348 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 30, 1909. 



GLEANINGS. 



A communication from Santo Domingo states that an 

 effort is to be made to increase the area in cultivation of 

 Sansevieria in that licpublic. 



During this year, the staff of the Cadastral Survey of 

 Egypt has verified the whole area of cotton planted in that 

 country. It was foun:l to be l,46G,-')30 feddans, or 

 1,522,258 acres. 



Dui-ing the cotton siiinning .season just closed, the 

 number of mills working in the Southern States of America 

 has increased by ten. At the same time, the increase in the 

 consumption of cotton has been 339,129 bales. 



It is estimated that the rice crop of the present year if> 

 Japan will reach 54,300,000 ' koku ', which is equivalent to 

 about 95 million bags of ISO II). This will be an increa.se of 

 17] per cent, over the average year's crop. 



The most important manufacture in Brazil is probably 

 cotton spinning and weaving. The number of mills at 

 present working in and near Rio de Janeiro is 119. The 

 total production per annum is nearly 235 million yards of 

 cloth. 



In 1894, the plant which yield.s. sisal hemp (^//ace'ciV//*;, 

 var. sisniaiin) was introduced into Egypt. So far, it has 

 succeeded well, and the results obtained at an experimental 

 factory appear to indicate that a flourishing sisal hemp 

 industry could be established in that country. 



On September 15, Messrs. ^Vorkman, Clark tfe Co., of 

 Belfast, launched a new steamer for the Tropical Fruit Steam- 

 ship Company. This vessel will be engaged in the West Indian 

 fruit-carrying trade, and will have accommodation for a large 

 number of passengers. 



The Aunu'd Report, 1908, of the Comptroller of 

 Customs for Barbados shows that the net receipts were 

 £109,072, as compared with £117,995 in 1907. The 

 e.xports amounted to £008,004 — a decrease of £5,735. Of 

 these, the value of sugar increased by £28,02G, while that of 

 cotton decreased by £21,783. 



In the I'kdijypine Journal of Science, i?n account is 

 given of I'nrameria philippensis, which is a woody, climbing 

 vine containing a rubber-like gum. This is present in the 

 bark to about 5 per cent, and, when extracted with carbon 

 disulphide it is j'elloH', but turns black on exposure to the 

 air and becomes ' tacky '. 



The Jialliiin uf t/u Liivrpool Scliool of Tropical 

 Medicine, of which the first number has just been issued, 

 .states that the expense of the anti-malaria measures on the 

 Suez Canal had averaged 18,000 francs per annum. In 1903, 

 malaria cost the Suez Canal Company 38,200 francs; last 

 year, the cost was 16,800 francs. 



The total revenue of British Honduras for the year 

 ended March 31, 1909, amounted to .?353,(i41, and the total 

 ordinary expenditure was !ii!322,38s. It is a significant fact 

 that the receipts from the .sale of Oown lands were, during 

 the same period, ■'?7,0(>8, as compared with •'?1,915 for the 

 year ended March 31, 1908. 



A new rubber pest has been announced from Cej'lon by 

 the Government Entomologi.st. It is described as a slug 

 about 1^- inches in length. It damages the young plants by 

 eating the opening leaf-buds at night. The remedy suggested 

 is to keep a bare space of earth around each tree, and occa- 

 sionally to sprinkle this with lime. 



The legislature of North 1 )akota has passed a compre- 

 hensive seed law, which is intended to regulate the sale of 

 agricultural and garden seeds, providing for the proper 

 labelling of such seeds and for the establishment of a seed 

 laboratory at the North Dakota Agricultural College, 

 connexion with the Department of Botany. 



in 



According to the Report of the Curator of the Botanic 

 Station, Antigua, for last month, the distribution of plant;; 

 from that Station was as follows : hay grass {Andropo^/on. 

 caric-sus), 7 bags of roots (490 plants) ; Casuariua, 91 plants; 

 cacao, 86 plants; mahogany, 64 plants : walnut {Andini 

 inernda), 12 plants; red cedar, 5 plants; 1 palm ; castor 

 seed, 30 lb. 



The [ilanting of rubber trees in German New Guinea 

 during the past six or seven years has proceeded on such 

 a scale that there are at present about 500,000 trees, growii'.g 

 on an area of approximately 3,000 acres. So far, the plants 

 which have flourished best have been those of Casti/Jod 

 ilasfica, Ficus elastica, and llevea (trasiliensis. (The Fraidc- 

 furter Zeitung.) 



The Annual Report of the Protector of Immigrants for 

 Trinidad for 1908-9, shows that, during that period, 2,392 

 East Indian immigrants arrived in that colony, and 72G 

 returned to Calcutta. The savings of the latter amounted to 

 £17,712, besides jewellery, while £3,491 was remitted to 

 India during the year. In the same period, 1,802 acres of 

 Crown lands were purchased by immigrants. At the end of 

 1908, £115,224 stood to the credit of East Indian immigrants 

 in the Government Savings Bank. 



A Committee has been appointed by the Secretary of 

 State for the Colonies to carry out investigations in economic 

 entomology, with special reference to Africa. Its work will 

 be to discover the relations which exist between insects and 

 disease in man, animals and economic plants. Trained 

 entomologists arc to be sent to F.ast and AVest Africa for the 

 purpose of encouraging the collection and observation of 

 noxious insects, and to give instructions in the use of scientific 

 methods. Collections will also be made on behalf of the Com- 

 mittee, and the results will be published from lime to time 



