Vol. VIII. No. 178. 



THE AGIllCULTURAL NEWS. 



55 



to the factory. If it is ginned in a damp condition, the 

 fibres are in clanger of being broken, the resulting cotton 

 being known as ' gin-cut cotton.' This is sometimes a promi- 

 nent source of loss to the cotton spinner, and diminishes 

 the retiu'ns obtained liy the grower. 



Another kind of cotton which reduces the value of 

 a consignment, when included with the general croj), is that 

 obtained from bolls on old plants that have been pulled up, 

 or on the tops of plants which have been pruned off to 

 encourage secondary growth. The bolls frequently open soon 

 after removal of the plants, branches, etc;, but the lint con- 

 tained is of inferior quality, much of it being very week. 



Dus-ting with Paris green and lime should still be 

 continued in all fields where the cotton worm is apparent so 

 long as any cotton yet remains to be gathered. During the 

 development of the bolls a large supply of food material is 

 being drawn to these parts, and if the leaves are removed, 

 the food sup[ily is likely to run .short, and the boll.s, with 

 their content.s, will not develop fully. 



Now that the end of the crop season is in sight, plant- 

 ers should consider the advisability of clearing all old cotton 

 plants otf their e.states at least a month before )>laiiting 

 operations begin for the ne.xt .season's ,crop. In this way 

 a closed season for cotton would be.ensure<l, whicli, it 

 generally adopied, would undoubtedly l>e of great li'Mietit in 

 assisting to reduce tlie prevalence of insect pests aad lniig"id 

 diseases The wisdom <>i the step adM«'.i,ted is nunc ap[jaient 

 every ye ir. 



'BUOO' HAND CULTIVATORS. 



Some mDnlhs ago a saiiiple shipineiiti of ' Biico ' 

 hand cultivators was lorwarded to the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for trial in the West Indies, Miiee 

 it was thought that this tool should prove especially 

 useful in cotton cultivation in these islands. A number 

 of cotton planters at Barbados were afforded an oppor- 

 tunity of testing the implement on their estates, and in 

 most cases were pleased with the results. Favourable 

 reports were also received from St. Vincent, Antigua, 

 and St. Kitt's, where specimen tools were sent for trial. 



The ' Buco ' cultivator has five tines of spring steel, 

 which can be adjusted to the width desired. One or more of 

 the tines can be removed, if necessary, for sjiecial work. They 

 can also be replaced by new tines when worn. 



Mr. W. H. Patterson, Acting Agricultural Superinten- 

 dent of St. Vincent, at the time of writing (September 21) last), 

 reported that tlie tool proved well adapted for breaking U[> 

 the surface soil after heavy rain, in order to let in air, and to 

 form a surface mulch of loose earth. In addition, it coulil also 

 be utilized for stirring weeds that have lieen left on the surface, 

 and which readily root again during showery weather ; and 

 for dnvgging from the soil weeds of the type of 'devil ' or 

 ' Bahama ' grass after the land has first been broken up with 

 forks. 



Mr. T. Jackson, Curator of the Antigua Botanic 

 Station, in reporting upon the implements, writes as 

 follows : — 



The ' Buco ' hand ciiltivat<irs have been recently tried 

 at Antigua in cotton cultivation. It would seem from these 

 trials that the implements in question would be of value on 

 light, fairly clean land. At least twice as much work can 

 be done with them on such land, after a little practice, as 

 with the ordinary agricultural hoe used in the West Indies. 

 The cultivators are light and are worked in a somewhat 



similar manner to the common 'draw hoe ;' thus, when work- 

 ing in cotton fields there is little danger of the bolls beintf 

 injured. 



(Jn heavy or weedy land they will be of little value, as 

 they are apt to clog and become unworkable. 



The ' Buco ' cultivators are obtainable from the 

 Barbados CJo-operative Cotton Factory, at a pri(.'e of 5a-. each. 



SPRAYING 



FOR 



with 



WEED DESTRUCTION. 



various chemicals has in many 



Spraying 

 cases been found to be the best means of destroying 

 certain pestilent weeds. This method of destnictioa 

 is especially worthy of adoption when the weed in 

 question occurs over extensive areas, is of vigorous 

 growth, and reproduces itself readily by vegetative 

 means. Cheapness of the chemical employed is an 

 essential factor in the economic success of the method. 



In England and other European countries, spraying 

 with a soluLion of copper .sulphate is frequently adopted for 

 the destruction of ' charlock,' a pestilent and vigorous weed 

 which occurs largely ui fields of wheat, oats, and barley, at 

 an early stage ot the development of these crops, and tends 

 to choke out their growth. This method, which was first 

 adopted alioiu ten years ago, has proved both succes.sful and 

 economical. I'he 'charlock,' which [wsse.s.ses broad, rough 

 leaves, and is allied to the mustard plant (Jirnssica (Ma), 

 is destroyed, while the growing corn suffers little or no 

 injury. 



Another e.xample of the application of spraying methods 

 to weed destruction comes from the Malay States. In that 

 country large areas of land are covered with what is known 

 as ' lalang ' grass {/injierata ai-undinacua). This is a creep- 

 ing weed, with underground stems, which rapidly propagates 

 itself by vegetative means as well as by .seed, and quickly 

 covers the ground with its thick, coarse growth. Slow- 

 growing crops are checked out, and cattle refuse to eat the 

 dry, coarse lalang. Digging out the weed proved to be 

 a costly and unsatisfactory method, but e.xperiment has 

 lately shown that the lalang can be got rid of by spraying with 

 a solution of arsenite of soda. The leaves are all killed 

 within a comparatively short time, and are either turned 

 into the ground, or allowed to rot on the surface. In the 

 latter case, the dead vegetation acts as a mulch, and prevents 

 evaporation of moisture. Not only lalang, but also other 

 weeds, more especially those presenting a large and Hat 

 surface to the spray, were found to be readily destroyed by 

 the solution. 



The price of the chemical is the chief item in the cost of 

 the spraying work. This price amounts to about 6d. per Itj., 

 including freight. The solution can lie applied by means of 

 any of the ordinary sprayers cju the market. 



In the Malay States the arsenite solution was used on 

 land monopolized by the lalang grass and not applied to 

 the weed growing among cultivated crops. The object was 

 to clear the land in a cheap and efficient manner before 

 bringing it under cultivation, and the ma.ximum cost for 

 freeing from weeds is mentioned as about 2.s. per acre, 

 while usually it does not reach half this figure. It will 

 therefore be seen that this method might best be adopted in 

 clearing waste land. 



Since the soda arsenite is so destructive in its action, it 

 is probable that it would not be advisable to use it in spray- 

 ing weeds occurring in a cultivated crop, as it appears more 

 than likely that the latter would also be injured. In any 

 case, experiments should first be made on a small scale 



