262 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Aucust 14, 1915. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme ami II. .Hand, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date July 27, 1915, with refer 

 ence to the sales of Wesl Indian Sea Island cotton: 



There has been do enquiry for Sea Island cotton since 

 our last report, and we see do prospect of much improvement 

 until Belgium ami Northern France are tree of the German 

 occupation. 



This report shows thai tin- total exports ..I' Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool and 

 Manchester, up t.. July 3, 1915, were 103 and 1,819 

 respecl ively. 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BRITISH 

 COTTON GROWING ASSOCIATION 



FOR 1914. 



In ri ferences i" the West Indies which appear in this 

 publicatioD concern matters many of which are by this time 

 familiar to our nailers. In regard t.. the demand lor Sea 



i cotton it is pointed OUt thftt this tell away at the 



outbreak of tie war and resulted in the decision arrived at 

 by many planters in the West Indies to reduce their areas 

 and cultivate increased quantities of sugar and other produce, 



winch at [.resent command relatively higher prices than 

 cotton The situation changed however when a lew months 



later the < louncil arranged for the I'me Spinners' and I >oublers' 



Association to guarantee a minimum price tor the cotton 



grown in the different West Indian islands during 1915-16 



season. It may not he fully appreciated in the West Indies 



the large extent to which the British Cott m Growiag 



iation was instrumental in bringing about this 



a tee 



Turning to more general matters connected with the 



work oi the. i ation, it i- recorded that the association 



took part in the International Congress of Tropical Agricu] 

 tui .ill in ih International Qotton Fibres and other 

 1 Products Exhibition held about tin- same time. 

 Tie- Association generously offered several silver cups for the 



best exhibits of different kinds of cotton, and did everything 



in its power to stimulate increased interest in their crop. 



During the year the Association had the opportunity 



<ral of the Agricultural Officers from the 



i colonies and protectorates, including Mr. S. Simpson, 



Director of Agriculture i". Uganda; Mr J. S -I McCall, 



Agriculture for Nyasaland; and Mr. \V. X. Sand-. 



Agricultural Superintendent ..t St. Vinci 



It i- recorded in the report that the exports oi cotton 

 from the West Indies t « . j the year ended September -lit. 

 1914, amounted to 1,905,237 fo.of Sea Island, and 1 16,125 lb. 

 ,t Marie Galante cotton, giving ■ > total ol 6,000 bales of 

 100 n. ■ ich, and a value ol £135,321. 



A NEW VEGETABLE DYE. 



The current intexesl in dyes renders the following 

 note from th. Experiment Station Record worthy 

 of some attention in tin- West Indies, especially as this 

 orangi dy. can bi used as a substitute for fustic: — 



As a nde the trunk of an < tsage orange tree is small in 

 size, mis-shapen, and generally defective as a saw log, and, 



although because of the valuable properties of the w 1 (for 



wagon felloes especially,) closer utilization will scarcely be 



found in the use of any other w I, comparatively large 



amounts oi waste are produced annually. 



Osage orange has Jong I n used in Texas in a small 



way as a dyewood. The roots, bark, and wood are chipped 

 and boiled with water and a more or less permanent yellow 

 is obtained from the extract. As a result of the investiga- 

 tion it was found that the quality and quantity of the 

 dyestuff present is almost identical with that of fustic. 



Osag ange may be employed as a dyewood in all 



case- where fustic wood is Used at present. The yellows 

 produced by direct dyeing or by aluminum and tin mordants 

 are to., fugitive to 1 i commercial value. But the ..range 



yellows, old gold, deep tan. olive and chocolate -hades 



obtained with chromium and iron mordants are equal to, if 

 not better than, those obtained with fustic and are of 

 sufficient fastness to be oi commercial value. 



A domestic source Of a yellow dyewood has been found 

 that can advantageously replace a foreign materia] used at 



present. The mill waste alone from the present manufac 

 turo of Osage orange amounts to over 25,000 tons annually; 



and if this waste could be set down in the Hast for $10 or 

 $12 per ton. it is believed that it could compete successfully 

 with fustic, both from cost of production and ijuality of 

 colour produced on dyeing. 



CLEAN MILK. 



The National ('lean Milk Society (2 Soho Square, 

 London W.), which ha- been forme.! to improve tic milk supply 

 o| Great Britain and Ireland, ha- published a pamphlet 

 showing lew by a system of marks it i- possible to conduct 



the inspection of dairy farms iii an efficienl and educational 



manner. Tie score-card system which has been developed so 

 largely iii the L T nited States forjudgiug stock, agricultural 



produce, etc., ha- also 1 a applied to the inspection of dairy 



farms, towa dairies, etc. By making alterations that would 

 bring tin- score-, .oi more in touch with British condi- 

 tion-, it has been possible CO arrive at what promises to be 



a most satisfactorj way Of judging of the sanitarj condition 

 of any farm that is producing milk for human consumption. 

 i ore-card is divided into two main sections: one section 



dealing with equipment, the other with methods, and 

 (id per ..lit. 1. 1 tie- total marks i- allotted to the latter. Most 

 excellent explanatory note- are appended to the score card, 

 and are presumably intended for the guidance of the inspector. 

 A perusal oi them would be of great value to the fanner 

 himself, for frequently lack of cleanliness i- due more to 



failure to appreciate the i issity of being careful in the 



handling of such an important t 1 a- milk than to any 



desire to e\ ..I.- regulations. Sanitary inspectors in particular 

 should see this pamphlet, and if every landowner would take 

 the trouble to observe how large a proportion ot marks on 



the score-card depend upon the cowshed, there might be 

 improvements in farm building-. (Nature, -Inly I, 1915.) 



