XIV. No. 337. 



AGRICULTURAL NEWS 





watei formed in respii itim is gi r bj 0"195 

 tbsorbed in starch hydrolysis. 

 Che increases oi water in the pulp during ripening are 



rived from the peel, i « In a bananas l» - 



overripe, when the water formed in respira . more 



than I i bsorbed in starch nydrolj sis. From 



inl i ■ oi sugai formed in the pulp it is evident that 



ni.'in | sure of the pi undergo a marked 



;e, with a corresponds . of vapour pressure, 



the ripenii of the frui . \ |. ible opera! ing 



tei tii i fei I . an pi U\ ious. 



From a knowledge of the i irl tioxid formed in 



ttion and knowing from the calorimeter data thai 

 carbon dioxid results from the complete combustion of 

 hydrates, it can be det nerl whether or not the 

 carbohydrate - consumed in i . ere a uratelj made 



known from thi ai i liydrati to >und by 



analysis contra ed with the < cted losses from the 

 ta iir shown. 



\',\ analysis s later losses appear than 



ti d from tb" caJortmi I hi-. not improbable 



small differences are due to analytical error. 



FEEDING AND MANURIAL VALUE OF 



LIME SEEDS. 



Dr. H. A. Tempany has forwarded from Antigua some 



<ting notes on the feeding and manurial value of lime 



which will be reproduced in < ctenso in the Wett Indvm 



tin. The matters dealt with, however, are of sufficient 



d interest and importance to make it desirable to 



publish at once an abstract of the main observations in 



the ''■:<■' ultural News. These are included in the pn enl 



article. 



In lime-growing districts it is the custom to dispose of 



nd pulp containing - I, by placing them in cattle 



pens, or throwing them on one side as waste materia!. Ii 



ii ting. to i i"" 1 i li ■ manurial and i ling 



the seeds were, and specially the nature and 

 amoun oftheoil. On analysing sample at the Government 

 raton it was found that dried seeds contained nitrogen, 

 l-ll percent.; phosphoric arid, 0"58 per cent.; potash, 0"353 

 nt.: and moisture. 9*30 per cent From the point of 

 view of manurial constituents, the material is less valuable 

 he majority of seeds On the Barbados scale for the 

 ition of manures it is worth 83"29 per ton. 

 As regards feeding value, the albuminoid ratio on crude 

 i islil.V.Y Theseedi therefore deficient in pi ii 

 but rich in carbohydrates. The most noteworthy feature of 

 dysis lies in the high at ol oil, amounting to 



:i r I i per cent. 



The constants of this oil h determined, and 



of its qualitative characters described. These matters 



will be dealt with fully in the West Indian Bulletin. It ma\ 



tted here, however, tha is a rattler dark, yi 



viscous fluid, of about the c msistenej of olive oil. When 

 ■ parated, the oil possesses a • ■■>> pronounced bittei . 

 This appears to be due to ilkaloid 01 _ 



(ho seed, which is dissolved out in the ehlor 



il can be freed from i bj washing with alcoholic 



liloric arid. The oil does not appear to possess anj 



propertii i; a comparison « th other oils seems to 



i hat, in gei hara m what resembles 



- ol the rap" oil and cott roup 



pplication as a lubricant, or i p-making, and if the 



bitter flavour referred to wei removed, possiblj as a sub- 

 stitute for olive oil. 



It seems possible that if the oil were expressed by 

 pressun I of extraction by solvents, the bitter fl 



would not be so pr need. On thi hand, the 



pressure of such a bitter comp in the pre I 



would no doubt impair the value oi this for feeding purposes. 

 In order to enable comparison to In- made with 

 press cakes, the manurial value has been recalculated by 

 Dr. Tempany on the assumption that the oil content lias 



been reduced to 6 | ent. From the figures i 



appears that such a press i ould on the Barbado 



for the valuation of man be worth $4 "50 per ton. 



In connexion with these interesting obse 

 Mr. Joseph Jones, Curator of the B a Garden Dominica, 

 forwards i note on th \ e: tent ol the pi i luction oi 

 in that Colony, rle says, takii - Dominica lime crop for 

 191 1 U 388,000 barrels oi fruit, and allowing for the 

 shipment of 46,000 barrels of fresh and Ii I lii es, the 



production of seed at 2 | It', per barrel of limes would ai ml 



to iTo metric tons. 



West Indian Ground Nuts.— The Curator of the 

 Experiment Station, Mont Marat, writes to this Office to say 

 that it is intended tosend samplesof three varieties ol ground 

 nuts in cultivation in Montserrat, namely, Virginia Running, 

 Gambia, and Rufisque, to the Imperial Institute for report 

 and valuation. The Curator calls attention to an article 

 which appeared in the Agricultural News (Vol. XIII, p. 339), 

 in which it was stated that it is necessary for the nuts to be 

 shelled in order that readj sales may be effected in the 

 English and French markets. In accordance with this it is 

 intended to send sin lied nuts for examination. 



In the Morning Post for February <i, 1915, a short article 

 refers to the efforts that are being made by the Imperial 

 Institute to create a market in the United Kingdom for 

 groundnuts grown in India and West Africa (Gambia and 

 Nigeria), since on the outbreak of war the cessation of trade 

 with Germany and the great diminution of the French demand 

 have placed producers in a erii us position. 



The sending of samples from Montserrat is then I 

 opportune, since it is in alignment with a policy which is 

 being pursued officially in Great Britain. It is not likely, 

 however, that the prices for ground nuts and their produi 

 will he high for some time, and it is probable that producers 

 mi a large scale in India and Africa will be able to more than 



pply requirements at a lower price than would pay the 

 West Indian producer. In this connexion it ma\ b 

 rest to refer to a letter received by the Imperial Com 

 sinner of Agriculture for the West Indies from His Excellency 

 the Governor of Gambia, in which it is stated thai the juice 

 of ground nuts at the time of writing_had-fallen so low as to 



• embarrassment, the price being oi ■ nail fraction of 



what it is in normal years. The Gambian crop, moreover, 

 was large. This does not look encouraging for any develop- 

 ment of the industry in Montserrat at the moment, unless 

 the Imperial Institut n find a special opening. 



The Report of the Land Officer, GrejM la, for the month 



of February 1915, states that the cane crop looks promising 



and t hat a splendid crop of pigeon peas has been reaped this 



'he small holdings. Bush land is being cleared for 



the next corn-planting Road improvement continues, 



