3tJ2 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November 7, 1914. 



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GLEANINGS. 



Farmer's Bulletin, No. 87, May 1914, of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, New South Wales, consists of a series 

 of large and clear illustrations of the teeth of the horse 

 in several stages, showing the indications of age obtain- 

 able therefrom. 



From The Sun of Antigua, October 6, 1914, we notice 

 that, at a meeting of the Antigua Agricultural and Com- 

 mercial Society on October 2, it was unanimously resolved 

 that the sum of 20 guineas be given from the funds ^'f 

 the Societv to the War Relief Fund. 



Mr. .1. E. T. Hartley, of .Magdalene College, Cambridge, 

 who visited the West Indies in 1914 for instruction in tropical 

 agriculture under the auspices of the Imperial Department oi 

 Agriculture for the West Indies, has been appointed by the 

 Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the recommendation of 

 Kew, Assistant Superintendent of Agriculture in Nigeria. 



The working of one of the large central factories in 

 Cuba, as shown by a report recently received by the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture, presents interesting facts. During 

 1.50 days of grinding 2.36,2.39 tons of cane have been ground, 

 with an average of 78-.5 tons per hour. The juice extracted 

 amounted to 78'30 per cent, of the cane, and the sucrose 

 oVjtained in the juice was 92'46 per cent, of the total sucrose 

 in the cane. The output tji sugar for the period mentioned 

 amounted to a total of 174,.524 liags, of which 173,.324 bacs 

 were first sugar. 



The figures relating to the working of another factory 

 in Cuba are even more striking. The report for one day's 

 working shows that .0,438 tons of cane were ground on that 

 day; the mills are in three sets or 'tandems', the average 

 number of tons of cane ground per tandem per hour 

 being 79'.5. The extraction of juice amounted to 92-2 per 

 cent, on the weight of the cane. The figures given are for 

 the fiftieth day of working, the total weight of cane crushed 

 during that period being 215,763 tons, and the average daily 

 output of sugar al)out 460 tons. 



From the Veterinary Record, September 12, 1914, 

 we glean that local anaesthesia is coming more into use in 

 veterinary practice every year. There are now probably- 

 few veterinary surgeons who do not employ it. But the 

 ideal local anaesthetic has yet to be found from a veterinary 

 standpoint. The writer of the article referred to considers 

 that urea and quinine, a local anaesthetic of comparatively 

 recent introduction, is probably the safest. It has, however, 

 the disadvantage of slowness of action; but on the other 

 hand, its effects are very j)rolonged, which is of great 

 practical advantage. 



In the Proceedings of the Agricultural Society of 

 Trinidad and Tobago, September 1914, there is a li.st of 

 Trinidad snakes which is very usefid for reference. The 

 writer is acquainted with several other species which have 

 not vet been determined. 



A second edition of an illus'^rated handlififik of Tropical 

 Gardening and Planting, by H. F. MclNIillan, F.L.S.. F.R.H.S., 

 has just been issued. From the synopsi.s of its contents it 

 seems most useful for reference. The first .-section is on 

 general cultural uperations, manures, garden tools, and lay- 

 ing out gardens. The second describes and gives direc- 

 tions for the culture of tropical and sub-tropical fruit and 

 vegetables. Section 3 is devoted to the description of flower- 

 ing and ornamental trees and plants suitable for cultivation 

 in the Tropics. The fourth section consists (A descriptions of 

 various economic products of the Tropics, with concluding 

 chapters on insect pests and other diseases of plants. 



The employment of a thin film of oil on the surface of 

 pools or tanks of water for the purpose of killing mosquito 

 larvae in such receptacles, is very prevalent in the Tropics. 

 The Coloni'il Jownal for October 1914, states that the 

 Government ^'eterinary Surgeon- at Noumea, in New Cale- 

 donia, asserts that cod liver oil is more efficacious than even 

 kerosene or petrol. It also keeps off the adult insects for 

 a longer perifxl, i<i consequence of its slower evaporation. He 

 finds, too, that cud liver oil has a specific eft'ect on all files, 

 mo.squitoes, and ticks. A horse smeared with it is relieved 

 in a few minutes of all the files; and the ticks, so hard to get 

 rid of from the skin of a dog, are quickly killed by it. The 

 onlj' diawback to the common use of this oil in the ways 

 referred to would .seem to be the expense. 



Considering that only '21 per cent, of the wfirld's supply 

 of motor fuel is produced in the British Empire, it would 

 make a large ditterence in many ways if alcohol could be used. 

 The immediate question is whether alcohol can advantageous- 

 ly be used in internal combustion engines in the place of 

 petrol or other mineral motor spirits. The Co'onial Journal, 

 October 1914, .states that the Imperial Motor Transport 

 Committee have appointed a .sub-connnittee to investigate this 

 question. It is considered that from three to five years will 

 be required for the investigation, ilanufacturers do not try 

 to produce a ,suital)le alcohol engine because they do not know 

 whether alcohol would be available. It would of course be 

 necessary to provide a cheap denaturant, which would be 

 satisfactory from an excise point of view without ettecting the 

 power, and thei'c is. reason to believe that this can be done. 



AVlien war broke out, sugars then being sold at from 

 1 Jrf. to 2.',d. per B). went up at once to -5'/. and 6rf. per tt)., 

 but when the (Jovernment fixed retail prices refiners reduced 

 (juotations; it should, however, be taken into account in 

 considering pii('es, that just Ijefore the war the best price 

 fell to the lowest on record (5s. 3d.). The following August 

 prices show the extent of the rise: Crystallized: Demerara^ 

 good to fine, 31s. to 33s.: Trinidad, low middling to good, 

 29s. to 30.<.; .Jamaica, middling to good, 30s. Much uncer- 

 tainty was felt in the market about cacao: on the one hand 

 much more will come to London, and so tend to bring down 

 price: iin the other hand there is the general price of fopd- 

 stutts. Prices in August were fairly steady hut there was 

 no mai'ket so far in West African cacao. (T/ie Colonial 

 Journal, October 1914.) 



