162 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 22, 1915. 



lime requirements of rubber soils. The American 

 method was adopted whereb} a weighed quantit) of 

 soil is allowed to remain for a definite time in conl 

 with a very dilute standard solution of lime. The 

 amount not neutralized is then determined, from 

 which the quantit) absorbed from the soil is calculated 

 and expressed in tons per acre I fool depth. The 

 magnitude of some of the figures obtained, especially 

 for the clay soils, indicated thai liming treatment as 

 hitherto advocated is totally inadequate. On one 

 estate, quicklime to the amount ol [-ton pei acre 

 only was being applied, whereas the aciditj when 

 estimated proved to be equivalent to over 6 tons. To 

 produce even approximate neutrality in such cases 



quicklime would be prohibits i the score of expei 



but it would be feasible perhaps if ground limestone 



were used. Considering that good yields are under 



the present methods obtained in the Malaya, it 



would seem that a certain amount of acidity is 



not harmful, and may indeed be beneficial. To 



arrive at a decision on this point further experi- 



mtieipated. More than once the suggestion 



has been made that many tropical plants - as well as 



rice — may take up a pari of their nitrogen in the form 



• l ammonia. This would in part qbviate the necessity 



■of lime being present on account of the absence of 



nitrification. Whether this explanation is true or not, 



: t is certain that tropical plants as a whole are not as 



dependent on a large supply of calcium carbonate as 



are those plants experimented with in temperate 



•countries. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



WEST INDIAN CANES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



I,\ ih" time tin- issue has appeared many of our 

 readers will have noted an article in the West India 

 Committee Circular, which was reproduced from the 

 South African Agricultural News, dealing with the 

 results of earn seedling trials in Natal. This article, 

 dealing with West Indian canes, contains information 

 of sufficient technical and local interest to warrant 

 publication in this journal also. 



The only variety of sugar-cane grown to any large 



■ lit at the present time in .Natal is the Uba, and although 



it is not altogether a verj satisfactory type from a nulling 



■a of view, it meets with great favour le, the planters, and 



ia the only our that has hitherto stood successfully the 



ravages ot frost I. drought, as well as the various fungoid 



ind animal pests met with in the sub-tropical areas of this 

 Province. Still, it is not reasonable to hope that the Qba 



•Si e .!■ < ' ■ -, Vol. \ 1 1 1, p. 227. 



rBarrowclifF, M., AqrieuHni of the Federated 



M nj States, Vol. III. N... 2. 



will indefinitely continue to'be Hh- satisfactory cropper and lie. 

 as free from -it is at the present time. For the-.' 



the late Natal Government, in co-operation with 

 some of the planter.-, associations, from time to time intro- 

 duced from various sourdes other varieties which would be 

 most likely to flourish under local conditions. 



( >f the fourteen varieties of cane given below, the first ten 



were introduced so twelve years ago, the majoritj 



fr the West Indies and < luiana. Si 



were also [\ ■ it the same time, but for various reasons 



they ha discarded. The three Java vari 



Nbs. 105 and 117 and Gheribon were obtained in March 

 1909 from Egypt, i representing the best types of cane 

 grown in that country. The Indian cane I igaul, from 

 Sultanpur) is onbj one variety out of nine supplied in 1911 

 by the [nspector-Gener-d of Agriculture in India, tin- remain- 

 ing eight having made bul OWth. 



The results obtained in connexion with the plant canes in 

 the variety plots are given in the table on the next page. 



The following detailed information -applied by the 

 Farm Manager at Winkel Spruit, with regard to the different 

 varieties ol cane, will be of interest: — 



1. Antigua B. 15. A health} I me of rather 

 drooping habit, liable to attack from cane borers, the per- 



centage loss of crop from this cause being al I -per cent. 



It has given only a moderate crop, stools badly, and is hardly 

 likely to prove of economic value in Natal. 



2. Demerara I >. 7t. -This cane gives a moderal 



g I yield, and is less liable to the attack of the cane borers 



than some of the other Demerara varieties. It still maintains 

 its superiority over most of the other types, but the per- 

 centage of sucrose in the juice is, however, lower than in any 

 of the other I lemerara canes tested. 



•'!. Demerara 1>. 95.. Gave a very low yield of cane, 

 bul probably this was largely due to unfavourable soil 

 conditions. The canes wen- short in length and produced 

 rather short internodes. It .showed a great tendency to form 

 adventitious roots and incipient shoots. The cane was 

 attacked by the borer, the loss being about 5 per cent. It 

 docs not stool well, and on the whole is an unsatisfactory 

 variety. 



t. Demerara I). 109. — This i> a satisfactory cane, 

 stools moderately well, and gave a g 1 yield. 



5. Demerara D. 110, Gave only a moderate crop, 

 and does not -to,,l satisfactorily. Very unsatisfactory also 



in yield and richness of Juice. 



6. Demerara D. 625. This cane is exceptionally stout 

 and upright with long internodes, but was unfortunately 



attacked by borer, the 10SS ai in ting approximately to 10 



per cent. It is the heaviest cropper of all varieties tested 



and yields a good percentage of juii f fairly high density, 



It is worthy of trial on a more extensive scale. 



7. Queensland No. 2. A stout cane producing rather 



I ■ stools and with low percentage ol juice 



8. Queensland No. •">. A thin cane, but with better 

 ool than No. 2. Both the Queensland canes maj be cl ed 



as i lerate in qualities of growth or production. 



!». Honolulu Pose I'.aml , \ tlnn cane of slightly 



drooping habit, fairly healthy, and possessing long intei 

 Fairly satisfactot ids yield and -to,, ling qualities, but 



suffered slightfj from borer attack. 



1 0. 1 Ionic. Gave disappointing results, the yield being 



May | r. This cane is short, stools badly, is given to the 



undesirable prodm tion of roots from the nodes, and the eyes 

 show a stroii- tendency to sprout. It was attacked bj borer, 

 the loss amounting to roughlj 5percent. It isevidentlj not 



l to the present environmi 



