Vol. Xlir. 



320. 



THE AGRICULTrEAL NEWS. 



24."? 



tlii-- desirable object will lie achieved this year is not 

 at the time of writing definitely .settled, but ottieial 

 authority has been gi-anted by the Secretaiy of State 

 for the nomination of a repre.sentative. 



Lastly, in connexion with the Kxhiliition. \m- would 

 Call attention to its value as a form ot advei'tisement in 

 reffard to the West Indian tourist trade. Here again 

 there is evidence that the illusti-ateil handbook of this 

 3 >ei)artmeiit serves a useful ](ur|iosc': Canadian visitoi-s 

 to the.se islands frequently refer to this publication which 

 thev have obtained in Toronto tht' picvious year. 

 With a view to incivasing this function of tlif puMir.-i- 

 tion, a larger number of more attractive illustrations 

 have this year been inserted, anfl it is hoped that the 

 booklet may further the desirable intercourse between 

 the inhabitants of the West Indies in Canada which 

 has so largely increased during recent years: that it 

 nia\" have some influence as an item of the K.xhibitim: 

 kr the mattei- of attracting those wlio nrcd or dosiro 

 cliniatic changr and rest: and that it may lulp to draw 

 % larger number of those particularly desirable visitors 

 ■who arrive in these islands with the obj.'c-l of rouiliin- 

 ing thi'ir pleasure with business. 



SHIPMENT OF BENGAL BEANS AS 

 CATTLE FOOD. 



Last vear a saiii|ple of IJengal l>ean.s was sent from 

 f>l. ViiKvut to the liiipenal Institute for chemical and 

 commercial e.vaiiiination. It was found that the beans 

 constituted a feeding,' stuff of high luitritive value and 

 -contained no alkaloids or cyanogenetii- glucosidt-s. It con- 

 tained 122 food units, which is higher than the nutritive 

 value of nndecorticated cotton seed cake (108). 



I )uring May of the present year a larger sample eon- 

 sistint'- of 2'JO Iti. of licans was shipped from St. A'incent to 

 Messrs. Oillespie, Bros, it Co. who ha\e gone into the matter 

 of its value for cattle food very carefully. This firm reports 

 that on the London Corn market there is likely to be adeniaml 

 ftiv the beans at about £(i lOs. to £1 per ton, c.i.f. London. 

 On grinding the .sample it was tViund that a very attractive 

 lofiking meal was ol)tained though the admi.xture of the lilack 

 testa of the .seed is con.sidered to .somewhat .spoil the ap|)eai-- 

 ajtce. A .small feeding trial has been made in England with 

 cows, and from this together with the analysis of the meal, it 

 is considered that it forms a rich, wholesome foodstuff that 

 should be a perfectly marketable article. Mes.srs. Gillespie, 

 Bros. & Co. have advised the consignment, if possible, of say 

 15 to 20 tons to them, as they lielieve the meal would sell 

 readily at about the price mentioned aliove. 



In corresponding with the Acting Agricultural Superinten- 

 dent on the matter, the luijierial Commissioner of Agriculture 

 raised the point as to whether the prii'c ipioted is regarded liy 

 planters as reasonable in view of the estimated yield of the 

 lieans per acre. Iteaders will be familiar with the fact that 

 in the West Indies, Bengal beans are grown primai-ily for their 

 ■\d\ne as a green dressing, and planters in St. Vincent exercise 



care to prevent the lieans seeding in the field since the dispersal 

 of the seed would lie likely tci entail consideralile expense 

 in connexion with the weeding of the subsequent crop. In 

 St. Vincent, the principal crops cultivated are cotton and 

 arrowroot. As regards the effect of the beans upon subsequent 

 cultivation in the case of cotton there .seems to be little ground 

 for antici]3ating much trouble by allowing the beans to flower 

 an<l fruit, but in the case of arrowroot and similar crops of 

 low growth, stray bean plants are apt to be troulilesonie and 

 to form thick mats of vines over the crop proper. Were it 

 not for this objection there would appear to be no difficulty 

 in regard to the production of marketable quantities of 

 Bengal lieans in St. Vincent, and planters are of opinion 

 that the price ju.st quoted in London would pay. In view 

 of the considerations put forwartl above it has been decided 

 to try and supply the English market with some 20 tons of 

 lieans at an early date, and if these sell readily there is no 

 doubt that planters in the West Indies will consider what 

 special methoils can be adopted to enable the important crop 

 under consideration not only to improve the soil in its 

 nitrogen and humus content, but to supply as well produce 

 from which a direct profit can be obtained. It may lie 

 mentioned that the po.ssibility that cassava in St. Vincent 

 may be grown in the future more extensively than it is at 

 present in some places as a suli.stitute for arrowroot, is 

 a possilile solution to the ditticulty, owing to the entirely 

 ditferent habit of the cassava plant which more or less 

 resendiles in this respect cotton. In any case the subject is 

 worthy of carefid consideration particularly in view of the 

 fact that the demand for feeding stuffs hi Great Britain is 

 showing a tendency to increase. There is no doulit that in 

 years to come the feeding of live stock in temperate countries 

 will more and more depend upon the by-products of tropical 

 crops, at any rate as regards concentrated food stuffs; and 

 a highly rich, lutrogenous foodstuff like Bengal bean meal 

 which can be gi-own cheaply and advantageously should 

 stand an exceedingly good chance of establishing itself as 

 an important article in the rations for dairy cow> and 

 fattening animals In temperate countries. 



The Manuring of Bananas in Queensland. 



— Of some interest, from two points of view, is a .short article 

 which appears in the (^ucmdand A(/ricultit)al Journal foi 

 .June 191-1. It gives the results of exjieriments that have 

 been made in that country with regard to the manurial 

 requirements of the banana — work that is of special interest, 

 since it is .stated to hax'e been conducted in a reliable manner 

 liy the pu])ils of one of the Queen.sland State Schools. 



Turning to the actual work done, it is .stated that the fol- 

 lowing sets of manures were employed: incomplete — 2 tt). dried 

 blood. 1| ffi). super|ihosphate; complete No. 1 — 2 !b. dried 

 lilood, l\ BE). superphos{)hate, 1 &. sulphate of potash: com- 

 plete No. 2 — 2 ft'. )utrate of limCj 21b. suljihate of potash, 

 4 B). superphosphate. These tjuantities were supplied to 

 stools every six months. In considering the table of results 

 it appears that complete No. 1 gave by far the greatest gain 

 per acre after paying for the manure. For complete No. 1 

 this is quoted at" £5.3 .3s. IM., for the incomplete manure, 

 £lJS 3s. Id., for complete manure No. 2, £16 Is. or/. The 

 reason for the noticeably small gain in the case of conqilete 

 maiuu-e No. 2, lies in the fact that the cost of the manaie 

 per acre was nearly twii'e as great as in the case of coniplttt- 

 manure No. 1, which was just over £12. 



