216 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 10, 1909. 



EDITORIAL, NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All ajiplications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

 News ' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Afjents: Messrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents: Messrs. Dulau & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, W. A complete list of Agents 

 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News: Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, is. M. 



^^gririittiirat ,31riu5 



Vol. VIII. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1909. No. 188. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in the present issue is a timely 

 article on hurricanes, explaining how these storms are 

 made up and how their progress and position may be 

 determined. The accompanying diagram is very useful 

 in this conne.xion. 



An interesting note on the amount of water 

 needed for the maximum development of the sugar- 

 cane appears on page 210. 



The hi.story of the cowpea on p;igo 21."}, and the 

 article dealing with the development of new varieties 

 on page 211), together make an interesting account of 

 this valuable plant. 



The soy bean, which is another plant useful in 

 certain localities for green dressing, is the subject of 

 an article on page 222. 



Attention is drawn to the article on ])age 222 

 dpaling with the possible poisonous effect of the wild 

 ipecacuanha on cattle. This plant is very wide-spread 

 in its distribution, and it would be useful to know the 

 experience of planters. 



The insect notes in this issue include Kh()rt 

 articles on the hotise-tiy and the larger moth bmer of 

 the sugar cane (page 218). 



(Jn page 219 will be found a rejiort by a Committee 

 of the Jamaica Board of Agriculture, on the agri- 

 <-ultural conditions at South l^Ianchester, Jamaica. 



Colour in Soils. 



The colour of soils may varj' from the almost 

 pure white of the chalk or limestone, to the black of 

 peat lands. The chief agents upon which this coloura- 

 tion depends, are- humus and hydrated ferric oxide. 

 Humus accounts fqr the black colouration of soils, while 

 all the red, yellow, and brown shades are caused by the 

 iron oxide. The blue or green colour of deep-seated 

 clays is due to the presence of various ferrous silicates, 

 or other salts of iron, which on being brought to the 

 surface oxidize to brown ferric oxide. 



Volcanic sands, and soils of volcanic origin are 

 often very dark-coloured though they contain but little 

 humus. Other things being eijual, a fine soil requires 

 more of the colouring constituents to ))roduce a certain 

 shade than a coarser one. Dark-coloured soils absorb 

 more heat than light ones. 



— .^^^ ♦ -^ 



Forestry in Hawaii. 



The importance of the establishment of wooded 

 areas is generally recognized in Hawaii, and has led to 

 a strong public sentiment in favour of forestry. This 

 finds expression in a Territorial Forest Service, charged 

 with tb.e creation and administration of forest reserves, 

 and with the prosecution of other forest work. During 

 the past five years a definite policy has been followed 

 in this connexion, and sixteen forest reserves have been 

 set apart, with an aggregate total area of 444,1 l(j 

 acres. Of this, 273,912 acres, or (Jl per cent., is land 

 belonging to the Territorial Government. The other 

 39 per cent, is in private ownership, but for the most 

 part the owners of the lands, fully aware of the 

 benefits of forest protection, co-operate actirely with 

 the Territorial Oovernment in the management of the 

 forest reserves. 



Paper Manufacture from Wood Products. 



The following note may be of interest in connex- 

 ion with the brief articles which have appeared in 

 recent numbers oHhe Agricidtaral Ne^vs dealing with 

 the consumption of forest products: — 



It is stated that a large New York daily news- 

 paper uses for each duty's issue 1 .50 tons of ])aper. To 

 make one ton of paper li cords of wood are required or 

 22-5 cords per day for that newspaper. If the average 

 yield of spruce, suitable for the purpose, is taken as 5 

 cords per acre, it will be seen that one day's issue of one 

 p-iper consumes the product of 4.5 acres. The forest 

 cut for this purpose may be taken as representing 

 from twenty to thirty years' growth. 



This emphasizes in a striking manner the rapid 

 rate of consumption of forest products for paper manu- 

 facturing alone, and ought to encourage to further effort 

 those who are experimenting in the production of paper 

 fn)in other material. 



In the tropics bamboo, banana, cotton, .•md otiier 

 pl.ints have been experimented with, and the results 

 iiave given a certain amount of encouragement that 

 jiaper may be made on a commercial scale from these 

 materials, provided they can be obtained in sufficient 

 •piantity in any locality where a factory might be 

 established. 



