Vol. VIII. No. 179. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



These pei-iod.s are indicated by the gi'owtlis or ' tlushes ' being 

 about half developed. At these times the bark peels from 

 the wood more readily than when the growths are of firmer 

 texture. 



Another method of attaching the bud, known as ' shield 

 budding,' and which varies slightly in the details from the 



Fici. 10. Methoi 



lUniuM 

 Florida. 



TIIK ilANCO USED IN 



process described above, has been practised for some years in 

 Florida with encouraging success. This method is shown in 

 Fig. 10. The bud section differs from ihe rectangular-shaped 

 piece of bark in that one end of it is pointed instead of being 

 cut straight across, which makes it possiljle to push the bark 

 of the scion down tight against the liark of the stock ; the 

 top part is then cut off' square with the transverse cut in 

 the bark of the stock, and is pressed firnil}- into position, 

 previous to tying and waxing in the usual way. 



It is desirable that ihese methods should be 

 experimented with freely in the West Indies in order 

 to ascertain what conditions determine success. It 

 will be remembered that the budiling of oranges, now 

 a routine operation at many Botanic Stations in the 

 West Indies, was thought at one time to be an opera- 

 tion of extraordinary diffieidty in these parts, and one 

 of doubtful utility. 



INFLUENCE OF LIME ON PLANT FOOD 

 IN THE SOIL. 



Attempts to investigate the effect of applications 

 of lime upon the availability of plant food constituents 

 in the soil have lately been made both in New South 

 Wales and in the Hawaiian Islands. The results of 

 the e.xperiments are summarized in the Experiment 

 Station Record for October last. 



Trials were carried out in triplicate — on light sandy soil, 

 on garden loam, and on very stiff clay respectively. The 

 amounts of phosphoric acid and potash in these soils which 

 were soluble in water, and ako the amoinits soluble in 1-per 

 cent, citric acid were first determined. The nitrates and 

 nitrites present were also estimated. The soils were then 

 treated with moderate applications of freshly slaked lime, 

 and one month later, the determinations of available phos- 

 phoric acid and potash were again made in the same way. 



As a result, it was seen that the water-soluble phosphoric 



acid decreased during the experiment in all three soils, and 

 on the clay soil the amount of potash present also showed 

 a decline after liming. The total amount of water-soluble plant 

 food, however, was larger in the limed than in the unlinied 

 soils, but only in sandy soil did liming increase the propor- 

 tion of water-soluble phosphoric acid and potash over that 

 originally present in the soil. There was little change in 

 the amounts of phosphoric acid and potash soluble in 1-per 

 cent, citric acid one month after liming as compared with 

 the quantities soluble before lime was applied. 



The examination of the soils after a period of eight 

 months with reference to the changes in the nitrogen content 

 showed a large increase in the proportion of nitrites in the 

 soil that had been limed. The total nitrogen — as nitrite and 

 nitrate — increased in all cases, although the nitrate nitrogen 

 remained almost stationary except in the clay soil. The fact 

 that there was no loss of the very soluble nitrates and nitrites 

 is taken to indicate that the decrease of water-soluble potash 

 anil phosjihoric acid, after the application of lime, was not 

 due to percolation through the walls of the pots in which the 

 experiments were carried out, sm much as to conversion into 

 less soluble forms. 



CACAO CULTIVATION IN CUBA. 



A statement on the subject of cacao cultivation in 

 Cuba was published in the West India Committee 

 Cirridar of January 5 last, this having been prepared 

 by His Majesty's Minister in the island (Mr. A. C. 

 Grant Duff) at the request of the Grenada Agricultural 

 and Commercial Society, through the Foreign Office. 



It ajipears that cacao cultivation increased considerabl}" 

 in Cuba during 1907-8. In this latter year there were 1,137 

 cacao plantations with 1,960,l'46 trees, as compared with 

 74.5 plantations with 1,860,306 trees in 1 906-7. Owing to 

 drought, however, the output diminished from 9,380,900 lb. 

 of cacao in 1900-7 to 6,02:<,700 lb. in 1907-8. 



Cacao is cultivated in the provinces of Santa Clara, 

 Camaguey, and Oriente. Out of the total of 71-5 plantations 

 existing in 1906-7, no less than 714 were established in 

 ( )riente province, these containing 1,S29,300 trees out of the 

 above-mentioned total. 



During the last six months of 1 907, cacao was exported 

 from Cul.a'to the extent of 3,286,730 It), worth £95,-520. 

 Over half of this (piantity went to the I'nited States ; France 

 took 983,759 ft., Spain 277,:U6 ft., and Germany 241,206 ft. 

 None appears to have been shipped to Great Britain. 

 The exports of cacao to the Ignited Kingdom from Cuba have 

 ill fact steadily diminished, the amount having been 269,808 ft. 

 in 1903, 207,427 ft. in 1904, 119,735 ft. in 1905, and 

 SI, 097 ft. in 1906. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture returned 

 to Barbados from Grenad.i, by the R.M.S. 'Esk'on 

 Februaiy 2'3 last. 



Mr. R. D. Anstead, B.A., who has held the post of 

 Superintendent of Agriculture at Grenada since 

 May 1905, proceeded to England by the R.MS. ' Nile " 

 on February 23 last, preparatory to taking up the duties 

 ot his new appointment in the Indian Agricultural 

 Service. 



