300 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 18, 1909. 



GLEANINGS. 



Experience at the Botanic Station, Antigua, has shown 

 that the yield of broom corn tlepends to a great extent on 

 the supply of water during the tirst month or six weeks after 

 sowing the seed. At this period, the growth is comparatively 

 slow, and a fair rainfall during it generally leads to good 

 returns. 



The report by the British A'ice-C'onsul at Zanzibar on 

 the trade of that Protectorate in 1908 states that, from the 

 planting of young Ceara rubber trees in the Government 

 plantations and the distribution of seed to native cultivators 

 by the Agricultural Department, there should be a total of 

 400,000 young trees now growing in Zanzibar and Peniba. 



The loss in weight of an ordinary fowl by bleeding and 

 plucking amounts to about 12i per cent, of the live weight. 



In Japan (not including Formosa) the cane crop for 

 1908 was nearly 49."),000 tons. From thi.s, about 4-5,000 

 tons of sugar was obtained, which gives a yield of 9o per 

 cent. 



The Queensland sugar crop for 1908 was 1.51,098 tons, 

 •which is the smallest yield for four years. The number of 

 .sugar factories in the State is fifty-three, of which forty- 

 eight produce raw sugar. 



For the cotton crop of 1908 in the Virgin Islands, 

 3,600 lb. of selected Sea Island cotton seed was distributed. 

 Most of this -wsls given out free, and a small portion was sold 

 at '2id. per fl). 



It has been found at the St. Lucia Botanic Station that 

 the percentage germination of seeds of the ^lanii^oba rubbers 

 (Manihot dichotoma Rnd M. piauhyetisis) may he increased 

 by slightly filing them at the end nearest the radicle. 



A plot of improved Indian corn is kept at the Grenada 

 Botanic Station, and from it a good type of twelve-week 

 corn has been obtained by constant selection. The seed of 

 this is regularly distributed to peasants in the island. 



A com|)any called the Sugar Beet Syndicate has been 

 formed in iMigland recently. In connexion with its opera- 

 tions, a site for a beet sugar factory, which will be capable 

 of dealing with the jjroducc from .'ijOOO acres of beet, has 

 been chosen. 



'J'he ^y'lnl-Auslralixche Zeltmuj states that wild wlieat 

 from which the cultivated varieties have been probably 

 derived, has been found growing in Upper Galilee, in the 

 mountains of Naphthali. It is said to thrive in a shallow 

 soil, on stony ground. 



The area of land in Hawaii now occupied by forest 

 reserves is .545,704 acres, of which ;i57,I80 is government 

 land. The i)rinciplc on which the land is cho.sen for these 

 is to reserve that wliich is not to be put to direct use, and to 

 employ what is suitable among it for forest. 



The Cjuantity of cacao shipped from Trinidad from the 

 beginning of the present year to the end of last month was 

 39,907,499 lb., as compared with 34,763,102 lb. for a similar 

 jieriod last year. Of this, 2,057,666 Dj. was exported during 

 August, as follows : to the I'nited States, 1,00.5,249 lb.; to 

 the United Kingdom 245,124 lb. ; to other coimtrie.s, 

 807,293 lb. 



The value of the exports from the Protectorate of 

 Uganda for the two months ending Jlay 31, 1909, were : 

 food, drink and tobacco, £1,735 ; raw materiahs, £18,256 ; 

 manufactured material, £106 ; making a total of £20,097, 

 as compared with £27,109 for a similar period in 1908. Of 

 the value of the raw material exported in the former period, 

 £6,017 was that of ginned and unginned cotton. 



An account was given in the Ai/riadtural JVews, 

 Vol. VIII, p. 107, of the Chinese tallow tree {Sajiiiini 

 isc/riteruui), and it was stated that it was hoped to obtain 

 cuttings or seeds of it for propagation in the Botanic 

 Gardens of the British West Indies. Seeds of the plant 

 have recently been obtained from Kew by the Commissioner 

 of Agriculture, and are being distributed among the Botanic 

 Stations in the Windward and Leeward Islands. 



The revised figures of the cotton crop of the United 

 States for 1908 .show that 18,537,306 bales of 500 lb. each 

 were produced. This is nearly one million bales larger than 

 the average crop of the last five years. In spite of this yield, 

 the demand for cotton in that country is increasing faster 

 than the supply, and there are indications that, before many 

 years have passed, there will be no raw cotton for export 

 from the I'nited States. {Hawaiian Planters' Mouthh/, 

 -July 1909.) 



]']xperiments that have been conducted at the Florida 

 Agricultural l-"xperiment Station show that the juice of the 

 guava contains more than 90 per cent, of water, togetlier 

 with a small percentage of pectin, acid and colouring matters. 

 The [lure jelly usually consi.sts of about 75 per cent, of 

 sugars and 20 per cent, of water, the rest being made up of 

 jjcctin, acid, etc. As the result of trials it is suggested that, 

 in order to obtain a uniform product, the same proportions 

 of water and sugar to juice shoidd always be taken, and the* 

 mixture should always be boiled to 235° V. 



