 19 I. 



thai in tin- Mouse of Commons on November 23, 



Mr. Hunciman in reply to a question stated that the I 



oi Trade had entered into consultations with the pri ' 



inten ned, with a \ iew to the elaboration ol 



for the establishment ol an undertaking for the production of 

 synthetic 'Ives and colours. In the main it was hoped that 

 ipital required would be forthcoming from the industries 

 by which dyes and colours were mainly used, but the Treas- 

 ury were prepared, within certain limits ami subjei 



certai nditions, to afford financial support to a well con 



d scheme which. would be permanently under British 



ol. With reference to this, the following telegram from 



London, dated December 24, is worthj of notice: 'The Dye 



Trade Committee, appointed with the co-operatior. ol the 



Board ii Trade, announces the formation of a Limited 



Liability Compaq w th, a capital oi £3, 1,000 in £1 



i Go rnment will advance £1,500,000 to the compa 

 I per cent., and n ill a ppoint two directors.' 



