Vol.. XIV. No. 344. 



Till: AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



211 



simple field characters by which cane varieties can be 

 distinguished. 



Field characters: (1 ) numb p ms on a si 



average height of canesin field, (.'5) general appearance of 

 uprightness or otherwi tin young or older 



stagi 



Leal ! : ance such a- -t raight, upright, bi n! 



over, etc., (5) proportion of withered leaves to green ones, (6) 

 h oi leaves al middle, (7) I length of 



leaves, (9) coloui of leaves, (1 r of 1( it sheath, (11) 



colour of band al base of leaf, (12) presence oi hairs at leaf 



Stripped Canes: (13) general colour ol cane, (14) 

 thicknes oi cane at internodes a des, (15) length ol 



internodes, (16) colour above node, i 17) colour of inter les, 



(18) |" i wax and. col ■ oi wax, (19) appearance oi 



buds eyes well developed or not, (20l appearance oi canal 

 :l i have eyes sprouted? 



In addition to their ise in distinguishing 



cane varieties, it is hoped thai the detailed observa 

 made in regard to the several varieties will provi 

 useful in studying the behaviour oi these canes under 

 different climatic and soil conditions, and it will thereby be 

 possible to obtain an idea of the suitability of the various 

 groups of canes for the various cane tracts of India. The 

 results of these observations should also in future provide 

 useful information regarding the subject of deterioration. 



Another interesting publication dealing with varieties 

 of sugar-cane is Bulletin No. 2, of the Bureau of the Sugar 



Experiment Stations, Queensland. This publicati :ontains 



a complete list oi the different varieties which have been 

 introduced, principally from New Guinea, but also from 

 Mauritius, Demerara, Trinidad and Barbados. That part 

 of the bulletin which deals with varieties that have been 

 or are now being grown commercially in Queensland makes 

 reference to the well-known Bourbons Trinidad seedling 

 No. 60, D.1135, B.208, B.H7, and D.116. All these canes 

 have proved satisfactory, though D.1135 has shown the 

 greatest promise and has proved its fitness for Southern 

 (Queensland's conditions in a marked manner. Fully four- 

 fifths of the cane from Bundaberg south is of this variety. It 

 ed that in Queensland B.208 is subject to disease. It 

 ■would seem that some of the New Guinea canes are worthy 



tention in the West Indies. N.(!.l"i is described as 

 a cane with white flesh, highly saccharine, and a remarkably 

 heavy cane weighing lib. per foot. It is greatly appreciated 

 by labourers as it is so easily cut, trashed and loaded. 



While considering the subject i I s irieties of cane it may 

 not be out of place to refer to th report of -work of the 

 ! nent Station ol the Eawaiian Sugar Planters' Associ- 



for 1905, [n Spite of being published ten year-, ago. 



esting consraerations and figures 



in regard to the varieiies.it that time under trial in Eawaii 

 The following | ';n igraph is quoted to show how the charactei 

 istics of the same variety maj change after it has been 

 subjected to the soil and climatic influences of various 



1 1 ies: — 



■It we endeavour to trace bad original am 



tors our Lahaina, introduced into these islands from the 



uesas Group by Captain Pardon Edwards, and 

 the "d from Louisian years ago, 



it appears that From the ick. I 



the coast of Mai [ndia 



same,) was shipped to Reunion, Mauritius, and Madag 

 points it was received by the West ft di 

 the islands of the Pacific. Promt! West Indies "Otaheite" 

 was introduced into Louisiana md ft m Loui aa into 



Hawaii, while the "Laha came fn >ui : 



and reached II iwaii bj ■■■ . . of Marqm W a* n bi 



! at the Experimeni Station and grown side by side 

 under the same com ol soil, climate, irrig 

 cultivation, they n lembled each othei closely, and only 

 differed in their value a ;ar production, and in the- 

 ii. tei of the stick.' 



A comparison of the chemical characteristics ol thea 

 two canes showed thai the Lahaina was by far the richer, 

 having a sucrose content ol 17*8 against li'l in the ease of 

 < itaheite. 



At the time w hen I h reporl from which th 

 ipli has beet i was published, I >. 117 held the 



lead among the recently introduced varieties, and was regarded 

 as .i promising cane worth} of trial undei th div 

 conditions of the island. B. 147 had also made a reputation 

 for itself, having apparently been obtained in II iwaii by way 

 of Queensland. 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS IN BRITISH 

 GUIANA 



On another page of this issue there will be found 

 a review of the 1913-14 Report of the Department of Agricul 

 ture of British Guiana, and the information in the present 

 article will serve the purpose of bringing the review more 

 into line with current events. 



The information given is based upon the Demerara 

 Daily Argosy's report on a recent meeting of the Board of 

 Agriculture, at which Professor Harrison made some very 

 interesting statements in regard to current topic- and develop- 

 ments. In the first place the rubber industry was dealt with, 

 and following the statement by Professor Harrison that the 

 price of planting material was to be reduced. His Excellency 

 the Governor urged that more enterprise should be shown. 

 in planting the large areas of land suitable for Para rubber. 

 Experiments yielding satisfactory results have been conducted. 

 at Issororo, which have shown that rubber can be collected 

 quite cheaply in the Colony, but, that in order to do so, tin 

 cultivation must be on a large scale, otherwise the cost of 

 superintendence is too great. Interesting evidence n as- 

 brought forward to show that, so far, the best rubber in the 

 Colony had been produced at Christianberg. 



The census of agricultural industries given in this report 

 show several noticeable increases in the area under crops during 

 1914-15. The area under rice has increased by as much as 

 11,45 4 acres, while maize and ground provisions showanincreasi 

 of 2,604 acre,. Other large uroareases are to be seen in the ca 

 of coco-nuts, : li e stock. The principal decn 



has occurred in tin- Case of limes, arid it is also observed that 

 there was a large falling off in the number of swine. A table 

 showing the areas devoted to the principal varieties of sugar- 

 cane indicates the great popularity of D.625, on the one hand, 

 and the steady decline of the Bourbon, on the other. I>.1 18 

 -.iin- to I.,- receiving more consideration at the hands of 

 planter-. 



In conclu ion referei ce is made to v eterinarj - 

 principally in connexion with the outbreak of anthrax on the 

 Ea I Coast. Although averj active campaign has for the past 

 t . ■ w months been conducted, then, are indications that the 

 epidemic has not yet entirely disappeared, and it was moved 

 at tl that thi - - 1 ' ed 



,uld be continued until three months after the last 

 suspicious case. Pi I d in com 



[i mil- of swine plague and Fever which h med 



iderable 1< as, but which had now for the time being;. 

 lively disappeared. 



