^iS 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



August 7, 1909. 



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glgriciiltural |lriu!i 



Vol. VIIL SATURDAY, AUfMST 7, 1909. No. 190. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number continues the subject 

 of green dressings and their application, the chief 

 matter under consideration being the effect on the soil. 



In the Insect Notes, on page 250, there will be 

 found an account of some new species of C'ecidontyiidae, 

 that is. Hies related to the flower-bud maggot of cotton. 



The first of a short series of articles on the life- 

 history of the fungi appears on page 2.51. 



The account of a quick and thorough germination 

 test for corn, on page 255, should be of interest to those 

 ■who raise this product in any quantity, especially as 

 this test affords an indication as to the ears which 

 should be used for providing seed for the next crop. 



An interesting account of the chief by-products of 

 the cotton industry is given on page 246. 



A Company has recently been formed for the 

 purpose of land development in Dominica. Particulars 

 as to its objects will bo found on page 247. 



Attention is drawn to the reviews, on page 254, 

 of three panij)hlets which have been recently issued by 

 the Department. 



Useful hints in connexion with the selection of 

 ground nuts are given on page 245. 



Copra Exports from Ceylon. 



Information concerning the trade of Ceylon during 

 1908 was given in the Agricultural Xeics, Vol. VIII, 

 p. 153. Following on this, it is stated that the advance 

 in the e.xport of copra is still maintained, being 

 114,373 cwt. during the first quarter of 1909, an 

 advance, on that of the corresponding quarter of 1908, 

 of 31,500 cwt. 



The Cultivation of Citrus Fruits. 



In the Agricultural Keivs, Vol. VIII, No. 184,. 

 there recently appeared detailed information in regard 

 to this subject. An account of the treatment to which- 

 citrus trees are subjected in Eastern Spain, after they 

 have become established, which appears in the issue of 

 the Agricultural Journal of Victoria for January 

 1909, should form an interesting addition to that 

 information. This treatment has for its object the 

 combating of the diseases known as ' collar-rot ' and 

 ' mal-di-gomma ', which have been prevalent in that 

 part of Spain in the past. It consists in digging a hole 

 underneath the tree, when it is about three or four 

 years old, and completely sawing off the tap-root. The 

 hole left after the operation is about a foot in width 

 and depth : it is not filled in, but rather kept purposely- 

 open. The trees do not appear to suffer in any way 

 through the treatment ; on the contrary, they are 

 reported to be very healthy, and to bear fruit well. 



Abnormalities in Para Rubber Trees. 



According to the publication Circular and Agri- 

 cultural JourncU of tlic Bayal Botanic Gardenc, 

 Ceylon, Vol. JV, No. 18, it is a common occurrence for 

 Para rubber trees there to possess lumps of woody 

 growth, on their trunks, which interfere somewhat witli 

 tapping. There are two types of these swellings or 

 ' burrs ', one of which depends entirely for its origin on 

 thi- wounding to which the tree has been subjected in 

 tapping, while the other is not caused by that process, 

 but may be stimulated to growth through it. 



The first of these is caused b}- the action of the 

 cambium la3'er, which, after healing the wound made 

 by the collector's knife, continues its activity and thus 

 forms a swelling over the site of the wound. It does 

 not offer a serious obstacle to tapping. 



In the case of the second type, tapping is seriously 

 interfered with, as the swellings project abruptly frono 

 the stem in a rounded form, and so prevent the cut 

 from being made across them. E.^amination of these 

 swellings reveals the fact that each possesses a core of 

 wood, with a cambium of its own which is neither con- 

 nected with that of any of the other swellings nor with 

 the cambium of the tree itself. It is, of course, by 

 means of this disconnected cambium that the swellings 

 are formed. Similar bodies are found in the cortex of 

 ;i{)ple, pear and beech trees. The cause of this forma- 

 tion is not known at present: it is certainly nut due to 

 insect or fungus injur}-, nor to dormant buds. The 

 swellings may be got rid of by slicing off part of the 

 outer layer and shelling out the woody core. 



