

THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



•EC] UBEB 18, 1915. 



EDITORIAL ; ~i NOTICES. 



Head < (ffke 



m 



B LBBADOS. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 



Barbados. 



All applications For copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' .-iiid other Departmental publications, should be 

 addressed to the Agents' and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents,and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page.*} of 

 "the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Francis Watts, CM. G., D.Sc, 



Agriculture/,,,- the West Indies F.I.C., F.C.S. 



-i ii \ i tFIC STAFF. 

 ■Scientific Assistant and 



Assistant Editor W. R. Dunlop. 



.Entomologist H. A. Ball M.Sc. 



Mycologist W. Howell, D.l C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 

 Chi./ I I,, I. V. G. Howell. 



Assist, n, I Clerk M. B Connell. 



-Junior Clerk W. P. Bovell, 



Assistant Junior Cleik P. Taylor. 



Typist Miss 6. Robinson. 



fA.-B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



Assistants for Publications 



\h. A. Corbin. 



Agricultural Jlnus 



"T0L.XIV. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1915. No. 356. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number deals with neglecl of 

 science by the daily Press. 



A valuable ari icle appears on page 404 which shows 

 what would have been che 1 spenence had the canes 

 dealt with in the Antigua Central Factory been dealt 

 with under the old muscovado system. 



A review of the Barbados Sugai cane Experiment 

 Report will be found on page 407. 



The information under the headings [nsecl Notes, 

 11 id Plants Diseases, consists of reviews of the subject- 

 matter published in those sections of 'Ins Journal 

 luring 1 he pasl year. 



Teff-A Fodder Grass. 



In this Journal for March 14, L 914 (page 85), 

 a useful article appears on the subject of fodder grasses. 

 Amongst those referred to 1- Teff (Eragrostis abya- 

 Miiictt). It is stated thai Teff was introduced into 

 the Transvaal in L903 and has since proved itself 

 a complete success, its qualil ies being good palatabilitj , 

 high nutritive value, beavj yielding, rapidlj growing, 

 drought resisting, and ability to smother weeds 



The Commissioner of Agriculture for the West 



hide-, has recently obtained through the Deparl nt 



ol Agriculture, Union of South Africa, a supply of seed 

 of this grass, and small quantities have been distributed 

 to the different islands, including Trinidad where, it 



is learnt from Professor ( 'arniody, the plant lias 

 already been tried. It seems rather difficult to 

 establish in Trinidad. This is probably due to 

 inferior germination capacity, in which respect the 

 present supply is also said to be poor. It is hoped 

 however that enough plants may be raised to produce 

 seed for future distribution. There is ever} reason to 

 believe that if this new fodder can be successfully 

 grown, it will be a great boon to sleek owners in the 

 Lesser Antilles. 



Limes v. Lemons. 



The editor of Tropical Life in the October issue 

 of that journal calls attention to the excellent qualities 

 of the fresh lime, and suggests that it might be more 

 widely substituted in Europe lor the lemon. Mention 

 is made of an article by the Scientific Assistanl on the 

 Staff of the Imperial Department, which appeared in 

 a recent issue of the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, 

 where it is stated that the lime, although smaller than 

 the lemon, yields, weigh! for weight, a good deal more 

 juice: and the article in Tropical Lift continues: we 

 are quite certain that since the cost of freight is an 

 important item to be considered, a cubic foot ol limes 

 would give infinitely more home-made lemonade or 

 limeade than a cubic foot of lemons would, while the 

 cost per gallon would surely work out at a lower cost 

 than when made from lemons with their thicker skins 

 and often indifferent pulp or fleshy contents.' 



It then goes on to suggest that if lime producers 

 in the West Indies ctfuld bulk their output and employ 

 "He er two real live travellers who are experts in the 

 Peninsula fruit trade, the\ would, after two or three 

 yi us canvassing permanently place limes in a domestic 

 place of importance in Great Britain. 



Though the above suggestion is a g I one, it 



cannot be gainsaid that the keeping qualities of the 



I line is inferior to that of the lemon: t his, however, would 

 not, necessarily !»■ a disadvantage if the market 



arrangements were such as to ensure a moderatelj rapid 



sale. The lime is esseiit iall\ ;i sii ier fruit, and it' 



supplied during that, period it would no doubt, sell 



quickly enough. 



