Vol. XIII. Xf> 319. 



THE .\OETCl'LTrRAL XEW>;. 



in tlie case of Antigua wliere tin- soil is such that 

 considerable benefit might be anticipated: 'There was an 

 increase of 293 Bb. of sucrose on the plots receiving loO lb. of 

 lime, but no increase f)n the plots receiving 300 B). of lime. 

 The use of lime in these small amounts appears to be without 

 influence.' It should lie oliserved that small dressings were 

 applied; larger applications would iloubtless have a consider- 

 able beneficial action cm the meiliaiiical conditions of 

 lieavy soils. 



In the i-ase of Jamaica, the l)e|)artment of .Vgriculture 

 obtained a few year.s ago more promising results than were 

 got in the Leeward Islands. It is .stated in the Journal of 

 the Jamaica Agricultural Society (.May 191 + ) that the 

 application of lime to sugar-cane soils was found tf> be 

 actually remunerative, but one has to be careful in accepting 

 this statement as being one of general application, even 

 for Jamaica. 



From time to time small trials have lieen made with lime 

 as a fertilizer for grounfl nuts and other provision crops in the 

 AVe~t Indian islands. l)ut in nearly ever}' case the re.-ults 

 liavi; been inconclusive. 



SOURCES OF LI.MK. 



It is possible that certain well defined cases exist where 

 the ap[)lication of lime owing to the physical condition of the 

 soil is very desirable, but neglected be<-ause of difficulties in 

 indcuring the lime. In the West Indies limestone is fairly 

 generally abundant and in many jilaces kiln-buiMiing is a local 

 industry. In districts where lime cannoi be readily olitained, 

 limestone might possibly be ground on the estate l\v means 

 of a machine such as that descrilied in the Afiiicultural 

 Nevf, Vol. XII, p. 223. A still better jmicedure wi>idd lie 

 to niaiuifacture cjuicklime in a rotary kiln. 



It is a fact of some imjxirtance that lime is not sf> 

 inexpensive as many may imagine. In Jamaica for 

 instance, a barrel of dry (temper) lime weighing 220 lb. costs 

 in King.ston 4s. though it can be bought on the spot in the 

 conntr}' for Is. to Is. (Jrf. This has been mentioned to show 

 that the cost of the material and its application may form 

 a deterrent to its employment even if doing so .seemed theoret- 

 ically desirable. It should be added that lime is employed 

 moiv (iften than ground limestone because lime has a more 

 ]iriniounced flocculating effect on day .soils, and, therefore, 

 'lii;litens' them more readily. 



Sl'KCI.VL EFFECTS OF LIME. 



Recent research has considerably exteudeil our knowl- 

 tdge of lime as a factor influencing biological changes in the 

 Soil. \Vt)rk at Kothamsted has shown that the addition of 

 small ((uantities of (|uicklime to soils stimulates general 

 bacterial growth, but large quantities cause a depre.ssion and 

 a destruction of <'ertain large ])rotozoa aiid finally a cessation 

 of all biological processes. When lime is converted into 

 carbonate or combines with soil eonstituent.s, there is a great 

 increase in the number of bacteria and an acceleration of 

 animonification. But it is probalile that the benefit of 

 lime is more physical than chemical, through the floccu- 

 lating action and consequent improvenieitt of soil permeability 

 to the circulation of air and water. In consitlering 

 the biological effects of quicklime, the value of this 

 sulistance as a sterilizer in the case of certain root 

 diseases of plants may be noted, e.g. root disease of cacao 

 caused by Rosellinia sp. Lastly there is the interesting 

 xiliservation made in Jamaica that the presence of lime 



jirolongs the \egetative period of the sisal hemp plant, i.e. 

 retards the time of poling. This is of significance in consider- 

 ing the a])plication of lime to soils with a view to its. 

 influence on the habit.s of cultivated plants. 



Of more theoretical than practical interest is the con- 

 clusion arrived at at Kothamsted, that certain bacteria can 

 o.xidize calcium oxalate to calcium carbonate in the .soil if the 

 lack of other food makes it necessary for them to employ it 

 in imtrition. There is also of interest the recent work on the 

 calcium-magnesia ratio in the .soil. But these matters do not 

 help us in coming to clear decisions as to when lime should 

 be apjilied to the .soil. It will be evident that the whole 

 subject requires revision experimentally ami is one to which 

 the attention of experiments station workers may well be 

 <lirected. For the present no general principles can bfe 

 laid down for tropical .soils as a whole. Each particular area 

 will demand local investigation until more experiments have 

 been made in different places and the results from them 

 brought into better agreement. 



AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATION. 



IMPROVEMENT OF RICE IN MADAGASCAR., 



In Madagascar, according to Diplomatic nnd Consular 

 Beports, No. 3186 Amiual Series, the Government of the 

 colony during 1912 .started experiments with selected seed 

 rice on land owned by natives who ha\e entered intfi an 

 agreement to co-operate. Under the terms of this agreement 

 the Department of Agriculture supplies to each native 

 a certain (juantity of the .selected seed and rice which the 

 latter undertakes to plant as directed, the Government agree- 

 ing to purchase the first year's crop at 50 per cent, over the 

 cost of production. The crop thus purchased will be divided 

 into two equal lots, one of which will be handed oyer to th.e 

 natives bj- whom it was grown for the purpose of planting 

 out a more extensive area the following year; the other lot 

 will be distributed among planters wlio may be willing to 

 accept it on similar conditions. In order to encourage th.e 

 parties thus co-operating with the administration, to plant 

 exclusively the seed rice [Wfivided, lionuses will lie offered in 

 cases where the area set apart for the improved cultivation 

 has been entirely planted with the ri('e provided by the 

 Government. In this way it is hoped that a more uniform 

 grade will be eventuallv obtained. 



Agricultural Credit in Trinidad.— The question 

 of Agricultural Banks is still being cUscus.sed in Trinidad.. 

 It is stated in the Proceediwis of the Agricultural 

 Societij of Trinidad and Tobago for May 1914, that an 

 interesting paper was recently read by the Secretary of 

 the Mayaro District Agricultural Soiciety on the subject of 

 agricultural credit schemes. The writer's remarks were- 

 warndy in support of the movement and detailed operations 

 of a hypothetical country liank wei-e outlined to show how 

 advantageous these institutions would be to rural commu- 

 luties where the people are under the thumli of the money- 

 lender. 



