264 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



August 21, 1909. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 specimens for naming, shonld be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

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

 the Department. 



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 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. 



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 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4s. 4d. 



Agricultural Ijleiufi 



Vol. VIII. SATURDAY, ArOTST 21, 1909. No. 191. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In this number, the editorial deals with the 

 subject of the formation and storage of molasses. 

 Special stress is laid on the means by which a good 

 product with a reliable keeping quality may be 

 t)btained. 



A report of the successful treatment of the ' pink 

 disease ' of cacao is given on page 2()0. 



On page 261 will be found some interesting fiicts 

 in conne.vion with wild ipecacuanha {Asclejiias 

 curassavica). 



Cotton-growing Prospects in Ceylon. 



According to its report for 190N-9, the efforts of 

 the Ceylon Agricultural Society to introduce cotton- 

 growing on a large scale have nut met with encouraging 

 results. There is a general desire to take up the 

 cultivation, but the chief drawback has been uncertainty 

 with regard to the best area, the proper season and the 

 best variety to grow in that country. 



■■ I t ^ 



Sugar Industry in St. Lucia. 



The Annual Report of the Agricultural Instructor 

 in St. Lucia for 1908-9 states that the sugar industr}^ 

 of the island is, though comparatively small, on a good 

 footing, the number of factories being four. Of the 

 canes grown, the Bourbon has held out longer than 

 is the case in any of the other islands, but it has been 

 decided to give up its cultivation this year because of 

 the frequency with which it is attacked by pests com- 

 pared with that of other canes. The cane best suited 

 to conditions in the island seems to be B. 20.S, which 

 gives an average yield of 36 tons of cane per acre. 

 B. 147 is not planted as extensively as B. 208, but 

 gives fairly good results and ratoons well. White 

 Transparent does well, both as plant canes and ratoons. 

 The report also states that several varieties of cane 

 ha'.e been distributed from the E.xperiment Station 

 during the year and that one of the sugar companies 

 working in the island has imported several hundred 

 plants of B. 376, which were planted in November 1908, 

 and are doing well. 



The present prospects of the Sea Island cotton 

 industry in the United States are dealt with on page 

 262. 



Mvu'h difference of opinion exists as to the best 

 methods of tapping rubber. On page 26.3 an account 

 is given of an attempt to arrive at a conclusion from 

 a consideration of the structure of the plants operated 

 on. 



An interesting photograph of the first seedling 

 canes raised in Barbados is reproduced on page 266. 



The second of the short series of articles on fungi, 

 which was commenced in the last issue, appears on 

 page 267. It deals with the mycelium, or vegetative 

 part of a fungus. 



Pcige 271 contains particulars as to the treatment 

 which broom corn receives preparatory to being 

 manufactured into brooms. 



Shipping Rings. 



The Report of the Royal Commission appointed in 

 1906 to consider the subject of shipping rings has just 

 been issued. In it are considered the effects of the 

 operations of such rings in limiting competition in 

 carrying goods on certain routes by 'pooling' freights 

 or by fixing regular rates of freight and dates and 

 ports of sailing. Competition outside the ring is met 

 by six-monthly reductions of 10 per cent, in the freight 

 bill at the end of a year, for all those who have sent no 

 goods, except by lines in the ring, for that period. 



The conclusion arrived at in the report is that the 

 system has both advantages and disadvantages, but 

 that it is li.-ible to be abused. Among the disadvantages 

 quoted are the diversion of orders from England to 

 other countries and the existence of arbitrary and high 

 rates. Nevertheless the majority did not feel warrant- 

 ed in proposing that the deferred rebates should be 

 made illegal, as effective legislation in this direction 

 ' must prohibit all combinations and all agreements 

 tending to create a monopoly in oversea trades'. The 

 minority holds that the majority overrates the advan- 

 tages of the system and inadequatelj- states its dangers. 



The proposals of the niajorit}- are : that associa- 

 tions of traders, under the partial control of the Board 

 of Trade, should be formed for the purpose of discuss- 

 ing rates and other matters, and that further rebate 

 agreements should be notified in confidence to the 

 (lovernment and tariffs should be published. The 

 minority proposals are for publicity in Parliament and 

 more direct supervision of the conferences. 



