Vol. XIII. No. 31-5. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



16.5 



miles from Tunguu, just south of the centre of the island, to 

 M'Kokotoni, on the north, where the trees flourish on the red 

 and chocolate-coloured maris of the sheltered ridges and slopes, 

 and on the sandy loams of the flats away from the numerous 

 swamps. In Pemba the belt commences at the southern 

 extremity of the island at Pakaima and Kengeja, extending 

 to Masuka within -5 miles of the northernmost point (Ras 

 Kigomacha): in both instances the plantations occupy the 

 western sides of the islands, following the beds of marl and 

 sandy loams upon which they thrive and grow. The trees 

 themselves have been planted out in geometrical lines from 

 21 to 24 feet centres, and commence to bear upon normal 

 conditions about their seventh year, reaching their maximum 

 yield on good soil about their fifteenth year. When half 

 a century old they are some io feet high with a circumference 

 near ground-level of about .5 feet. 



The clove itself is the dried, unopened bud of the tree, 

 and must be harvested before maturity, otherwise it is useless 

 for commercial purposes. It produces one crop a year, the 

 trees commencing to bud about January or February, in 

 Zanzibar, and the harvest may start any time after the -July 

 following. As the buds ripen unequally, the picking may 

 last some four months or so and, therefore, a tree may have 

 to be picked two or three times. The yield is uncertain and 

 varies from 4 to 8 B). per tree per year, and there are especial 

 cases in which a tree will bear as much as one frasila (3-5 lb.) 

 in a single year. Besides the variation in the yield of 

 a single tree there is also a considerable variation in the 

 amount of the crops, a poor year yielding 2i to 3 lakhs of 

 frasilas (8,7.50,000 Bb. to 10,500,000 ft.) and a'good year over 

 twice this quantity, the mean yield over a number of years 

 being about 4i lakhs (15,750,000 ft.), a mast or abundant crop 

 occurring from every three to five years. The average yield, 

 however, is generally somewhat in excess of the market 

 requirements. After picking, the cloves are dried in the sun 

 for six or seven days, being then packed in grass mats or 

 gunny bags and sent to the Zanzibar Custom House for 

 auction, the Government levying a duty of 25 per cent, upon 

 the produce. The prices realized, work out from 2}rf to 6d. 

 per ft. during the last few years, so that the market is very 

 fluctuating and speculative. 



The bulk of the cloves are purchased by German and 

 Italian firms, and are exported to Hamburg, London, New 

 York and Bombay where they are largely employed for the 

 distillation of clove oil, which is used in the manufacture of 

 drugs, perfumes, confectionery, etc. 



AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



There are at present upwards of 1,480,000 acres of teak 

 forests in Java, according to an article in the Journal d'Agri- 

 ture Tropicale. and the acreage is steadily increasing, as the 

 area reattbrested is two and a half times larger than the area 

 felled during the same period. The principal conditions for 

 profitable cultivation are a fair soil of at least medium fertility, 

 a minimum yearly rainfall of 40 inches, and an atitude not 

 greater than 330 feet. Teak sends up numerous shoots from 

 the stool, but as the trees thus obtained are inferior to 

 seedlings, this method of cultivation is not employed. Seeds 

 are sown in rows at 3 ft. by 10 ft , and during the first year 

 other crops, such as rice or ground nuts, are grown between 

 the rows. The chief enemy of the young plantations is the 

 lalang glass (Impernla arundinacea), and in order to keep it 

 down, as hoeing is too expensive, it is usual to sow a 

 leguminous plant, Leucena gkiuca, between the rows. This 

 chokes the lalang grass, and keeps the soil clean; it also 

 prevents the leaching out of the earth, enriches it in humus 

 and nitrogen, and disappears when the cover of the forest is 

 sufficient. 



A MOVE IN MAURITIUS. 



A communication has been received from the Director 

 of Agriculture, Mauritius, describing the arrangements which 

 have been made for the training of a limited number of 

 young men in agricultural sciences with special reference to 

 the sugar industry, at the laboratories of the Department 

 of Agriculture. 



The rules respecting the training of these students 

 require the number to be limited to six, and these must 

 bind themselves for three years to complete a course in 

 accordance with the schedule which is summarized below. 

 The instruction will be given by the officers of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, the lectures being limited to such times 

 as their official duties miy allow. A fee of Rs. 5 is to be 

 charged monthly for such instruction, and the parents or 

 guardians of each student will be required to enter into 

 a contract at the commencement of the student's training 

 to provide for the completion of such training. 



Students should be ready to render assistance to the 

 Department of Agriculture in its investigations, and they 

 will be encouraged to work in a sugar factory for one crop 

 during their period of instruction. Definite hours are 

 specified in the regulations, and examinations, will be held 

 annually on the basis of which a diploma will be issued. It 

 is intimated that this diploma will only be given pending 

 the establishment of an agricultural college in one of the 

 larger colonies, when it is hoped to arrange that the 

 diploma issued by that college may be substituted for the 

 departmental one. 



A research scholarship will be available once in every 

 three years. Vacancies for students began on April 1, 1914, 

 and applicants were required to have passed the Senior Cam- 

 bridge Local or to pass a competitive examination in various 

 science subjects. 



The syllabus of studies referred to above include the 

 general principles of agriculture, agricultural botany and 

 biology, agricultural chemistry, and agricultural entomology 

 and meteorology. From the schedule it would seem that no 

 provision is made for a training in general chemistry, which 

 would appear to be a serious omission since teachers have 

 always realized the difficulties of giving instruction in 

 applied science, particularly chemistry, unless the student 

 possesses some idea of the general principles. 



One of the reports of the Imperial Education Confer- 

 ence dealing with educational systems of the chief colonies 

 not possessing responsible government concerns British 

 Guiana. In the section dealing with technical education 

 reference is made to the system of agricultural apprenticeship, 

 which is designed to train boys for agricultural work and to 

 give them certain instruction in the principles of agricultural 

 science to render them fit to take the place of leaders and 

 among the small cultivators of the soil. These are indentured 

 to the Director of Science and Agriculture for a term of 

 three years, and are employed in the Botanic Gardens and 

 Experiments Fields at an average rate of pay of 20c. per day, 

 special provision being made for their board and residence 

 by the Government. As in earlier years, the weak point 

 in the scheme is that the statf of the botanical and agricul- 

 tural divisions are too fully occupied with other duties to 

 give the teaching the attention it deserves; and it is felt 

 that at the present time the work still suffers under thi.s 

 difficulty and it is considered essential that a special officer 

 is necessary to superintend and give systematized instruction 

 to the pupils. 



