232 



THE AGRICaLTURAL NEWS. 



July 24, 1909. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Barbados. 



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Vol. VIII. SATURDAY, .JULY 2+, 1909. No. 189. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In this number, the editorial treats of the subject 

 of the application of green dressings from the point of 

 view of the effect on the plants used in the practice. 

 The consideration of the effect on the soil will be the 

 subject of the editorial in the next number. 



In connexion with the article on )iage l.S7 of 

 Vol. vni, No. 186, dealing with the production of 

 more than one plant from eaih seed, in the case of the 

 orange and mango, there will be found, on page 22.S, 

 an interesting account of some observations made by 

 Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic Station, Dominica, 

 in relation to the mango. 



Two new companies have been floated for the 

 purpose of the agricultural development of Jamaica. 

 Information respecting these will be found on page 

 227. 



In continuation of the series of articles that have 

 appeared from time to time on the natural orders of 

 insects, an account of the Hymcnoptera, aTiiong which 

 are the ants, bees and wasps, is given on page 234. 



The conditions and scope of the essay, for the 

 Trujiicfd Life competition, on the fermentation and 

 drying of cocoa are set out on page 237. 



A method for the preservation of fruit, while it is 

 in transit, known as pre-cooling, is (les(-ribe<l on page 

 229. 



Acknowledgement. 



In connexion with the editorial dealing with 

 hurricanes in the last issue of the Agricidfaral A'cws, 

 it should have been stated that the block used in 

 illustrating that article was originally kindly supplied 

 by the United States Weather Bureau. 



Distillation for Essential Oils. 



For obtaining essential oils from grass or leaves at 

 the Botanic Station, Antigua, both ot the forms of 

 apparatus described and illustrated in the West Indian 

 Bulletin. Vol. IX, No. 3, pp. 276-7, have been 

 employed and, with due precautions to jirevent the 

 escape of heat from the drum of the still, have satis- 

 factorily extracted the oil from the raw material. 

 Some difficulties in working have, however, been 

 experienced. Among these are: in re-adjusting the 

 bottom of the drum after a charge has been withdrawn, 

 it is difficult, owing to its position, to make the joint 

 tight again ; time and fuel are wasted (in the first- 

 mentioned type) on account of the fact that a fresh 

 lot of water has to be introduced, and brought to 

 boiling-point for every new charge of material. 



Mr. T. Jackson, Curator of the Botanic Station, 

 Antigua, suggests that these difficulties may be 

 obviated, in the case of the first type, by placing the 

 drum in a horizontal position over the furnace, instead 

 of in a vertical one, and making the alterations in the 

 positions of the perforated j)late andsupply and discharge 

 pipes, etc., that would be rendered necessary by the 

 chanire. 



New Fruits. 



Under the title 'Promising New Fruits', an 

 interesting article appears in the Year-book of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture for 1907. 

 Among the fruits mentioned is the manfo known as 

 the ' Sandersha', which was introduced into the United 

 States by the Department of Agriculture in 1901. 

 Two inarched trees of this variety were received from 

 Bangalore in July of that year and established at the 

 Subtropical Laboratory of the Department at Miami, 

 Florida. Fruit ha(i been obtained for two seasons 

 I'rom these two trees, which have proved very productive, 

 the fruit being of 'exceptionally large size, fine dessert 

 quality, and very late ripening season, all of which 

 points are apparently in its fivour as a commercial 

 sort.' 



A second lot of inarched trees received under the 

 name ' Sundershah ' are supposed to be the same 

 variety, but they have not yet fruited. The Sander- 

 sha is described as being long, compressed, and 

 rather slender in form, averaging about 20 oz. in 

 weight, occasionally attaining a weight of 2 lb. The 

 seed is said to be small in proportion to the size of the 

 fruit and the thickness of the tlesh. It is considered 

 well worthy of being tested in the mango districts of 

 Florida, Port Rico, and Hawaii. 



