102 



THE AGRIC1 LTURAL NEWS. 



Mabch 27, 1915. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



The reporl ol lilessrs Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Si i [sland cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ended March 6, is as follows: — 



The sales iif the week consisted principally of odd I 

 and Planters' crops classing Fine to fully Fine on aba 

 Fine 22c, the buying being on account ol the Northern Mills, 

 who were induced to supply a portion of their wants here, 

 finding our market for Islands relatively cheaper than the 

 now ruling for Georgias and Floridas. There is some 

 id for the Planters' crops classing Extra Fine and above, 

 but at prices several cents below the view, of Factors. 



We quote, \ iz: — 



Extra Fine 23c. to 24c. lid. to 14Jd., c.i.f . & 5 per cent. 

 toFullj Fine 22c. = l: ".'.<>., „ „ „ „ 



Fine, off in colour 18c. to 2pc. = ll£d. to 12Jd. c.i.f. 



."> | pel eel It. 



This report shows thai the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the I tiited States to Liverpool, 

 and Manchester, up to March 6,1915, were 103 and 

 1,287 bales, respectively. 



Cotton Ordinance, Montserrat. On May 15, 

 1914, the acting Governor of the Leeward Islands assented 



a Ordinam to regulate the planting of cotton. Ft was 

 provided that there should be a closi i< tson foi planting 

 between September 1 and March 31 of each year. It has 

 been found, however, that in certain districts of Montserrat 

 earlier planting is desirable, and the Governor on the 



on of certain plant i ■ and the < lurator, has sanctioned 

 the planting of cotton from .March 20. This amen I 

 was possible by virtue of Section I in the Ordinance, which 

 provides that dates may be changed by Proclamation. It 



not unlikely that ad 1 I I ge may have to he taken each 



year of the facilities given by this section, which has 

 introduced, for this reason, into most of the We 

 cotton < (rdinances. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Mr. C. B. Williams, B.A. (Cantab.), Entomologist 

 to the John Lines Horticultural Institute of London 

 under Professor Bateson, left Barbados on March 2T 

 1915, for Trinidad, after spending a week with this 

 Department for, purposes of study. Mr. Williams 

 |n. \ iouslj mad a six months 1 tour in the (Ji 

 States seeing the worl ol the Bureau of Entomol 

 After his visit to Trinidad, Mr. Williams proceeds to 



md via, New York. 



CHANGES IN THE RIPENING BANANA. 



\ papei of greal interest on the changes iu 

 composition of peel and pulp of ripening bananas is 

 contributed to the Journal of Agricultural Research, 

 Vol. Ill, No. :!. In this it is pointed out that previous 

 analyses of the banana have been expressed in terms 

 ol the percentage of the pulp of the fruit. Since 

 during ripening the peel continuously loses weighl 

 while that of the pulp steadily increases, such analyses 

 are shown by the present paper to have a constat 

 shifting basis 



Four ripening experiments were made 1>\ 

 author: in two experiments, bunches were ripened in 

 a respiration calorimeter designed for experiments with 

 man. In the third and fourth experiments, uniformity 

 in different bunches and the rate of starch hydrol; - - 



were studied. The final c ilusions arrived at were 



that the usual carbohydrate changes take plac thai 

 the most rapid respiration corresponds with the mosl 

 rapid starch hydrolysis; thai ash, protein, and ether 



raet undergo little alteration: that pentosans decn 

 rapidly in the pulp but little in the peel; and, v 

 is most important, thai analyses of peel and pulp 

 show a steady transfer of water from peel to pulp 

 during ripening. The author) Mr. H. < '. ( lore) discuss - 

 his results as follows: — 



A.S the result of the foregoing studies, the author is in 



a positio - ate more exactly than Ins heretofoi 



possible, the nature and extent of the changes in the com. 

 tionoi las during ripening. The most conspicuous change 



is the long-recognized conversion of starch into sugars, [t is 

 most rapid while the fruits are turning from green to v. -How. 

 During this period the respiration rate increases many fold, 

 becoming greatest at the time when the rate of starch 

 hydrolysis is most rapid. Starch hydrolysis then gradually 

 slackens, later ceasing- altogether. The respiration rate, 



becomes -lower, but still remains far more active ; 



the green fruit. Next to the starch and respiration ch inges, 

 most conspicuous are those of water. The peel loses, while 

 the pulp gains ivatei steadily. The respective losses and 

 gains in ol the peel and the pulp on ripening, 



expressed in terms of the original green bananas in 

 summarized. . . . 



In the first, second and foui ii lents it is possible 



to show how much water is formed oi absorbed by the pulp 

 in physiological processes. The water formed i espii tion 



can ci it-, be calculated if formed i nsequi ice of the com 



plete combustion of carbohydrates, and it the amount of 

 carbon dioxid evolved in ripening in consequence ot this 

 combustion is known. Thi itory quotient and 



thermal quotient determined bj the Office ol Nutrition 

 Investigations for ripening hananas (l(i> agree in showing 



that th oxid evolvi d on mal ripening is due 



solely to the complete combustion of carbohydrates. Wi 

 are therefore justified in calculating the water formed by 

 the equation U,.H 1:! O g +60 s =.6CO.j + 6H..O. From the 

 watei ... formed is subtracted the water absorbed in 



" !' e'i : I starch. ... In the first two expi 



absorption ol .■ iter amounting to 0*782 and 0-512 per 

 oci urred as a net n suit ol respiration md si irch hydrol . 

 In the fourth experifnentj where the ban 



