Vol. XIV. No. 



\(.i;i« 11 LTURAL NEWS 



I II 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE WEST INDIES. 



( if the two or I hn e 



foi thi econon i theii products, 



the bee and silkwon e The 



mi il entomologist has usually to deal with this 



immense divisi i the animal world 



combated or eradicated if possible. Be rtainly the 



in"-' widely cultivated oi these Son . some 



species or other being vali i world foi 



luctions, honej and wax. 



Some fourteei i insiderable inti 



;i i n lused in I lie smaller West Indian 

 islands in bee keepii - : uperial 



irtment of Agriculture. A expert, Sir. VV. K. 



uider the auspii i I lepartment, \ isited ill 



the islands of the Windward and L .< Govi aenl -. and 

 also Barbados, and 



ng, the substance of which litei i lished, 



as Pamphlet No. 9. This inti i I: minished of 



1 1 except in St. Lucia, ' il was soon 



seen that b ng in the Wes [ndies could hardly be 



nded upon il me as a means of livelih 1. 



It would seem, however, that bee-keeping is admirably 

 adapted for adding to the income of any one who has 

 a little time to spare to give th Bssai n to it. 



. it involves so little labour that in many parts of the 

 world, notably in Jamaica, lad largely interested in 

 it, tn the benefit not only of their p i kets, b tl also of their 

 health ami their mental powers. The value of the export 

 of honey and wax from Jamaie i £15,00 ir nmuin. 



To be a successful bee-keeper, whether with one or in 

 hundreds of hivi iry to study and observe their 



ways', and such stud} must greatly assist to foster the habit 

 of taking notice of all sorts of other things in the world of 

 life, animal and vegetable. Bee keeping also calls for 

 out-of-doors, though not in the heat of the sun a most 

 healthy manner ol life. 



Apart from the intrinsic value of thi md wax 



produced by them, bees an able assistants to growers 



ips the yield of which depi nds on the fertilization of the 



for the production of fruit. Hives oi ! - kept among 



lime trees or in orange groves help to secut arge yield, 



e by the visits of the bees a larger number of flowers 



are fertilized, and set in fruit. The same rule probably 



applies to all tropical fruit, nota 1] .i\ lo pears and 



mangoes. Verj likely largei ' tes ol coco-nuts are 



ed also l.\ the \ isits of 1 ich i an I bserved as 



mt visitors to the newly opened flowers of this palm. 

 In temperate climates it is well known that the visits of bees 

 to leguminous plants are most beneficial, 'if not indispensable 



ure a large crop. An inti point for observation, 



e of bean crops being tried in the West [ndies, would 



be tl ffecl oi keeping bees within reach of them. As tn 



the food supply for the bees fi other than cultivated 



plants, the West Indies afford an inexhaustible supplj oi 

 nectariferous flowers, from the unrivalled logwood to the 

 otherwise poisonous manchineel. 



Considering the attention that is being pa sent 



to encouraging new food-producing in these islands, 



it may be worth while tn draw attention to this, ifmiU as 

 a by-production. Although not very jemunerative, honej 

 and wax do pay the patient, careful, and obsen ml 

 bee-keeper, as is proved in Jama i I in S Lucia to 

 a minor extent, where the indt is growing. There is 



always likely to I tie for hone] 



produced in mark. [uantitii 



Quite lately enquii ii made froi ' 



the possibh ey from I 



n as to 'In I-, aily sale oi it thi n 



Anyone who to try bei e 



reasons mentioned abovi . even by beginni 

 two and that is enough for thi I ill to 



get some knowledge of the subj i h Pamphlet X >. ' 



mphlel Series ol tin Agricultural Department, will 



THE GASES OF SWAMP RICE SOILS. 



The fust paper on this investigation by W. A. 

 Harrison, M.Sc, and P. A. Subramania Aiyer, B.A., oi 

 the Madras Departmenl of Agriculture, was dealt with 

 in il.. Agricultural Xtus for Januan •">. 1914. In 

 this it was shown thai the brmed in the soils 



under consideration appeared to have an impo 

 connexion w ith thi a> ral ton of the rod 



This vvas believed to I" in s • >) dependent upon 



tin- surface film of micro-organisms. In ordi 

 determine the acl ion - i the soil film upon soil e 

 •i series oi experiments was subsequently undei 

 from the results of which the following important 

 conclusions have been arrived at (see Memoirs of thi 

 Department of Agricultun in India, Che 

 Vol. 1 V, Nn. I i: 



1. The organized film in contact with the - 

 swamp rice soDs utilizes ises in such a mai 

 tn bring about an increased oxygen output from thi 

 leading toa correspondingly increased runt aeration. 



2. The film contains bacteria which possess (1) 



power to oxidise met In and hydrogen, and (i') to assimilate 



directly methane and carbon-dioxide. These changes either 

 directly or indirectly result in the production of CO* which 

 is in turn assimilated by the green algae with the evolution 

 of oxygen 



3. The film maj be looked upon as fulfilling the 'luty 



oi an oxygen c :entrator at a point which enables the 



maximum oxygen conci titration to be produced in thi 

 entering the soil. 



-1. The practice i manuring by increa 



output of the soil gases - rings an ii creased activity 

 part of the film resulting in an increased oxygen prod 

 and root aeration. An important indirect function then 

 grei M manuring is to bring about a greater root aeration and 

 -.ii induce greater runt, development and cropping power. 



5. The oxygei :entration of the water ente 



-nil appear^ in 1 nr . ,i thi main factors which reg 



growth "f the crop. 



An annouiieemeril in the ■luurna oi the Royal S 

 Arts states that some interesting experiments will be made 

 during the coming spring, in ftaly, in connexion with the 

 employment of electric power for ploughing and othei 

 cultural operations. The trials will take place on ,i rici 

 in the Province of Nbvara, and will be open to fore . 

 a- to Italian makers. Substantial prizes, as well as payment 

 for the land ploughed are offered. It is stated that 

 district under consideration electric energj can be o ned 

 alow cost by means of the numerous rivers and 

 which flow on the Italian valleys of the Alps. 



