Vol. XIV. No. 336. 



Tin: AGRICULTURAL x - 



89 



duel ion "i a suitable machine w ill make bh< 

 more successful. A table is given showing the value 

 of ili" principal forest prod m ts exported during 

 1912 L3. Tin palm kernel and oil trade is worth 

 nearly £4,000,000 annually. Other important pro- 

 ducts are fibn rubbi r gums and ivory. It is noted in 



the report that 501t>. ofpal il seeds were sent to 



British Guiana during the yeai here experiments are 

 I" ing made n ith il il palm on plantation lim - 



Stomata and Drought Resistance. 



The Experiment Station Record, Vol. X.W. 



No. 7, gives an abstract of a paper dealing with the 



! cs of variel ii s bi sugai*-eane 



( West Indian Bulletin, Vol. Mil. \.i. | .). and follows 



f interest to the W< -t [ndies on stomata 



and drought resi e in maize i Indian corn). It is 



stated that in the South African Journal of Sciena 

 (1913), N". 8, .i report appears on the study oi the 

 relationship between number ol stomata present and 

 power of drought resistance in Indian corn. The 

 stomata were found to be larger but less numerous on 

 the upper sides of the leaves. The author inclines to 

 the view that the drought-resisting capacity does not 

 bear anj close relation to number of stomata, but that 

 it is related to the presence of a peculiar structure on 

 the epidermis of the leaves, in the form of small special 

 groups or absorbing and storing cells, which arc to be 

 further m\ est ignited 



Views of a somewhat analogous kind were put 

 forward in the second refei iven above, in regard 



bo the sugar-cane. It was thought that the distribu- 

 tion of eertain varietii ould be limited to 



te regions, were it not for the correlation between 

 leaf habit, motor cells, etc., and stomatal characteristics. 



Barbados Sugar-canes in India. 



In the Report on the Agricultural Department oi 



Assam for theyear ending June 30, 1914, il is stated 



imported varieties of sugar-caiie, viz., Striped 



Mauritius, I'.. 376, and Ii. 147 have shown marked 



superiority over the local varieties, both in yield and in 



ity of juice. Another Barbadian variety, B. 208, 



ed to rank as one of the host in the future, 



although it seem- to be very liable -to attacks ol the 



b 



A comparison of the returns from B. 147 and the 



iety, made by < f the planters, gives the 



following results per acre: Weight of cane: B. 147 = 

 4ii 846. tt Local variety 22. 140 It,. \V, ,.d,t oi juice: 

 B. 147 = 22,801 Hi. Local variety 10,6041b. Vakie of 



produced from B.147 = 288 rupees, from 

 variei v I 25 rupei s 



This i- a striking example ofthe value oi soi 

 • w varieties of cane v\ hich have b< en produc 

 Barbados, even uflSer verj differ nt conditions ol lit 

 .-ii i soil from their original place of production. 



Publications of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Cotton Cultiva n t hi W. si Indies i Pamphlet 



No. 74). latch issued - I mperial D nt oi 



Agriculture, has n ceive'd not ice in recent issu 



i ;. and the India Ftubbt r World, respectively. It 

 is stated in Nature: thi comprehensive account of Sea 

 Island cotton in i In West [ndies .... forms a very 

 trustworthy guide to those concerned in the West 

 Indian cotton industry ...the pamphlet ... is verj 

 well illustrated; the general information has been select- 

 ed with greal care, and the compilers are to be con- 

 gratulated on the preparation nl so useful a manual.' 



The subject of Sea Island cotton is of some interest 

 to the rubber growers and manufacturers, in thai this 

 fibre is employed in the manufacture of certain rubber 

 articles, for example, pneumatic tyres, The h 

 Rubber World observes that, in view ofthe bacn 

 importance of cotton growing, this useful pamphlet 

 ha- been issued, and the information has been brought 

 up to date and numerous photogravure illustrations 

 included. The Pamphlet is also referred to as an 

 important publication for the textile industry, in 'Ihe 

 Board of Trade Journal. 



Chemical Auditing versus Chemical Control. 



It is interesting to note from the Hawaiian lette] 

 to the Louisiana Planter, February 13, 1915, that the 

 term 'auditing' chemist is to be emploj d in con- 

 nexion with a large group of sugar factories in Hawaii 

 as the official designation of their supervisin 



Some years ago Dr. Francis Watts, duaang the 

 course of the negotiations for the erection of Gun- 

 thorpe's Sugar Factory in Antigua, made use of this 



appellation, as a suitable descrii i oi a chemist to 



be attached to such a factory, because it represented 

 the work which might be expected of him. 



It has been usual hitherto to speak of chemical 

 control of a factory. This tennis rather misleading, 

 because the control of a factory, in the sense oi direction 



is the business of the manager, not of the chemist. The 

 work of the chemist is much better described as audit. 

 His analysis ofthe products ofthe factory enables him 

 to check the returns, and so to be able either to state 

 that the working is .satisfactory, or to point out where 

 there is wastage, or to suggest where some improve- 

 ment may lie made SO as to secure better results. 



An 'auditing chemist' ought therefore to be 

 a man with a wide knowledgeol nearly everj activity 

 connected with the production of sugar, for he may be 

 called upon to give advice on any thing which tends to 

 ' I in tonnage of cane or richness of juice. 



Besidi From his analyses he ]^^ to check tin 



efficiency ofthe mills, and all the process of manu- 

 facture. Perhaps therefore thi terra auditing chemists', 

 as the designation of cai n \ chemists, has com 



to tak ; in the nomenclature of the 



indusl 



