Vol. VIII. No. 177 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



41 



Honey Production in England. 



Comparatively few persons appear to realize the 

 .possibiiitie.s of bee-keeping as a minor agricultural 

 industry, and yet, under s\iiDable conditions, the pursuit 

 is one which affords returns of a \ery satisfactory 

 nature, while making but small demands in the way of 

 iiime and attention. 



Recent agricultural reports from England mention 

 iihat increased attention is being given to honey 

 production in many parts of that country. This 

 movement was started in Cornwall, which was the hrst 

 eounty to engage the services of an expert on the 

 subject for the purpose of giving advice and instruc- 

 tion to bee-keepers. The year 1908 is reported as 

 having been a record one as regards the yield of 

 honey, and many small holders are stated to be making 

 as much as £100 per year from their bees. It is 

 ■evident that a minor industry of considerable value 

 has been built up in a comparatively short time. 



Botanic Stations in Mauritius. 



Three Botanic Stations exist in Mauritius, and 

 inasmuch as they are all situated at different altitudes, 

 -they each have a special value. These Stations, 

 besides being centres of acclimatization of large 

 numbers of plants, also contain nurseries of valuable 

 kinds of forest trees. 



The Royal Botanic Gardens at Pamplemousses 

 form the chief Botanic Station. In conne.xion with it 

 a system of free exchange of plants with foreign 

 correspondents has resulted in many valuable aecpiisi- 

 tions to the colony. Altogether. 82.'-),470 plants were 

 sent out from the Station last year. 



The Curepipe Nursery Gardens are 5(35 acres in 

 extent, and are situated at an altitude of 1,800 feet. 

 These are chiefly used for forest nurseries. At the 

 R^duit Gardens, valuable old timber trees exist which 

 -supply seeds of camphor, .sandal- wood, eucalyptus, etc. 

 for other nurseries. 



A system of training gardening apprentices is in 

 ■operation in connexion with these Botanic Stations. 



Profitable Cotton Growing. 



The officers at the Tuskegee Experiment Station. 

 Alabama, have devoted attention to the best methods 

 of cultivation for cotton, so as to secure the most 

 remunerative results. Although the varieties of cotton 

 ■dealt with did not include Sea Island, the system of 

 Soil preparation recommended is likely to give good 

 results in the West Indies. The best returns were 

 ■obtained from a plot ploughed to a depth of 9 inches, 

 and thoroughly pulverized by repeated ploughing and 

 harrowing until the soil is fine and mellow to that 

 depth. 'J'he cotton plants grown on land so treated 

 showed splendid root development, and bore an 

 excellent crop. 



The advantages consequent upon the maintenance 

 of a dust mtdch by shallow surface cultivation through- 

 out the growing period of the plants were also demon- 

 strated. Cultivation to a depth of 2 inches showed 

 much better results than when the soil was stirred to 

 -a. depth of 4, .5, or 6 inches. 



Oil Grasses at Antigua. 



Several experiments in the distillation of essential 

 oils, especially that of the West Indian lemon grass 

 {Ci/mhnpii(j()ii cifrafu.s), were carried out at the 

 Antigua Botanic Station in 1907-8. A few trials wer« 

 also made with Cochin lemon grass (C. //e.ruo.su.s) and 

 citronella grass (C. nardus). 



A total of 4,.589 lb. of West Indian lemon grass 

 was distilled ; this gave 184-4 fluid ounces of oil, or at 

 the rate of 4 oz. of oil per 100 ffi. of grass. It is estima- 

 ted that the yield of oil would be about 2.5 lb. per acre, 

 affording at present prices (which are low) a monetary 

 return of from £4 lO-s. to £5 per acre per year. 

 Experiment appeared to indicate that the grass should 

 be distilled immediately on cutting in order to obtain 

 t-he maximum yield of oil. 'i'he Cochin lemon grass 

 (C. jle.rwisux) afipears somewhat more promising than 

 West Indian grass, inasmuch as it is completely soluble 

 in alcohol, and shows a higher citral content than 

 C. cdtivtus. If the prices of the essential oils 

 improve, the cultivation of these gi'asses may be worthy 

 of more attention in the We^t Indies. 



Lemon grass oil is chiefly valued for the citral 

 which it contains, this being used as the starting 

 point in the manufacture of the essential constituent 

 of artificial violet perfume. 



Dominica Lime Juice. 



Samples of Dominica lime juice were lately intro- 

 duced, through the medium of the British-cotton 

 Growing A.ssociation, to the notice of manufacturers at 

 Manchester, who hitherto have been in the habit of 

 purchasing Sicilian lemon juice for trade purposes. 

 The reports received on the samples of juice (two of 

 which were raw and one concentrated) are interesting. 



The best time for selling the raw juice, for which 

 there is a considerable demand in the preparation of 

 cordials and essences, is in the spring or early summer. 

 The samples sent were valued at from lOd. to Ls. per 

 gallon. 



The manufacturers were naturally most interested 

 in the specimen of concentrated juice, which they 

 report on as being practically identical in quality with 

 the material imported from Messina. Messina lemon 

 juice (concentrated) usually contains about 64 oz. of 

 citric acid per gallon, and at current |)rices, is worth 

 about £21 per pipe of 108 gallons without export duty. 

 The average quality of West Indian concentrated lime 

 juice imported into England, estimated on the basis of 

 t)4 oz. of citric acid per gallon, is worth .-ibout £3 per 

 pipe less than the Messina product. 



As already mentioned, the specimen of concentra- 

 ted lime juice referred to was equal in quality to 

 Messina juice, and at a strength of 113i oz. per gallon, 

 was worth £37 -is. 'Id. per pipe of 108 gallons, estimat- 

 ing it on the basis of Sicilian prices. 



It may here be remarked that under the new law 

 lately established in Italy, a duty equivalent to £5 per 

 pipe of 108 gallons will in future be levied upon lime 

 juice exported from the country, so that the price will 

 be £26 per pipe, in place of £21 as in the past. 



