i!!)i; 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Septembee 1'-' 1914. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters ami matter for publication, as well as all 

 -specimens tiir naming, should be addressed to the 

 • Commissionei-, Lii^jerial Department of Agriculture, 

 - Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agiicultural 

 iNew.s' should be addressed to the Agents, and nut 

 ■ to the Department. 



Local Agents: Adviicate Co., Ltd., Broad St., 

 Bridgetown. Loiuhm Agents: Messrs. Dulau & Co., 

 -■ 37, Soho Square, W.; West India Committee, Seeth- 

 ing Lane, E.C. The complete list of Agents will be 

 •found iin page o of the cover. 



The Agricultural Xew.'^: Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 -2.5. 2rf. Post fi-et, -t.*. id. 



^iiricultural ilinrij 



ToL. XIIL SATURD.VY, .SEPTEMHER li', 19U. No. 323. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



■ Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number deals principally with 

 Yeterinary legislatiim and con.stitutes a continnatiun 

 of the editorial in the last issue. 



(Jn page 2!tl will be found an article of consider- 

 able interest dealing with potash manures, the supply 

 uf which has been cut off owing to the situation in 

 Europe. 



Useful and instructivr information dealing with 

 the effects of iiiannros on c<ieo-nuts will be found on 

 page 2! 1 2. 



( )n page 2!)4, the I'occntly publishc<l Annual Repoit 

 ■on the AgriciUtural Di'paitmrnt. Dominica, is reviewed. 



Forests and Floods. 



Under this heading a letter in Natu.re (July KS, 

 1914) discusses the significant circum.stance that tilled 

 soil absorbs more rainfall than earth that has laid 

 untouched. As an experiment, water was poured into 

 soil containiMl in pots consisting of two series: (a) in 

 which the .soil was consolidated, (b) in which the .soil 

 was lii-oken up and loose. It was observed that the 

 water entered the soil of the undisturbed pots moi'u 

 slowly than the other, and that the water moi-e (juickly 

 passed through the soil in these pots than the other. 

 After having taken necessary precautions that the soil 

 had been entirely wetted throughout, the ])ots were 

 weighed and showed that the disttu-bed soil held a much 

 greater amount of water than the consolidated soil. 



It may be asked: What connexion has this with 

 forests and floods:' In the letter under consideration, 

 it is maintained that the soil in which trees are grow- 

 ing is looser than that which is bare: consequently it is 

 in its best condition for absorbing and retaining the 

 rainfall. It is maintained further that the decaying 

 \egetation on the surface under trees has al.s<:i a bene- 

 ficial effect, as it absorbs water and acts as a iiudch, 

 preventing drying. 



It would seem to us that the conditions obtaining 

 in the 2»ts are not perfectly comparable to the charac- 

 ters of a forest or bare hill-land soil. The presence of 

 a coveting of decaying vegetable matter in the forest 

 introduces foctors not involved in the pot experiments. 

 The main point brought out, however, is illuminative, 

 and Well worth bearing in mind. 



Important information eoncei'iiing Canadian sugar 

 duties is given on page 2!I7. 



Insect Notes, on jiage 2!i.S, describe the habits of 

 the Barbados Acrobat .Ant. 



The second article on agi'icuituial creilit ni India 

 appears on pages 2ilS and 2li!i. 



The effect of grass on the growth of fruit trees is 

 ■dealt with under Fungus Notes, on page 302, owing to 

 Ahe importance of the pathological a.spect of the subject. 



New Kinds of Motor Ploughs. 



Several interesting forms of implements were 

 exhibited at the General Agricultural Show, Paris, 1!)14, 

 and the more noteworthy of these are briefly described 

 in the Monthly Bulletin of Agricultural Intelligence 

 and Plant Diseases for June 1SI14. Amiots Motor 

 Plough which seems especially worthy of remark is 

 an implement in which the plough is situated 

 behind the motor and the three-furrow Flemish shaivs 

 can be lifted by a kind of crane worked by the motor 

 itself: thus one man can drive and work the whole 

 machine from his seat. In the case of another plough the 

 shares are placed at the side of the frame between the 

 steering and driving wheels, so that the plough is 

 pushed instead of being hauled. One man seated 

 above the middle of the frame is sufficient to drive the 

 machine. It is built in two sizes, l(i to 2(1 h.p. and 

 40 to .50 h.p. The engine of the Amiots motor plough 

 is 40 h.p. An improvement not connecteil with motor 

 plo\ighs particularly, but which is well worthy of 

 connnent is the movable equilibrium counteiweight 

 which is known as Bajac's invention. Planters know 

 that it is extremely fatiguing for the ploughman, when 

 using the heavv two- or three-furrowed, double Flemish 

 ploughs, to tm-n them round at the end of the furrow. 

 In ordei- to obxiate this drawback. Bajac fits a sliding 

 cast iron weight on to a horizontal bai' attached to 

 the forepart ot the plough. By moving this weight 

 the ploughman is more easily able to manipulate the 

 implement in the ways referred to. 



