172 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



M\v -2-2, 1915. 



GLEANINGS. 



\.r. -I I issue of the Aim igua • s </», it has 



been decided to hold in thai Colony ;i maize show. The 

 exhibition will : al the Botanic Station. 



The first of the Nigerian Entomological Bulletins has 

 been received, dealing with the general control of pests. This 

 pamphlet is i ion to No. I of the Mycologica! Serii 



already noted in this journal. 



An interesting note on the strength of rubber appears in 

 the India Rubber Journaliox April 3, L915. It h;i>. been 

 shown in America thai rubber will stand a greater pressure 

 than the bighesl grade of steel. Steel pistons with rubber 

 washers were subjected to high pressure and the steel softened, 

 merging into the pores. 



A reference t" the cultivation "I' limes in Sierra Leone 

 appears in the African Mail for April 2, 1915. This crop 

 grows very well mi both the Iaterite and alluvial soilsof that 

 Colony, ami it is hoped that in the future an export trade 



may lie developed in limes, which appear to grow as well in 

 Sierra Leone as in the West Indies. 



In the Chamber of Commerct Journal for April 1915, 

 reference is mule to the Philippine plant known as Blumea 

 t/ahamifera, which produces camphor. This plant is ashurb 

 anil is one of the most common weeds in the Philippines. 

 It grows to from 5 to 8 feet high and has, it is said, been 

 used for a long time for medicinal purposes in China. 



The trade of the Cayman Islands (Dependencies of 

 Jamaica) receives lengthy consideration in the Financier and 

 Jiullionist for April 10, 1915. Special reference is made to 

 the turtle industry, and it is said that contracts have been 

 made bj the representative of a company that contemplates 

 establishing a turtle canning factory in Grand Cayman. 



An article entitled 'Manuring Experiments on Castleton 

 Estate' appears in the Agricultural Bulletin i>J the Federated 

 Malay States, Vol III. No. 3, and although the name of the 



tires experimented on is not given, it may be assu .1 that 



they are Elevea. There ull bovt that none of the various 

 treatments which included lime had any noticeable influ 

 cue,- on the ->'■<•: tl oi I he tree-. 



A i, -view appears in the Bulletin 0) the Imp 

 Jnstitutt (October-Decembei 1914) of a recent work entitled 



'The ford Survey of the British Empire'. In this 1 k 



t Jii' e chapti devoted t.. 



British Guia I i phj . 



population and 3ir I laniel Morris i 



. h iih geology, el: 



tion. 



A note on coco-nuts/in the Journal of the Jama 

 Agricultural Society (March 1915) provides the inforr 

 that tin Soeietj has i nuts from a plantal 



the Pacific side of Central America which are said to be 

 rapid growers, and it is thought that this is quite likely since 



i in! mi the journey. 

 These nuts are \ erj round, and on opening them the hi 



y thin, and the nut- inside them practically 

 spherical 



In his article on Trinidad birds in the Bulletin of th 

 Departm nt o1 A riculture <t Ti i Tobago, May 



1914, \li P. I.. Gupp3 states that there are 300 species to 



mil in that Colony. Of land birds alone Trinidad does 

 not possess more than 190species. Migratory and aquatic 

 birds supply the balance. With a few notable exceptions, 

 birds do not play an important pari in keeping down insect 

 pests in Trinidad. Theexceptii ' beginning 



of the article. Some of the woodpeckers appear to be 

 especiallj useful. 



The resources anil agricultun oi South Australia are 



very adequate!] described in the Handl I issued by the 



Intelligence and Tourists Bureau al Adelaide. The illus 

 t rations, which are numerous and diverse, give an excellenl 

 idea of the country and its possibilities, and although the 

 conditions are not tropical, the publication will be interesting 

 reading to those who have a knowledge of agriculture of 

 any kind. One interesting fact noted is that loans are 

 granted to agriculturists for the purchase of wire netting to 

 be erected as a protection of crop- against rabbits, wild dogs, 

 and other vermin. This loan system has proved highly 

 satisfactory . 



In Nature for March 25, 191"), an article i.-- reviewed 

 dealing with observations made mi the relation between soil 

 moisture and plant associations in America. The term 

 'growth water' is introduced by the author of the article for 

 the percentage of soil moisture in excess of that found by 

 experiment to be present in the soil when wilting occurs in 

 plants; and it has been found that the differences in the ratio 

 between evaporation and growth-water in the series of plant 

 communities investigated are sufficient to be regarded as 

 efficient factors in bringing about the succession of gradual 

 changes from the scant) drought vegetation of the open sand 

 to the moisture loving broad-leaved forest, which forms the 

 climax of the series. 



An interesting study of the inheritance of fertility is 

 noted in Naturt for April 8, 1915. At the (Jniversitj ol 



Illinois two distinct sj Lea of animals have been crossed, tin 



wild Brazilian cavy (Cavia rufesens) with the sharplj 

 distincl enmiin.ii domestic guinea-pig (C. porcellus) I 

 this experiment between & rufesens males and C. pon 

 females gave completely sterile male and femali 



hybrids. Bj mating the female hybrids with C. port 

 male-, quarter-wild hybrids were obtained, again sterile 

 males and fei I ile females; but by repi I i rosses ol 



female hybrids to C. porcellu* male-, individuals wit! 

 increasing fertility were obtainei Fertility seemed to ad 

 pies character; for the n . .1 when 



would expect if a number of d iminanl factors foi 

 sterility wei I, the i limination ol whirl, woul 



