280 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 4, 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 applications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

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

 the Department. 



Local Agents: 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 \d. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4s. 4(£. 



^gririiltitral |]nufi 



Vol. VIIL SATURDAY, SEl'TEMlUiK 4, 11)09. No. Vdi. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in the present number has for its 

 subject the animal pests of cotton, from the points of 

 view of the damage that they do and of the remedies 

 for them. In it, references to the literature on the 

 subject published by the department will be found. 



A review of the report on the Botanic Station, 

 etc., St. Lucia, for 1908-9, which has just been issued, 

 will be found on page 277. 



Page 277 also contains a suggestion fur the use 

 of waste sugar and rice bran in making a food for stock. 



Some useful hints on the cultivation of ferns are 

 given on p. 279. 



An interesting, illustrated account of the sweet 

 potato weevil, known in Barbados as ■' Scarabee ' and in 

 Antigua as 'Jacobs', will be found on page 2S2. 



The last of the short series of articles on fungi 

 appears on page 283. The three articles taken 

 together form a simple general account of the life- 

 history of the fungi and of their importance in practical 

 agriculture. 



Tiie ways in which Trinidad, Antigua and St. 

 Kitts are represented at the Canadian National 

 E.\hibition are detailed on page 28.5. 



Sugar Production in British India. 



A reliable estimate of the quantity of sugar 

 produced in British India makes this the largest 

 sugar-producing country in the world. It is placed at 

 about 4 million tons. Of this large amount, practically 

 none is exported to other countries : on the contrarj-, 

 it is consumed at home, in addition to a considerable 

 amount that is imported. 



Recent work on Bordeaux mi.xturc is noticed on 

 page 286. 



Deterioration of Butter in Cold Storage. 



It is well known that butcer frequently undergoes- 

 marked changes even when it is stored at very low 

 temperatures. During the past three years, the Daiiy 

 Division of the Bureau of Animal Industr}-, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, has been making 

 investigations for the purpose of discovering the cause 

 of this, and of rinding remedies for it. Diu'ing these, 

 it was found that the acidity of the butter increased 

 with that of the cream from which it was made, but no 

 bacteria were present, either in the cream or the butter, 

 which would account for the deterioration of the latter 

 when it had a high acid content. In addition, heatinc 

 the ripened cream before it was made into butter did 

 not check the changes in the latter, show ing that these 

 were not due to enzymes. Marked undesirable changes 

 of a progressive nature, however, took place in butter 

 produced from pasteurized cream which had been treated 

 with various acids. 



The results indicate that the acid developed nor- 

 mally in the cream, by the action of the lactic acid 

 bacterid, subsequently assists in bringing about a slow 

 decomposition of one or more of the substances of which 

 the butter is largely composed, thus causing its deterio- 

 ration. As a remedy, it is suggested that iDutter should 

 be made from sweet, pasteurized cream, without the 

 addition of a starter — a process which was found quite 

 feasible on a commercial basis. Such butter has too 

 mild a flavour to suit the average dealer, but can be 

 sold, after storage, as high grade butter. 



Methods of Control for Eel Worms. 



Information has been given in several numbers of 

 the Agricaliural News (Vols. Ill, p. 283, VI, p. 123, 

 VIII, p. 13']) in conne.xion with the nematode worms 

 commonly called eel worms, and remedies for the pest 

 have been suggested. It will be remembered that these 

 parasites are capable of doing much damage to growing 

 crops, and that it is very difficult to eradicate them. 

 A leatlet has been issued by the Board of Agriculture, 

 iMigland, containing particulars as to methods of pre- 

 vention rather than remedies, and these should be 

 applicable to conditions in the West Indies. They 

 include : (1) the rotation of crops, so that as long an 

 interval as possible will elapse between two successive 

 growings of the susceptible plant : (2) the destruction, 

 as far as possible, of the refuse of infected crops, which 

 can be effected most economically by composting with 

 lime : (3) deep ploughing, with the use of a skim 

 coulter (this is also useful against other insects): (4) 

 suitable manuring and cultivation, so as to produce 

 vigorous plants. 



