Vot.. XIII. Xo. 30-: 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



According to the London cacao market report in 

 Tropical Life (November 1913), the London stock, 

 November 8, 1913, was 75, LSI bags compared with 

 92,793 bags for 1912 and 94,390 bags for 191 1. The 

 Havre stock. October 31,1913, was 161.43.1 bags as 

 against 14S,41(i bags for 1912. 



The Journal of Agricultural Science. 



Tne October issue of thi.s publication contains, 

 as usual, an account of the leading investigations in 

 agricultural science in England and Wales. W. Gavin 

 contributes another paper dealing with studies in milk 

 records (see A'jricidtund Neiv^:, Vol. XII, p. 219), 

 more especially on the accuracy of estimating a cow's 

 milking capability by her first lactation yield. 'The gen- 

 eral conclusion arrived at is that with cows giving a fairly 

 high or fairly low first lactation R.M. [ = revised 

 maximum — the maximum day-yield of the lactation 

 which is three times reached (or e.\ceeded)]. this figure 

 should be used to determine whether they shall be kept 

 or not: but with cows giving a medium first lactation 

 R.AI of 10-11 quarts, it is worth waiting to obtain the 

 increased accuracy of an estimate based on the, means 

 of the first and second lactation R.!M.' 



S. J. M. Auld publishes a paper on the production 

 of hydrocyanic acid during digestion in ruminants. 

 The only danger in this respect appears to be when 

 cyanogenetic foodstuffs like linsocd cake are fed with 

 acid-containing or acid-pro<lucing foodstuffs. Small 

 quantities of hydrocyanic acid, normallj- produced, may 

 possibly have a strongly beneticial action. 



The same author contributes another paper on 

 the feeding value of Para r/bber seed cake. This 

 investigation has already been reported. (See A<jrl- 

 vvUaral Ncas, Vol. .\li,p. 412.) 



Sugar chemists and others will be interested in 

 l)[ivis' and Daishel's account of their work on the esti- 

 mation of carbohydrates in plant e.^tracts: whilst 

 readers familiar with recent work in Egypt in connex- 

 ion with cotton will appreciate W. Lawrence Ball's 

 paper on movements of soil wati>r in an Egyptian 

 cotton field. This shows, amongst other things, that 

 the depth of a root can be traced by its drying effect on 

 the soil, and that the rate of evaporation from a field of 

 cotton (20 by 10 metres) averages about 20 tons of 

 ■water a day, from ilay to October. 



The issue of the journal under review contains 

 also papers by Pickering and Russell on the effect of 

 bastard trenching on the soil and (m plant growth, and 

 another by Crowther and Stuart on the distribution of 

 atmospheric impurities in the neighbourhood of .in in- 

 dustrial city. Finally, ]Mnckensie and ]Marshall contribute 

 Part II of their paper on ovioloniy in sows. This 

 deals with the question as to whether the black 

 pigmentation that occurs in the bacon obtained fi-om 

 the mammary region in pigs of certain breeds can 

 best be eliminated by 'spaying' or by selection. 



Important Meeting of the Antigua Onion. 



Growers' Association. 



The recent establishment of the above Association 

 has already been notified in the Agricultural Neivs. 

 Readers will be interested to learn that an important 

 meeting was held on December 10, 1913, for the 

 purpose of hearing a report of the Board of .Management 

 and an address by Dr. Francis Watts, CMC;., Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies. 



With regard to the question of grading, the Board 

 recommends the adoption of three standards: Grade 1, 

 to consist of onions varying from li to 3i inches in 

 diameter, and to be called Antigua Firsts: Grade 2,to- 

 consists of onions over 3^. inches in diameter, and to be 

 called Antigua Seconds: Grade 3 to consist of onions 

 under 2i inches in diameter, and to be called Antigua 

 Thirds. The Board has decided upon an official brand 

 which shall be used for marking packages of onions 

 in-^pected in accordance with the Articles of Associ- 

 ation. An imporLHiit dexelojiment has been the 

 decision to conduct trials to ascertain whether by care- 

 ful curing, grading and packing, the marketable quali- 

 ties of Anr.igua onions can be increased, and also to- 

 endeavour by means of small trial shipments to attract 

 attention to the j.roduce in the Canadian market. To 

 assist these endeavours the Government has sanctioned 

 a grant of £12. In connexion with the question of 

 obtaining fortnightly advices as to the condition of the 

 markets at various intercolonial centres, the Board 

 reports that at no distant date satisfactory arrangements- 

 will have been completed for this service. 



In the addr'ss which followed, by the Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture, a short historical account was 

 given of onion cultivation in Antigua, and reference 

 made to the difficulty, owing to the tariff, of finding 

 a market in the United State.s It was pointed out 

 that an opportunity was at hand for increasing the 

 trade in onions with Canada, mainly in view of the new 

 steamshi]! facilities and the big demand that already 

 exists in the Dominion for the produce under consider- 

 ation. Turning to local matters. Dr. Watts pointed out 

 the uncertainty involved in a complete dependence 

 u])on intercolonial markets. Reference was then made 

 to the reputation which Antigua onions have, in some 

 places, for being badly packed and of inferior flavour. 



Generally speaking, Dr. Watts was of opinion that 

 the flavour of Antigua onions was approved of. but 

 that in this connexion, the trials in regard to ripening- 

 already referred to in the report of the Association, 

 would be of considerable importance. 



At the conclusion of the proceedings the meeting- 

 adjourned to the Botanic Station for the jjurpose of 

 viewing the plot experiments conducted there with 

 onions. Experiments shown demonstrated the fact 

 that if onion seed is planted direct in the field and not 

 in the nurseries, the crop can be reaped five weeks 

 Cfirlier. This, natundly. is a feature in the cultivation 

 of the crop which cannot be ignored by the practica!- 

 grower. 



