Vol.. XIV. No. 335. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



7 'J 



Another smut disease, Head S . to which maize is 



liable, is due to 1 1"- fungus Spha i(Kul 



(Sorozporiumreilititin.it, I , ,, ( i. It attacks the 



nd tassels, and is usually confined tyj them, but may 

 exceptionally occur on the leaves or bracts. It reduces the 

 cob or tassel to a formless sootj mass, and i distin 



guished bj the A the monstrous swellin 



teristic of the disease described above. It als curs on 



_ mi, but must not be confused with the gi tin smut of 

 that plant, i '■ ss common in tin W est I luced 



by Sp t Cstilago] sorghi, in which the snt 



grains remain di sh other, t ' tiral News, 



XIII, 316. J 



The head moninXortli Vmerica, and has not, 



to the writei kno for the West Indies. 



In Victoria, Au ccording to Mr. D. McAlpine I Viet. 



Journ. Agric, \lll. 290) it occurs to i rat of about 



I pei cent, in some districts. McAlpine quotes an i 

 incut which seems to show that infection only 



i he ■ edling, and he reporl - that a 



in the amount of the disease has toll. .wed disinfection of 

 the seed with bl one Pole-] ins, i>n the other 



' Department of Agriculture, Sou 1912 13,) 



states that it does not yield I itmentjand E. M. Freeman 



and H. J. C. Umberger (Circular 8, U. S. Q; A. Bur. PL Ind.) 



life-historj is not yet undersl I, but that •■noughts 



known to show that thetn recommended for the grain 



smut of sorghum have absolute!} no effect gn the head smut. 



THE OUTLOOK FOR FIXED OILS. 



The Ceylon Tropical Agriculturist (November 

 1914) predicts in rhr following article a bright future 

 for vegetable oils, [n the West Indies ;^e are interested 

 principally in at least three oil-prodftcing crops, viz., 

 coco nuts, cotton, mid ground nuts. The views exprt ssed 

 below will therefore be of considerable interest: 



With copra only two-thirds the price* of what it was 

 a yi mi ago, the prospect for fixed oil-producing seeds maj 

 nut at the moment seem very brigh i peciallj as the decline 

 in price set in bi foi the war: but the fact is, we believe, 

 that the future for vi oils contains the elements of 



stability to a degrei ater than that of most other major 

 products of tropica] agriculture Science is making rapid 

 advance in overcoming the objections to vegetable oils by 

 depriving them of their unp odours, and esp 



converting them into solid fats, which can be used in 



making and possibly even in th | , at! fine. 



Concurrently with progress made, vegetable oils and 

 will gain popularil d, not only because they are chi 



but also because they naturall] enjoj n 

 suspicion as disease earriet ts and oils lerived from 



the animal kingdom, i. drug h il] probably 



share in any appreciation in price earned by fixed oils 

 nerally. From the produi it of view, commercial 



oil seeds maj i tred in threi classes. Firstly, of those 



mainly derived from forest or uncultivated only 



need engage our attention for the] it nd that is palm 



oil seed. This product i.- certainly worth, and is 



study from planters. We bavi u one industry of the 



Wesf overthrown or nearl} so by the planters of the East: 



does a like fate await the palm oil seed 



West Coast of Africa' As to this, wi 



that industries carried on in ordered plantations will always 



in the end prevail over those that depend up lat 



forests, in which trees ., ften widely 



ise distam es h I. When, as in tin 



East, plantations have densely populated countries to draw 



u| for lab iur, they i- ms rivals. 



In the second categ i of f cop cal oil product -. nan 

 thosi produi I roni cult i va ed trees, the 

 to enjoy a position almost bj mmanding as it 



does our j I i eed uot detain us object 



being to dh i e parti' larly to annuals which, 



lly in Cej Ion, . v\ ow of any 



annual oil prod g pi , |y remunerative to 



ait ract t he 1 1 1 ge i tnpl •. et Is ir I fnless be uses 



machinery for cultivating, harvi d threshing, which be 



does not as yet do, but has to depend upon hand labour, 



tals, « lie! her oil - ed or other produ i r him 



generally too as p » acts. For this 



reason the attention now ben iuntries to 



oil producing annuals like linseed, in rising 



demand for vegetable oils and fats, is of interest mainly to 



the peasant cultivator. 3e mum ly) is the only 



annua] t we are refei i ing of i oui se to oil j ttically 



cultivated in Ceyloi iderab 



others which we believe have possibilities 



which though the weight pei acre obtained is not s 



. the advantage of being large seeds, which can be 



picked or swept up on the ground, and not lost if shed, as in 



hi case oi gingellj . < Iround i eing a lov ig crop 



liable to be smothered, di m nd a lot of lal r in weeding, as 



also in han i lc1 tea ll\ i > ei \ nut hai ing to be picked. 



For this reason it is q thei the indu 



appeal to favoured countries like Ceylon, but must not be 

 left to develop in countries when- it has chieflj taken firm 

 root; though, on the other hand, it is worth more attention 

 than it is receiving. Soya beans must also be tried aga 

 different elevations. One of the richest oilseeds known to 

 commerce is the Inhambane nut I i pedata), which, 



though not an annual, may Ke cla ategory. The 



kernel contains about lilt per cent, of oil. The 

 enveloped in a fibrous husk and a shell (as in the case of the 



coconut) difficult to decorticate, and is therefore shipped 

 husk and all to the detriment of price. It is a mightj i limb 

 er demanding tor its accommodation large trees, which it. 



suffocates in time with its deadlj i mbrace, but it might 



prove feasible to keep it under reasonable control like 

 'ither CUCUrbitous plants to which it is allied. It is 



being sown at Peradeniya, Linseed, to which increased 

 attention is being devoted in many countries, ; s also 

 tried at Peradeniya, Anuraehapura, Nuwara Eliya, and 

 1 1 da. It is a more temp' etc and ul I copical rathei 

 I n ' ; pical pi ted probably to our medium 



and high • le ioi he low c mnl rj . \\ e recommend 



n for trial by members of the Ceylon Agricultural Society 



: rring to trad Vh 8 vrd of Trade Jout 



for -'i ii ii.. i \ 1 i. 1915, states that theactii 



in other parts of the ■' r id stimub.1 i panese a 



and prices were rushed up, bu1 a n urred 



of advices from Eui | lit j i es. The high prices 



have < hecked co 



compelled by financial icks which they 



■ l l.\ short igei lealing 



until the time i :rop in Formosa In 



1 ' new crop at the 



time of writing (Oct I ' ! 



buyers, and pi 

 • ly- 



