Vol. XIV. Xo. 352. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 





The Co-operative Credit Movement in Ceylon. 



From Mr. R. X. Lyne, I ►irtcl a ii Agriculture in 

 ( Vvl.'i, and \l he Societ ies, we nave received 



• \ of a Report on I ' Iredit 



Mo in. ni for I'M t-l ">. In the introduction il is - 

 : h;ii the report is a chn 5teadj progress. The 



numb - increased by nineti en namely 



from thirty-five to fifty-four; tin total membership bj 

 2,030, thai is from 1,820 to 8,850; and the paid-up 

 •apital bj Rs. 10,630, standing now at Rs. 1.8,832 as 

 inst Rs 8,202 in L913 l I 



Of the fifty-four societies, fourteen have been 

 registered with limited liability (mutual co-operation 

 as in St. Vincent); the rest are unlimited. In 

 almosl every case of limited liability it has been so 



arranged that the liability ofa nber is limited to 



the face value ui the share or shan s 

 he has taken. 



Mi. Lyne says that in districts where co-operati 

 credit proved a mly barrier 



een the people and this emancipating measure of 

 :o-operation is ignorance of its true nature. The efforts 

 of the educated classes are required to breakdown the 

 barrier in those districts where it still exists. 



Another Onion Growers' Association. 



Mr. C. A. Gomez, Acting Curator of the Experi- 

 ment Station. Tortola, Virgin Islands, has notified this 

 that a Tortola Onion Growers' Association has 

 been definitely inaugurated Theplanters.it is said, 

 have taken up the scheme with great interest and 

 even da\ there are new applications for membership. 

 Judging by the quantity of plants ordered b\ intend- 

 ing oTuwvi's, it would appear thai the new organiza- 

 tion is lik'K to be a success. Efforts are being made 

 to establish an extension of the Association in the 

 neighbouring island of Virgin Gorda. 



This makes the third onion growers' association 

 to be Ion i ied in the Leeward Islands. The Antigua 

 society was established in I'M:; and its success, 



ciallj 'Inline- the past year (an account of which 

 appeared in the last issue of tins journal), stimulated 

 the formation recentlj oi a similar but smaller a 

 ation in Montserrat. The co-operative sale of onions 

 will soon become a special feature of the Leeward 

 Islands. 



Vitamines in Lime Juice. 



Vitamines are i plex substances of indefinite- 



1\ known composition, which in minute quan 

 regulate the processes of life. Theiraction is supposed 



to be connected with the production of s e of the 



essential hormones, internal secretions, enzj r mes, etc., 

 upon which metabolism depends. Many ph. 

 diseases like beri-beri, pellagra, scurvy, and rickets are 



specific viti 



In conn 

 as a ]>n-N em ivi and is well know ■ 



of this substance lies in 

 tains a vitamine. L)r. II. W. B 

 Pr i 1014) saj s: — 



'The exact n ifthe anti-scorbutic vitamine or 



\ itamines has nol en established. Thi 



studj ofscurv) has shown conclusively that thi 



■ 1 1 ■ 1 1 \ potassium sails, as suggested o\ Gairod, 

 nor are thej effect i 



properties, as demanded by Sir Almroth Wright's 



■ oi acid intoxi ition. It would appear a 

 sight that there must be several different an 

 vitamines because of the variable stability of the 

 curative principle in different foodstuffs. As a rule. 



ng the food material milk, for example to 

 100'C. is sufficient to destroy the anti scorbutic 

 vitamine contained in it. But lime juice one 

 of the most efficient anti-scorbutics maj be hi 

 for an hour at I K> ( ' without affect ing i he cui a 

 tive newer. Preserved vegetables are useless as 

 preventives of scurvy, but lime juice retains its power 

 for years. It, is not impossible, however, that the rea 

 agent is identical in each case, the environment being 

 really responsible for the observed differences in the 

 behaviour under the, influence of heat and othei 

 conditions. The presence of the 7 per cent, citric acid 

 in lime juice, for example, may confer a stability on 

 the active principle which is not apparent in the 

 slightly alkaline milk, where, it will be noted, simple 

 st< rilization is sufficient to destroy it. 



Molasses as a Substitute for Oats. 



The experience of Dr. Stoute, V.S., of Barbado 

 that many horses work as well when fed on molasses as 

 thej do when fed on oats. In the case of his own 

 horse this has been proved. The following is the 

 ration which Dr. Stoute employs for a moderatelj sized 

 animal: — 



[f chaff agrees with a horse, some maybe mixed 

 wit h the above ingr lients. 



In substituting molasses for oats, the change 



should be made gradually and acuiim p 



molasses, which has been boiled once, hould be used. 



The animal receiving the above ration does r_> to 

 I 6 miles a day 



It may be noted that pollards contains 2 to •"> 



cent '■' albuminoid-, than >at loss of 



nitrogen b\ the substitution of the m ilasses for oats is 

 made up by this, and the circumstance thai the oil 

 meal (presumablj cotton) will conta 10 per 



cent, more albuminoids. 



