Vol. XIII. X( 



THE AORICULTUKAL NEWS. 



281 



The jibuve con.sidtiatidiis ix-Uv U) tecliiiitvil ciliica- 

 tiuii iu the sugar facturv: outside in thu fit-lil the 

 ap{)lication of science is etjually necessary. Although 

 a well-trained sugar chemist .^hould be able to give 

 advice on -scientific matters connected with the estate it 

 is generally advisable to liaveadilitiMnal scientific advice 

 in conne.xion with the plantation for two reasons: (1) it 

 is more satisfactory because the interests of the sugai- 

 chemist are not always those of the estate (2) becaiuse 

 tile factory chemist specializes in engineering chemistry 

 aufi is not well fitted t" advise on agricultural problems. 



At the present time in most tropical countries 

 .scientific ad\ice on the estate is geneially obtained 

 from (iovernment agTiciUtuial departments, but in 

 large concerns, planters have found it advisable to 

 enipli.iy their own scientific officers. Apart from the 

 questions of who should appoint these officers is the 

 fact that there is gi-eat need for institutions wherein 

 thev can be trained. 



New Tariff Changes and Other Trade Notices. 



The issue of Tl/". Board of Trade Journal for 

 July l(i, 1!)U. notifies the fact that the Australian 

 Chi\ ernment jin >hibits the importation into that ciaintry 

 of any plant (including any roots, cutting or seed) of 

 the family Cactaceae, though the Minister for trade 

 and customs may permit under certain conditions 

 the importation of the flowering or ornamental 

 varieties of the said plant. It will be remeudiered 

 that attention has been calleil in thi- Ar/nciUtitral. 

 Nei'.'s to the sj)iead of cactus on to cultivated 

 land in Australia. In the British Solomon Islands, 

 the exportation of the plumage of certain wild birds 

 i> prohibited and e\ery person guilty of an offence 

 against the regulation will be liable to a penalty not 

 exceeding .£5. From TItf. Board, of Tritdo Joiinud it 

 is also learnt that maize is now being admitted duty 

 tree into Mexico through an increased number of ports; 

 whilst in Guatemala the CJovernnient stispends for a 

 perioil of six months the collection of a duty on rubber 

 exported from thi.> Hepublic. In Nicaragua it is stated 

 the duty oiiconnuon and refined sugar imported through 

 ports on the Pacific Coast and through San Juan 

 fii'l Norte (Gi'eytown) on the Atlantic ctiast has been 

 ii'duced from 004 peso to 0'03 peso per kilogramme. 



The section of the same publication which deals 

 with information on ship})ing and transjjort says that 

 the sur\ey for the I'ailway to Xyasaland from a point 

 on the mainland, a few miles from ^b)zanibi(|ue has 

 been conij^leted. 



In regard to agricultural and forest products — the 

 next .section in the journal containing matter of interest 

 to the West Indies — a statement is made to the effect 

 that the crushing and decortication of grounil nuts at 

 I\Iarseilli's continues to increase. The imports into 

 -Marseilles during 1918 amounted to 241,8iS2 tons of 

 <leeoiticated kernels and 1. SIS,! IS.") tons of ground nuts 

 in shells, as compared with 2.'iiMit.") tons and 120. H)() 

 tons, respectively, in 1!)12. 



Towards the end ..f .May, the publication under 

 review states that an International Rice Congress was 

 held at Valencia and that the British delegate to the 

 Congress reports that amongst the papers read was 

 one on fertilizers and another on the implements used 

 in rice cultivation. The section of the congress dealing 

 with the connnerce in rice, adopted resoluticjus propos- 

 ing to organize an active ]ji-opaganda regarding the 

 uses of rice by distributing pamphlets, samples and 

 recipes. It is said that the yield of rice in Valencia, 

 <iwing to the excellent system of irrigation — a legacy 

 of the Moors — is about four times as great as that 

 obtained in manv of the good rice QTowino' districts 

 of India. 



A New Publication Devoted to Applied Biology. 



Under the editorshijj of Professor ^laxwell Lefroy — 

 at onetime Entomologist on the staff of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture for the West Indies, and 

 now Professor of Economic Entomology in the Imperial 

 College of Science, London — the Association of Economic 

 Biologists has just started to issue an Official Organ 

 knowni as the Atmals of A-pplied Biology. In this 

 journal papers dealing with a wide range of subjects 

 connected with economic biology are to be published, 

 lint there will be no place for purely svstematic work 

 which is amply provided for elsewhere. In the editorial 

 to the first niunber it is stated that the Association is 

 endeavouring to form a link between biological workers 

 in Great Britain and in the Dominions and Colonies, 

 and a publication of the journal is likely to have 

 a great influence in the achievement of this object. 



The Association contemplates the formation of 

 a library, and requests workers in the Colonies and 

 Dominions to forward copies of papers they have pub- 

 lished relating to biological science, and also any books 

 they can spare. Lately a wide appeal has been made 

 for membership, and it is hoped that this appeal may 

 be felt not only in Great Britain, but in the Colonies, 

 with satisfactory- results. 



It ma\- be of interest to present a brief outline of 

 the C(Wtents and scope of the Annals ofAirplied Biology, 

 Vol. I, No. 1. Professor F. W. Gamble. F.R.S., contri- 

 butes an instructive article on impending developments 

 in agricultural zoology, in w'hich he emphasizes the im- 

 portunce of a study of worm life in the soil, as well as 

 of protozoa living under the same conditions. In another 

 paper the important subject of the action of Bordeau.x 

 mixture on plants receives attention, whilst another 

 deals with pollination in orchids. A paper of consider- 

 able, practical interest is that dealing with the cater- 

 pillars attacking oaks of Richmimd Park, with an 

 acc<:>unt of experimental spraying with lead chromate. 

 In combating this pest one of Merryweather's spraying 

 machines was used, and the operators are enabled to 

 bring the hose near the region of the foliage by the 

 emplo^■ment of fire brigade ladders. Various other 

 papi'rs of equal interest are to be found in this publica- 

 tion, but sufficient has been said to sho\y that the new 

 journal has a wiile and interesting bearing upon agri- 

 culture, and will no doubt mei t with a warm and well 

 deserverl reception. 



