

THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Octobek 9, 1915. 



We are more fortunateh situated in the Wesl 

 Indies with regard to potash and there is little cause 

 for anxiety or alarm. The results of soil in ions 



clearly indicate thai we have large reserves and thai 

 each year the n< [uantity is naturally rendered 



lilable. To c in . ince the i this point, some 



reference may be made to specific experiments. In 

 regard to British Guiana, Professor Harrison* in 

 .-i recenl revii a oi manurial experiments with sugar- 

 cane says : 'The addition of potash when applied either 



sulphate of potash or as nitrate has exerted little 

 if any effect. Th normal weathering of the consti- 

 tuents of the soil sets frei for each crop potash in 

 excess of the quantity necessarj for the requirements of 



the plants. This holds g I under ordinary conditions 



of cultivation where the greater proportion of the 

 potash taken up bj tin plants is directly returned to 

 the soil: but where the canes and cane tops are 

 removed from the land, as in nurseries for the supply 

 <>t cane plants, it is probable that partial potash- 

 exhaustion will take place in the course of a few crops.' 



Again, Dr.Tempanyf in his study of the manurial 

 experiments with cacao conducted in Dominica during 



eleven years comes to the following conclusion: 

 On flu- whole, the results cause one to incline 

 to tin- view thai when adequate dressings of nitrogen 



in- applied < bined with considerable amounts of 



organic matter, the natural reserves of potash and 

 phosphate present in the soil are for the present suffi- 

 cient in quantity, and arc liberated with sufficient 

 rapidity to meet the demands of the crop in these 

 respects.' 



Further evidence of a like nature is available as 

 the result of investigations conducted over a series 

 of years bj Dr. Francis Watts.* In his study of 

 the soils of Montserral available potash was always 

 found to be present in considerable, and sometimes in 

 large amounts. Thi same results, were obtained from 

 a chemical examination of the soils of Nevis. In facl 

 Wesl Indian volcanic soils are characterized by a 

 high potash content, while the amount of phosphate 

 present is generally low. 



As already observed, the West Indies are for- 

 tunately situated in this respect. It would have 

 1 n another matter it' it were a question of a defi- 



- West />.-,, m Bidleth Vol Mil. p. 174. 

 I, Vol. XIV, p 98 

 West tit tin, Vol. VI, pp. 263 84. 



Vol V 10-82 



cienl suppl) of nitrogen. But that, of course, would 



have had far-reaching effects militating againsl the 



I of the war. and the West Indian 



urgent in its way, would no doubt have been 



lost sight of on account of its comparative unimportance. 



A correspondent to the West India Circular 



for September 7. which has been received as we go to press, 

 puts forward views on the subject ol p itash which harmonize 

 with those thai are given above. While justly calling 

 attention to the importance of carefully utilizing by products 

 in the West [ndies that may contain, like the ash from burnt 

 megass, considerable potash, the writer anticipates no harm as 

 a result of the present shortage of artificial fertilizer. Ee con- 

 cludes: 'The present situation tends to the thought that if our 

 agriculturists are careful to re-utilize every ounce of potash 

 of the crops, which they can do, with the exception of that 

 which is shipped in the form of the ultimate product, and at 

 the same time compensate for unavoidable waste of available 

 potash in the way of drainage, etc., by the judicious growth 

 of green crops, there would be little need for potash manures. 

 There are very few soils which do not contain enough potash 

 in some form for a very long period of cultivation, ami the 

 amount of potash required to be added should be very small. 



There is too great 'a tendency in modern agriculture to draw 



from the outside for plant food rather than to look to the 

 soil to give it. The present potash famine may, therefore, 

 be of very great service to agriculture by compelling the 

 cultivator to bring up his plants on nutriment from th 

 instead of by the feeding-bottle method of modern manuring.' 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



REMOVAL OF SUGAR DUTIES IN U.S.A. 



The Louisiana Planter for September 4, 1915, discusses 

 in an interesting manner the aid proposed to be given by 

 the United States Government to the cotton industry in 

 contradistinction to the proposal to remove entirelj as 

 from May 1916 the duties on sugars in the United 

 States imported from other countries. It is mentioned 

 thai the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States 



has recently announced that he was prepared to advance 

 30 millions of dollars in order to 'take rare oi cotton. 

 He proposes to place .'50 millions of dollars in gold in 

 the Federal Reserve Franks of Richmond, Atlanta and 

 Dallas for the purpose of rediscounting loans made on 

 cotton, secured by warehouse receipts by member banks. 

 It it should lie found more expedient, he will place 

 the funds in certain national banks. He will exact 

 no interest for the deposit in reserve, and practically 

 imposes a 6 per cent, limit on loans made by member banks 

 to then- customers, based on cotton warehouse receipts. It 

 is pointed out that in doing this the Government lakes 

 ill\ no risk whatever, and gives a degree of support to 

 the market far in excess of the limited amount oi money 

 that is proposed to be loaned. 



It is recalled that some few year- ago the Brazilian 



Government, following on the initiative of the chief coffee- 



ing State. Sao Paulo, (id ured to 'take care' of 



