220 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



JuLV 4, 19U. 



GLEANINGS. 



An interesting publication has been received in the 

 form of the Annual Report of the Government Geologist, 

 South Australia. Of special interest is that section of the 

 report dealing with surface contours, isopotential lines and 

 the underground portion of hydraulic surface. 



The contributions of the United States National Her- 

 barium, Vol. XVIII, Part II, deals with new or noteworthy 

 plants from Columbia and Central America. The sections 

 dealing with the Sapodillas {Acras spp.) and with Sapiiiin spp. 

 and Lnciinia are of considerable interest to the West Indies. 



Information has been received setting out the regulations 

 of the Pure Seeds Act recently passed in Queensland. Under 

 this law, low grade seeds may be sold but they must be seeds 

 in which the germination capacity is not more than 50 per 

 cent, of the amount set forth. Low grade seeds must be 

 contained in branded bags or packages. 



A communication has arrived which describes the 

 extensive nature of the live stock exhibit at the Panama- 

 Pacific International Exhibition. The exhibits of this section 

 will be educational as well as competitive. They will 

 present, in exhaustive measure, a complete exposition of the 

 most modern breeding and cultural methods. 



An article appears in the Journal d' Agriculture Tropi- 

 cah for February 1914, on the cultivation of rice on dry 

 soils with a special view to the adaptation of the crop to 

 the agricultural conditions obtaining in the cofteegrowing 

 districts of Brazil. Piico i.s also con.^idoied as a rotation 

 crop in which capacity it can be grovrn in a cyclu with 

 tnbarco, cntton, siigar-cane and other crops. 



In the notes on agriculture, in the Demerara Chronicle 

 for June 5, 1914, reference is made to the fact that Liberian 

 coffee has on various occasions been stated to possess an 

 infprior Havour to the 'creole'. This idea has arisen, it is 

 believed, through the want of uniformity in roasting the 

 beans. The reference under notice quotes an interesting 

 extract from The Grocer on the question under discussion. 



In discussing the simultaneous method of inoculating 

 oattle with serum from animals that have been recently 

 immunized, the Philippine Agricultural Revino (March 1914) 

 states that the simultaneous inoculation with blood drawn 

 in the field has demonstrated that there is no necessity for 

 maintaining an expensive permanent laboratory and herd 

 for the production of anti-rinderpest serum from hyper- 

 immunized animals. 



The Times for May 25, 1914, published a half-page map 

 of the West Indies and Central America, pointing out that 

 opening of the Panama Canal, whicli is now announced for 

 July 1 next, will convert the Caribbean Sea from being 

 a stifling water of coasting commerce, into one of the main 

 arteries of international trade. The legend further refers to 

 the various British possessions in the West Indies and forms 

 a somewhat striking advertisement for these colonies. 



The recent depression on the rubber market does not, at 

 least, seem to have been felt by the Kuala Selangor Company, 

 which, according to The Times for May 13, shortly declared 

 a dividend of 100 per cent. This was due partly to the 

 increase in the output and partly i o the decrease in the cost 

 of production; and lastly to the company having taken the 

 responsibility of selling a considerable portion of the crop for 

 forward delivery at 4s. 8d. per tti. 



The Experiment Station Record (Vol. XXX, No. G) 

 refers to a useful list of economic plants, occurring in the 

 Dutch East Indies, published at Batavia. In this work 

 a synoptical catalogue of the collections in the Technical 

 Museum at Buitenzorg is presented, and detailed notes are 

 given on the occurrence, distribution, parts used, methods of 

 preparation, imlture, commerce, of the various plants 

 described. 



A communication has been received at this ofKce from 

 the acting Curator of the E.\-periment Station, Tortola, 

 Virgin Islands, briefly recording the recent tour made by 

 that oflicer and His Honour the Commissioner to different 

 parts of the Presidency. Virgin Gorda valley was visited 

 first. Later, Virgin Gorda sound was reached and subse- 

 quently Anegada. The last place visited was Jost van Dyke. 

 At all these places the peasants were addressed in connexion 

 with agricultural matters. 



According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 

 the African oil pa.]m Elaeis fftiineensis has Iieen introduced 

 into Asia with very satisfactory results. In Sumatra, 

 preparations have been made for planting 7,500 acres per 

 year. Experiments show that 1 acre of these trees yields 

 2,500 fc. of palm oil producing a profit of £24 per acre. 

 The trees come into bearing aker four years, and the cost 

 of establishing and maintaining them during that period 

 is about £32 per acre. 



In the India Rubber Journal for May 30, 1914, a new 

 apparatus is described for the collection of latex from 

 rubber trees. The invention is designed to provide a means 

 whereby the spout does not pierce the bark of the tree, and 

 whereby a very short spout can be used of approximately 

 about 2 inches in length, so that there is less surface to 

 which scrap or dirt can adhere, thereby allowing a consider- 

 able reduction of scrap rubber and conse^juently an increase- 

 of pure latex tapped per tree. 



It is well known that cotton plays an important part in 

 the manufacture of motor car tyres. Although not all the 

 cotton employed for this purpose is Sea Island or Egyptian 

 cotton, the greater part of it is, and this explains where 

 a good deal of the longer cotton fibres go, particularly in 

 view of the statement made recently in the India Rubber 

 Journal (for May 16, 1914) that there are a far larger 

 number of tyres produced than is recorded in the market 

 returns 



