392 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 11, 1909. 



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^{jricultiirat Heiufi 



Vol. VIIL SATURDAY. DECEMBER 11, 1909. No. 199. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In this number, the subject of the Reading 

 Courses and Examinations in Practical Agriculture is 

 dealt with as an editorial. 



Interesting information in connexion with the 

 changes that the juice in the sugar-cane undergoes, 

 after breakage of the latter by storm, appears on page 

 387. 



An abstract of a useful article that has recently 

 appeared, on the red sorrel, is given on page 388. 



The article on page 889, entitled Alfalfa Growing 

 for Seed Production, should be of service to those who 

 are practically interested in the raising of this crop. 



An account of an address recently given by the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture before the British Cotton 

 Growing Association is presented on page 390. 



In the Insect Notes (page 394) of this number, 

 the series of articles on the Natural History of Insects 

 is continued. In ; this instalment, the respiratory and 

 nervous systems of insects are described. 



The Fungus Notes, on page 395, give an account 

 of a coffee disease in the New World and of the reme- 

 dies that are recommended for it. 



On the same page, interesting conclusions as to 

 the part that is played by inorganic phosphorus in the 

 nutrition of animals, are brought forward. 



Selection for the Improvement ofCoflFee. 



Experiments are being undertaken by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture of the Dutch East Indies, with 

 a view to obtaining improved varieties of coffee by 

 selection. After several years' trials, it has been found 

 that the ordinary methods of selection which are appli- 

 cable in the ease of annual plants, such as that depending 

 on the actual weight of the seed or on its specific 

 gravit}', do not give appreciable results with coffee ; on 

 the contrary, great differences were found between the 

 descendants of different seed-trees. In the experiments, 

 the seeds of each tree were sown and cultivated sepa- 

 rately. The growth and production of the different 

 lots were compared among themselves, and the tree 

 which gave the most vigorous and productive descend- 

 ants was chosen to provide seed for the future. 



A report on the experiments states that the study 

 of the variability of species is intimately connected with 

 the methods of selection employed. The characters of 

 the seed-trees have been studied in detail, and the 

 average values of the variable characters have been 

 calculated according to the methods of Galton and 

 (juetelet. In many cases, it has been possible to 

 separate a large number of varieties, which have been 

 proved constant by sowing, from the typical species ; 

 thus, under Cojf'ca ara.hica, no less than fourteen 

 such varieties have been described. 



Cotton in German East Africa. 



The MoDtld;/ Con.'iular and Trade Rejiorts for 

 September, 1909, contains interesting information in 

 connexion with the growth of the cotton-growing 

 industry in German East Africa. The increased acre- 

 age in cotton plantations along the Daressalaam-Moro- 

 goro Railway has necessitated additional cotton-ginning 

 facilities in Daressalaam. In order to dispose of last 

 year's crop, the Colonial Agricultural Connnittee 

 (Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee), by an arrange- 

 ment with a local firm, has temporarily installed 

 two gins, and is now in a position to work up all the 

 incoming product. Negotiations are pending to 

 establish these gins permanent!}'. 



One of the larger companies, whose activities 

 extend throughout German East Africa, has for some 

 time been operating two gins at Tanga: but the 

 increase in production has been so large in that 

 district that they are no longer able to meet the 

 demands. At the instigation of the Colonial Agri- 

 cultural Committee, the firm has undertaken to erect 

 two additional gins at 1'anga. The antiquated Spindel 

 press will also be replaced by a modern hydraulic steam 

 press. A recently installed gin in the Moshi district 

 may also shortly prove inadequate to take care of the 

 increasing protluction there. 



There are in addition, some seven or eight gins on 

 the various plantations throughout German East Africa, 

 to all of which additions are contemplated in the near 

 future. The planters in the Tanga district have 

 requested the Colonial Agricultural Committee to 



