34G 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 24, 19U. 



GLEANINGS. 



A note in tliu Journal of A^iriculture of Xew Zealand 



-shows that thf sacchariiif content of riiJe grapes is from 18 



"to 24 per cent. Of temperate fruits nearly all are far below 



this value, ranging in the case of plums from 2'1 per cent, to 



.green cherries, 10'8 ])er cent. 



Circular No. 2 of the Uganda Protectorate Department 

 of Agriculture, on the subject of cotton cultivation, says that 

 the Department is constantly at work on the improvement 

 ■ of the staple, and issues to cultivators the best seed available. 

 The whole seed supply is under the control of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and ordy .seed issue<l by or approved by 

 the Department may be sown. 



A successful way of destroying rats, noted in the Tropi- 

 cal A;/iiciilturist for April 1914,- is the following: After 

 having ascertained which rat holes are inhabited by stopping 

 lip the mouths vdth earth, half a teaspoonful of carbon 

 liisulphide is poured into each of these holes and, after 

 waiting a few seconds to allow the licjuid to evaporate, the 

 mixture of vapour and air is ignited. The resulting explo- 

 sion, though slight, is sufficient to till the hole with poisonous 

 gases that kill all the rats almost instantly. 



Tlie Louisiana Flaii.i( r for August 1, l'J14, states that 

 Calcutta agents have been inducing distillers in India to use 

 solidified molasses in place of the home-made product. It is 

 to be shipped from .Java, and the preliminary experiments 

 are stated to have been satisfactory. The molasses is brought 

 in oblong blocks ea( h weighing about 18-5 lb. and these are 

 crated. During the hottest weather there is, of course, some 

 loss, but at that it is much less than when brought in vats or 

 barrels. The freight charge is also smaller. 



A note on the commercial conditions in Brazil, published 

 in T}i£ Board of Trade Jouripil for August 27, 1914, refers to 

 the financial difficulties which have occurred recently as a 

 result of want of economy in the expenditure of Government 

 money. Brazil depeniis for her foreign obligations ujwn her 

 exports which are principally rubber and coffee. Tiie fall in 

 the price of rubber, and the recent interruption of inter- 

 national credit systems, have therefore seriously interfered 

 with the Brazillian financial position for the time being. 



In cunnexion with the forthdiming examinations con- 

 ducted by the Imperial Department of Agriculture, the 

 following candidates have notified their intention of sitt- 

 ing: H. Auguste (Dominica — Final), F. Simmons (St. Vincent 

 —Intermediate), Arnold Gallway and Alfred ^lacdonald 

 (Antigua — Intermediate). The examinations will take place 

 in November 1914. 



Information is reviewed in tlie Journal of the Royal 

 ■ Society of Arts for September 11, 1914, to show that the 

 mole in regard to agriculture is a beneficial feeder. An 

 investigation conducted at the University College of North 

 Wales showed the contents of the stomachs of a large number 

 of moles to contain 'leather jackets', centipede.s, 'wire worms' 

 and similar animal organisms injurious to agriculture. 



In an article on cowpeas published in the A</ricultural 

 Gazette of New South Wales (August 1914), it is .stated that 

 in manurial trials at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, 

 phosphoric acid jn'oved to be undoubtedly the most impor- 

 tant manurial ingredient for this crop. Sulphate of potash, 

 though it increased the yields, was too expensive; while 

 nitrogenous maniu'es, especially nitrate of soda and sidphate 

 of ammonia, were decidedlv detrimental. 



The Geographical Journal for September 1914 contains 

 an interesting review of the coal re.sources of the world. 

 There is no fear of a coal fannne. It seems that the United 

 States has the largest known supi)ly; China and Canada are 

 also very rich, whilst the valuable resources of Germany is 



■ a fact of great political importance which is said to be inade- 



■ quately realized in Great Britain, whose coal reserves (in 

 England and Wales) are e.stimated at 189,533 million tons. 



A letter received from the British Cotton Growing 

 Association, dated September 17, 1914, states that the 

 demand for citric acid in England is very active at the 

 present time and to some extent exceeds the supply. The 

 British Cotton Growing Association is willing to look after 

 any consignments sent to them for sale. As regards West 

 Indian Sea Island cotton, the same letter states that this 

 product is so essentially an article by itself that there would 

 appear to he no need for any apprehensions that it will be 

 unsaleable. 



The cessation of German exports of chemicals (jpens up 

 considerable scope for British chemical manufacturers. 

 Naturally the question of potash is all important, and an 

 interesting article in Nature for September 17, 1914, refers 

 to the kelp of the West Highlands and points out that it 

 seems feasible to suggest that this industry should l)e taken 

 up again, as it furnishes not only potassium salts but also 

 iodine. The same article refers to the increased demand for 

 citric acid, which will no doubt be of interest to lime growers 

 in the West Indies. 



A note on potash manures in the Journal of the Hoard 

 of Ayriculture of England for September 1914, draws atten- 

 tion to the need for seeking new sources of this manure. It 

 is suggested that farmers for the present shoukl employ all 

 unskilled labour in collecting all readily available ^•egetable 

 refuse with a view to drying and burning it and storing the 

 ashes for early spring use. The ashes must be stored in a dry 

 place, for the carbonate of potash present in ashes is very 

 soluble and will quickly wash out if exposed t(j rain. The 

 great value of sea-weed is referred to. 



