Vol. VIII. No. lOO. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



■2i7 



must be very carefully taken into consideration. The decay 

 of cotton seed meal in the ground is rapid although its 

 effects are lasting. Xitrate of soda is more rapidly available 

 as plant food, but soon becomes exhausted. 



A ton of cotton seed yields something lite 40 gallons of 

 crude oil, therefore the oil obtained from many tons of seed 

 can be transported long distances to a central refinery in 

 a small bulk space, thus showing the advantage of having 

 small oil mills situated in the centre of each cotton-producing 

 district. Two product.s are obtained from the crude oil, the 

 crude oil proper and the settlings ; the first is barrelled for 

 shipment and the latter is used as soap stock. liefined oil 

 is largely used in the manufacture of butter comimunds, and 

 the higher grades are used for oil fur cooking, salad dressing, 

 etc. Cottolene, a substitute for lard, is also manufactured 

 from refined oil, after bleaching, and is a very p(.i[iular 

 product. 



LAND DEVELOPMENT IN DOMINICA. 



A company called 'The Dominica Lumber and 

 Land Development Company, Limited' has recently 

 been formed. The information given below as to its 

 ■objects and interests is taken from the Prospectus, 

 dated July 9, 1909. 



This company has been formed with the object (among 

 ■others) of acquiring the benefit of a valuable Concession 

 -dated September 29, 190S, granted by the Adnunistrator of 

 the Island of Dominica, v.'ith the approval of the Colonial 

 Office, for the construction of a light railway from a point on 

 the leeward shore of the island of Dominica, B.W.I., south 

 of the Layou Iviver, to a point in the interior near Basinville, 

 in order to render available the enormous quantities of hard- 

 wood and other timber with which the interior of the island 

 is covered, and to facilitate planting up and developing the 

 rich lands in the district and the transport of produce. 



The inaccessibility of the interior has hitherto prevented 

 its development, but in the year 1906 a syndicate was formed 

 ■of leading planters and others in the island, under whose 

 auspices a complete .survey of the route of the proposed line 

 was made and plans and estimates prepared, and by whom 

 the favourable terms of the Concession have been negotiated. 



By the terms of the Concession very important rights of 

 way through Crown lands and other valuable rights and 

 franchises necessary for tlu; success of the enterprise have 

 "been secured by the .syndicate, including the right to a free 

 grant of 100 acres of land for each mile of railway not 

 exceeding 12, and an option to purchase 5,000 acres of 

 land at \0s. per acre, subject to the reasonable conditions of 

 construction and working, cultivation of cleared land and 

 other conditions laid down in the Concession. 



The scheme has received the cordial support of all the 

 planters whose estates are on the route of the proposed line. 



The company will, on complying with the conditions 

 of the Concession, have a tract of 6,200 acres of standing 

 forest, of which 1,200 will be free Government Grant and 

 5,000 will be purchased. Lumber rights have already been 

 secured over most of the estates adjoining the railway, while 

 negotiations are in progress to secure ' them over the 

 remainder. The additional area involved is some 2,700 acres, 

 of which at least 1,000 acres will be available for immediate 

 felling. 



The line will be in heavy timber by the time the first 

 S miles have been constructed, when large protils should 

 accrue, and it is probable that not long after the construction 

 has been commenced a small trade in hardwood, fuel, and 

 •staves will be done. 



The survey shows that the gradient will nowhere be 

 greater than 1 in 25, which is suitable for a light locomotive 

 hauling 10 tons n\> hill, while the load that can be taken 

 down will be limited only by the number of trucks put on. 

 It also shows that no Iioavy bridges or tunnels will be 

 neees.sary, or other serious engineering difficulties encoun- 

 tered. The line will be a single line, with a 2-foot gauge, 

 and will be constructed so as to carry all probable future 

 traffic. It will be properly ballasted, and the earthwork.s, 

 drains and culverts will be designed to minimize any possible 

 damage from tropical rains or hurricanes, against the con- 

 tingency of which, moreover, insurance to a large extent can 

 now be effected at moderate rates. ' The curves w^iU be wide, 

 and so laid out as to admit of a fair rate of speed over the 

 whole length of the line, and the carriage of long biulks of 

 timber. A belt 150 feet wide on either side of the line will 

 be cleared to prevent any danger from trees falling across it. 

 For immediate purposes, a length of 13J miles of line 

 (including a branch line) has been surveyed. An extension 

 of some 2 miles will bo necessary to enter the Crown lands 

 reserved for the company, and this extension will be con- 

 structed as soon as required. 



The lumber trade which the railway will develop in the 

 first instance seems capable of producing large profits. The 

 interior of Dominica is covered with virgin forest, containing 

 a large proportion of heavy timber, tlie quantity of hardwood 

 timber and fine cabinet woods immediately available being 

 very great. The botanical and dBScri[)tive list of Dominica 

 timbers prepared liy the late Dr. Imray, and lately reprinted 

 in ' Notes on Dominica and Hints t<i Intending Sett'ers ', 

 revised in 1909 by W. Douglas Young, Esq., C.M.G., 

 Administrator of the island, .shows that no less than 17fi 

 different timber trees grow in this islan<l, many of them 

 being of great value and likely to find a ready nrarket, while, 

 none are of so poor a quality as to be worthless. 



Additional interests of the company will include 

 the planting of cacao, limes, oranges, rubber, etc., 

 on such of the land which it possesses as has been 

 cleared by it, and the working of the sawmill plant 

 to be acquired from the syndicate mentioned in the 

 prospectus. The list of timbers mentioned above 

 appears in the West luduin Ballefi.n, Vol. IX, p. ;529. 



Tree-growing Experiment. 



The Pacific Coast will soon be the .scene of an interesting 

 tree-growing experiment. The United States Forest Service 

 is planning to introduce a number of the more important 

 eastern hardwoods into California, and will this year experi- 

 ment with chestnut, hickorj', basswood, red oak, and yellow 

 poplar or tulip trees. Small patches of these trees \-.-ill be 

 jilanted near the forest rangers" cabins or the national forests, 

 and if these do well, larger plantations on a commercial .scale 

 will .soon be established on wider areas. There are over 125 

 different species of trees in California, a number of which 

 produce some of the most valuable varieties of lumber in the 

 country. Although consitlerably over one-half of the species 

 are hardvifood or broad-leaved trees, yet, with the exception 

 of the exotic eucalyptus, there is not a single species of 

 hardwood here ranking in commercial importance with the 

 leading eastern hardwoods. Climatic conditions in many 

 j)arts of California are favourable for the growth of a munber 

 of the valuable hardwoods and the absence of these trees i.s 

 due mostly to unfavourable factors of seed distribution. 

 {Science, June 11, 1909.) 



