■236 



THE AOltKTLTUr.AL NEWS. 



July IS. 191 4. 



jT, ■-•'^>'^-^-^^^^ ' " —^^^ 



Le HuUtliii d%i Jardin Botaninue de Buitcnznr;/ (Nn. XIII) 

 -contains an interesting account of new orchids of the Malayan 

 Archipelago. 



An article in tlic Journal of the Department of Aijricul- 

 ture of Victoria draws attention ti) the V)eneticial etiect 

 olitained in J^-ance by using sulpliur as a manure for grape 

 vines. The greater the (piantity of organic matter in the 

 soil, the more pronounced is the beneficial action of the 

 sulphur. 



An advertisement received, deserilies an efficient pocket 

 gag for horses, which lias been adopted V)y the English, French 

 vind German armies. It it is stated that this gag can lie 

 applied without twitdiing the horse, and without assistance. 

 The instrument is made by S. Maw, Son and Sons, London. 



Diplomatic and Gonsidar Reports, Xo. 5283, Annual 

 Scries, on the trade of 8t. Thomas and St. C'roi.x, D.W.I., 

 shows that the exports of sugar from St. Croix during I9I3 

 had a value of £35,216, wdiilst the rum exported was valued at 

 £i,5b\. The total value of the cotton shipped was £39,895. 



A general meeting of tlic Trinidad Horticultural I'luli is 

 reported in the Port-of- Spain (iazeltr for June 23, 1914. At 

 tliis meeting Mr. W. G. Freeman, Vice-President and Acting 

 I )irector of Agriculture for Trinidad, delivered a lecture on tlie 

 life-history of feriis. Tlie nirMilicr>liip c.f the soi-ietv is rapidly 

 increasing. 



A copy of the Annual lii'port of the Chief Veterinary 

 Officer of the Board of Agiicnlture and Fisheries, London, 

 has just been received. Much of the matter contained in 

 this publication is of general interest, particularly the infor- 

 mation concerning the outlireaks ami syni|itoms of certain 

 ■contagious diseases like antln-ax. 



Tirucalli rubber is grown in Xatal, and is the latex of 

 Evphorhia tirucalli. It is interesting principally on account 

 of the very low fjercentage of (■ao\it<'liouc it contains and its 

 high percentage of resin. It does not seem to l>e of mndi 

 use as a source of rubber. (Tlie A;/rirultiiral Jourmil of 

 the Union of South Africa for >ray 1914.) 



The issue of Der PJlainer for January 1914 consists of 

 an animal report on the Institute of Agricultural Biology, 

 Amani, German East Africa. The section dealing with 

 entomology refers to certain serious outbreaks of mealy-bug 



•on mango, and of weevil on cotton. These e]jideniics are 

 stated to have been directly connected with the dry weather 



•experienced in 1 91 3. 



Kature for .May 2S, 1914. call- attention to the n^efu! 

 function that has been performed, during the past five years 

 it has been in existence, by the International Institute of 

 Agriculture, liy publishing a .l/o?if A/.// /iullctin of A'/ricultural 

 /iiteUi;/euce and Plant Diseafef. An article is reviewed on 

 the statistics contained in the latest issue, shfiwing the 

 position as I'egards live stock in Great Britain. 



In the Incorpurated Cltaviher of Commeice of Lirer' 

 pool Mo)itIihi Mfii/aiine for !May 1914 appears a note on 

 the rubljer indtistry of Peru in which the kinds of rubber 

 ]iroduced are described. The liest Hevea rublier is sai<l to 

 come from trees on the higher ground, a fact which is interest- 

 ing in \iew of statements to the effect that plantation rublier 

 in the East does best when grown near water. 



Chinese Galangal or ginger is the root stock of a jilant 

 known as AlpAnia ofncinaruni. The root is smaller than 

 that of the ginger plant. ZnniUjer ijncinale, and the Cliinese 

 ginger has a peculiar taste resembling a combination of ginger 

 and jjepper. According to the Journal of the Roi/al Societi/ 

 (f Arts(-h\ne 5, 1914) there has been a notable increase in its 

 [iroduction and export from China during the l;ist two years, 

 the United States takingan unusually large sliare of tlic product. 



H. M. Vire ('onsul for Hayti states, in Diplomatic and 

 Consular Reports. No. 5288 Annual Series, 1913, that the 

 complete stagnation of business in Hayti has caused a dim- 

 inution of over 10 per cent, in the total imports in 1913. 

 The export trade suffered a heavy l.)lo\v from the fall in the 

 price of coffee, and the iiartial failure of the croji. i[ore(jver, 

 political unrest has effectually paralyzed all other branches of 

 agricultural activity. The exjiort of logwood especially, has 

 shown a i^ousideiaVile decrease during 1913. 



The PltiHppine Agriculturist and Forester. Vol. Ill, 

 Xo. 1. contains an article on the hybridization of tobacco. 

 In tlie summary it is stated that there are three hybrid 

 strains isolated from the Cagayan x 1 )road leaf cross, and one 

 from the Cagayaii x Havanna. All of them are good wrapjier 

 types whidi jiroduce twice as many wrappers as either |iarent 

 has done here. By the luxuriance of growth and adaptability 

 to the local environment of these hyla-id strains, is indicated 

 the ]io^^>iblity of raising high class wrapper in the Philippines. 



At ('oulo)iaa co-operative society has been foinicil for 

 the sale of fruit. In view of the impoi^tance of fruit produc- 

 tion in this province of Buenos Ayres, the society will be 

 able to di-velop considerably and lie of great benefit alike 

 to the fainiers and to the consumers. The Association has 

 a large building, which w-ill be utilized for exhibitions and 

 shows, for wliich tlie Government has offered numerous 

 prizes. Co-operative nurseries for fruit trees have also been 

 formed. {Monthli/ fiulletin of Economic and Social Infet- 



li'imcf. April 1914.) 



I lie miic\i>cil statement puiiiisneo m ine ttienada 

 Government Ga.ette (June 15, 1914) shows that a satisfactory 

 increase in value has occurred for some of the staple ])roducts 

 exported from ( irenada during the five months ended May 31, 

 1914, compared with the corresponding period in 1913. The 

 total value of cacao for the five months last year was 

 £194,451; for this year's period it is £209,052. In the case 

 of spices, tlie value for last year's period was £4,736; for this 

 vear £5,582. The value of the cotton has -Ikiwu some, 

 icduction. 



