Vol. XIV. No. 34; 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



259 



and that in the last few issues ol West I i ' nnittte 



' w ! i ippeai I iidence relating to 1 lie 



subject undi i con I i ition. 



ilized that t! t>ject has been to make 



i - in whether it wi possibl in thi neai 



future for tin- British trop ;i sufficient quantity 



jai' to make ' !reat Britain dent of cont ii 



supplies. From the information thai has been published m 

 the 11',,' India (Jonimitti ' , [• would appear thai 



there is more than enough suit 



i any large arras mull be planted it would be 



iry to m 'I.'- a rrangemei ird to the supply of 



labour, ami, in i i irrigation, drainage, 



and the provision ot central I 



Referring to thi provinces "I' Nigeria, Mr. 



1'. II. Lamb, the Director of Agriculture, expresses the view 

 that in the evenl ol prefei mtial treatment being given to 

 en], in;,' ugar, the possibilitii of Nigeria a- a source 



of supply are well worth] o careful enquiry, [n speaking of 

 the condition, mi. I, a which cam ca >wn in the northern 



provinces, Mr. Lamb states that is essential bui 



should offer little difficulty along the river Hats of tin' Niger 

 ■ a Benue. Here, it is said, suitable sites for very large 

 plantation could be found, and in connexion with such situ 

 ations it should be remembered that water transporl is very 

 economical, A plentiful supplj of unskilled labour would be 

 forthcoming ;it about Is. per day. 



With reference to the southern provinces of Nigeria, 

 Mr. W. II. Johnson, Director of Agriculture, states that he 

 is of opinion that vast areas of land in the vicinity of the 

 various rivers and creeks in this country are admirably 

 adapted for sugar growing under irrigation. It is admitted, 

 however, that some difficulties might be encountered in 

 regard to labour supply. In this connexion it has to be 

 further borne in mind that there are difficulties as regards 

 draft animals in Nigeria owing to the fatal nature of the 

 known as Trypanosomiasis. Conditions would, 

 however, appear to be favourable for traction which, on 

 a large scale, would probably prove far more economical. 



Turning to the possibilities of introducing cane culti- 

 vation into East Africa, a letter appears in the Wttt India 

 Committee Circular for -Inly 1 •">, 1915, from Mr. H. Powell, 

 Chief of the Economic Plant Division, in which it is stated 

 that there are nearly 330,000 acres of land suitable foi 

 cane cultivation, in that Protectorate. This area would 

 produce at the lowest estimate 650,000 tons of sugar per 

 annum, or verj nearly one third of the consumption of the 

 United Kingdom. 



In the reports received from the above mentioned 



c ilonies, it maj !»■ ,,f interest to record that in each case ii is 



iii' We i Indian seedling :anes are at present under 



trial, and are showing evidence of being suited to local 



condition 



Previous to the above information concerning Africa, the 

 1 India Committee had published official reports from 



British Guiat i. Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, and 

 the Leeward Islands, showing thatnnder favourable conditions 



these colonies done could produ « than enough sugar to 



meet the requirements of the L T ni ed Kingdom, and displace 

 the German and Austrian ugar, on which consumers in the 

 I "nited Kingdom were main] the w n\ 



I .i mple, it !• est imati d tha ' ' Ii Gui ma could produi e 

 2,500,000 tons, which is as i i i imported into the 



1 i '-in from Gi ii "id \ ears. 



WEST INDIAN SUGAR IN LONDON. 



The Product Markets' Review for Julj 10,1915 



I 1 i hes the the i ing statement in connexion 



with the prici Wesi Indian sugar in the London 

 Market: 



The supply of We. i Indian Crj tallised continue 



o| the deni oal. and vain- tre in so 

 rather lower. It is difficult to account foi this 

 as the sugar is the ch >le. It is 



cheaper than 'i ellov I md could be sold at tin 



price in the shops, but ol lal the distributor has 



regarded Demerara i tide of luxury, which should 



fetch in consequence a bigher price than White S 

 This is of course absurd, and without discussing the rel 



of White or Brown or bellow Sugar, the ii"', remains 

 thai this season it is i I I in the 



market than any other kind, that it is pun a lowei 



price, that the profit to the retailer, even "lien sold at 

 a populur figure, is remunerative', and finally, thai the - 

 in question is British grown, and should, therefore, come inti 

 r prominence, now that the United Kingdom ha 



look far afield for her supplies ol' Cane Sugar. 



The Importance of Phosphorus. —The Ohii 

 Agricultural Experiment Station das recently issued an 

 important scientific publication consisting of a review of tic 

 literature of phosphorus compounds in animal metabolism 

 Running to nearly Toil pages this lengthy and exhaustivi 

 memoir presents for the benefil of the research student all 

 the important facts that are known concerning the part 

 played by phosphorus in the animal system. 



To give the reader an idea of the importance of 

 phosphorus, the following may be quoted from tin 

 introduction to the volume; 



'Among the several inorganic elements involved in 

 animal life phosphorus is of especial interest. No other on. 

 enters into such a diversity of compounds and plays an 

 important part in so many functions. Structurally, it is. 

 important as a constituent of every cell nucleus and so of all 

 cellular structures; it. is also prominent in the skeleton, iit 

 milk, in sexual elements, glandular tissue, and the nervous 

 system. Functionally, it is involved in all cell multiplication, 

 in the activation and control of enzyme actions, in the 

 maintenance of neutrality in the organism, in the conduct ot 

 nerve stimuli, and through its relation to osmotic pressure, 

 surface tension and imbibition of water by colloids, it has 

 to do with the movement of liquids, with the maintenance ol 

 proper liquid contents of the tissues, with cell movements, and 

 with absorption and secretion. 



A lengthy bibliography (120 pages), and an exhaustivi 



index are appended to the book. 



Tin- age of goats according to their teeth is noted on in 

 tin Experiment Station Record, Vol. XXXII, No. 9. It 



appears that the termination of the pen id during which the 



incisors an- replaced i- nearly the same in goats as in early 

 maturing sheep. Tic period between tic- repla ing of the 



first ami second incisors in si p i< about two months 



shorter than in goats, bul the interval between the 

 and third pairs is shorter in goats. The temporary molars 

 I earlier in goats than in sheep, in goal hortei 



fori I In' em i ing of ■ be third, in sheeponh aftei the cutting, 



of the latter or at the - lime. 



