Vol. XIV. No. 353. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



337 



oil 



Paid for prodm 



Deferred paj menl bringing produ e I ■ 



of Is. 8tf. per barrel limea and 6rf. 



gallon of juice 

 Factory working expenses in I bour, 



i ial, oil, packages, rep lirs, 



Total Expenses 



GO\ KRNMENT REFI \l>. 



Ten | Interest and Sinking Fund 



on Capital Account of £550 for 1 ' » 



years from April 1 , 1914 



pei cent. on Purchase of Produce 



Advances £300 

 Supen ision 

 Value "i Lime < hi on hand and paid to 



Vendors in last crop 

 Value of Concentrated Juice on band, etc. 



Cotal < iovernment Refund 



1,102 7 

 L15 3 



Total receipts 



Total working 

 rn men I ! 



Total expenditure 



£ 657 9 

 £ 560 1 



Profits for distribution 



Profits now due t<> Vendors at the rate of: 



5s. 3d. per barrel limes, bringing the total price to 9s. 1 



per barrel. 

 ~i'l. per gallon juice, bringing the total price to Is. I 



per gallon. 



THE BUDDING OP LIMES. 



II ,id the budding of limes, writes Mr. Joseph .lours, 



in his recent annual report, been mooted in Dominica 



■i few \» ii back as a n i isure for the improve- 



of lime cultivation, it is probable that the sug- 



D would I I ed scant consideration. It would 



been pointed out that the time was probably the 



hardiest of the citrus family grown in the tropics; that the 



use of other species of citi ks for limes was unlikely 



d to improvement, while the cost of producing plants 



would be raised from a few shillings per acre foi seedlings to 



£4 or '-'•"> for budded plants, the latter be ery serious 



addition to the initi ~ • 



This aspect of the situation, once so strongly held, has 

 been m iringrecent years. With the extension of the 



area under limes there has been the usual increase ol 

 and diseases. However hardy the lime may be when grown 

 individually, or in small areas, il is highly susceptible I i rool 

 3 when massed in cul ibtfa d wet 



districts. To i i 



in 



with a vie 



I >epartmenl e of buddi i i <peri 



ment Stations, whilst a number of plants have been distri- 

 buted to estates for trial. 



The selection of tl ■ k was Ial j 



to the fact thai in one district in l> inica in which 



lime root disease- are] ts a plantation of 



several thousands of orange I Ided on this stock, not 



one of which has been attacked. Whether the sour orange 

 will prove a suitable stork for limes in all respects remains 

 to be seen. The lime is omewhal difficult to I, ml on to it. 

 On lifting the plants f,om the nursery beds Eor trans 

 planting in the field, a. small percentage of the scions will 



die, which tends to -how that the union is not altogethei 



a congenial one. Also on this stock there is a considerabl 

 tendency on the part of the scion after only a little growth 

 has been mad.', to flower and fruit. If fruiting is permitted 



at an early stage, the plants would remain in a stunted 

 condition, from observations to date it would appea 

 necessary to pick off the flowers or small fruits from budded 

 trees, and to manure the stock with a view of getting 

 sufficient growth to form a fair-sized tree 

 permitted. 



In the progress report for L913 1 i, reference was made 

 to the arrival of six small plants from Kew, of a stock used 



in Morocco for orange - and : aid to be resistant 



disease. In that country the planj is propagated by cuttings 

 for use as stocks. It is known by the name of ' M'gerg 

 and is evidently a variety of the citron [Citrus medico). 



The plants received in Dominic;, have grown well. < Ion 

 siderable progress has Keen made in striking cuttings, and it 

 is hoped to have at least j acre planted with limes on 



M'gergeb stocks shortly, as well as to distribute a number 

 for trial in the out-disti 



It is also intended to bud a number of limes on the 

 common citron for trial. The habit of the citron in spreading 

 by means of throwing suckers from the roots will need to be 

 controlled when used a- a stock. This, however, should not 

 be difficult. 



Unlike the sour orange, the two last named plant- 

 closely related to the lie I - quently, it is expected that 

 the budding process will be easily accomplished in both 

 instances. 



Those who have had citron plants under observation 

 cannot fail to have noticed the powerful system of surface 

 roots which these plants possess. The question arisesasto 

 whether such plants are better able to obtain the supply of 

 plant food from the soil, and to make a fuller use of maiim 

 applied in the curse ..t cultivation than plants less favourably 

 furnished with roots. i dense surface root system of 



the citron should be an important factor in i its 



value to. limes. 



The experiments outlined it irj and import 



in the interests of the lime industry. Should it be shown 



a result of these trials that the use of certain Stocl 



immunity from root disease; and that tl apital invested in 



lime cultivation i- j roved to be safer from the istanl inena. e 



of uprooting during vll :h the lime on its own i 



is sul le inform ition w ill have 



The higher c istol budded pi i ei dlings, now regarded 



as practically prohibitive, would under such . , , 



amply justified. 



