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THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



September IS, 1909. 



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glgriciiltiiriil ^tm 



Vol. VIII. SATUKDAY, SEPTEMBER IS, 1909. No. 193. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the editorial, the subjecrt of the enemies of 

 cottoc, which was begun in the last number, has been 

 followed up by an article on the chief blights which 

 attack that plant in the West Indies. 



The conclusions as to the effect of soluble manures 

 on sugar-cane soils which have been reached at the 

 Hawaii Experiuicnt Station are of interest. They are 

 given on page 291. 



Information is given on page 292 in conne.xion 

 with a coffee disease which has appeared in Dominica, 

 and remedies for it are .«uggested. 



A review of the report ibr 1908 of the Sugar-cane 

 Experiments Committee, Board of Agriculture, British 

 Guiana, will be found on page 293. 



Statistics in connexion with the export of cotton 

 from the West Indies are given on page 294. 



The Insect Notes, on page 298, appear in the form 

 of an illustrated article on the transportation of 

 'millions' . 



Interesting and useful information appears in 

 the Fungus Notes on page 299. It deals with the 

 parasitic fungi of scale insects in the West Indies. 



An article on page 303 gives an account of the 

 ways in which a plant of great commercial value (the 

 West African oil palm) may be used as a shade tree, 

 especially, under certain conditions, for c-icao. 



Breeds of B'owls and Egg Pi'oduction. 



Experience in the United States of America has 

 shown that greatly increased egg production in the 

 larger breeds of fowls, such as barred and white 

 Plymouth Rocks, is accompanied by a decrease in the 

 percentage of fertility in the eggs. At the same time, 

 the number of chickens that fail to hatch properly in- 

 creases. With the smaller breeds, such as brown 

 Leghorns and black Minorcas, this is not the case, 

 while white Wyandottes are intermediate in this 

 respect. 



A New Parasite on Mosquitos. 



It has been observed by Dr. Allhusen that a i\y 

 which is common in Hong Kong feeds on the larvae of 

 mosquitos. This insect probably belongs to the family 

 Dolichopodidae, or long legged Hies, the members of 

 which are of small or medium size and generally bric^ht 

 metallic green in colour. The larvae are long, slender 

 and round, and live in earth or decomposing matter. 

 It is the perfect insect, or imago, that is said to be 

 useful in the connexion named, however. This is pre- 

 daceous and hunts for small soft-bodied insects, beings 

 generally found in damp places covered with rank 

 vegetation, on the leaves of aquatic plants, or on water, 

 over the surface of which it is able to run. It is thus 

 very likely that some of the last-mentioned forms are 

 able to attack mosquito larvae which have risen to the 

 surface of the water to breathe, and, if this is so, the 

 existence of such a fly should have an important bearing 

 on the prophylaxis of tropical disease. 



Green Manuriog. 



This subject, it will, be remembered, was discussed 

 in the editorials of Nos. 189 and 190 of the Agricul- 

 tural N'eii-s. In these, the effect of raising the plants 

 for green dressings in a soil badly supplied with water 

 was mentioned, and attention was drawn to the fact 

 that the removal from such a soil of the water required 

 for the growth of the green dressing plants may cause 

 it to become so dry as to render inoperative any benefit 

 that may have accrued to subseijuent crops by the 

 turning in of the green manure. Consideration of the 

 matter naturally leads to the question of the advisa- 

 bility, in such a case, of using fresh, green plants that 

 have been grown elsewhere for the purpose. An 

 attempt has been made at the Rome Experiment 

 Station, to arrive at a decision in a practical way. 

 A large number of experiments was devised to this 

 end, and the conclusions have been arrived at : that 

 the green manure grown elsewhere is more effective 

 than that grown on the Held itself; that this gre.-iter 

 effectiveness varies with climatic conditions, with the 

 nature of the soil and the kinds of ])lants used ; and 

 tliat it is due to the fact that the water taken off by 

 the green dressing while growing is saved for the soil 

 which is manured. The importance of these conclu- 

 sions in dry regions, or in periods of drought, is evident. 



