Vol. IX. No. 201. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



A New Velvet Bean. 



According to the Flillippine Agricultural Neics, 

 No. 1, unsatisfiictory results have been obtained in the 

 Philippines, so far, with trials of the velvet bean. The 

 Philippine Bureau of Agriculture has,, however, discov- 

 ered, and brought into cultivation, a wild and hitherto 

 undescribed velvet bean, Mucuna prurieyis, var. Lijunr. 

 In the experimental cultivation it has reached the third 

 generation, and various improvements are taking place, 

 among these being the reduction of the wood in the 

 main stem, and increasing palatabiljty of the seed. 

 It is stated that the plant is superior to the velvet 

 bean {MucvAia jJi'ur'ums, var. utilis). 



Broom Corn in Antigua. 



The annual report on the Botanic Station and 

 Experiment Plots, Antigua, for the \ear ending Jlarch 

 1909, gives information concerning experiments that 

 were conducted with broom corn during that time. 

 Two jV'^^cre plots were planted, one on June 10 and 

 the other on November 4. These were harvested on 

 September 25 ami February 18, respectively. The 

 seeds on one-half of the first plot were sown like those 

 of guinea corn, that is, on 4-foot banks, the plants being 

 2 feet apart, with five to eight plants in a hole: in the 

 other half the plants were 9 inches apart, with five to 

 eight plants in the hole, in rows 18 inches apart. The 

 returns from these halves of the plot were .53 lb. and 

 60 lb. of dried broom corn, respectively. 



In the second j'^-acre plot, the plants were G inches 

 apart in rows 18 inches distant from one another. 

 From this plot 115 lb. of dried broom corn was obtained. 



A consideration of these results shows that the 

 yields obtained from the closer planting are not much 

 larger than those where it was wider. A finer corn, 

 however, is obtained from the closer planting, so that 

 it is suggested that the distance 18 inches by 9 inches 

 is the most suitable one for adoption. 



The Effects of Carbonates upon Nitrification. 



It is well understood that by nitrification is 

 meant the formation of nitrates from organic nitrogen 

 in the soil, the first prodticts being ammonium com- 

 pounds, then nitrites, and finally nitrates, the whole 

 process having for its cause the action of bacteria. 

 Stated shortly, the advantages of nitrification are as 

 follows: (1) nitrogen available to plants is formed, 

 (2) nitrogen is prevented from being lost through 

 decomposition, (3) nitrogen which exists in the soil in 

 a state useless for plants is made useful for them. It 

 is obvious that, as this action is due to micro-organisms, 

 the best way to render it as eflScient as possible will be 

 to stimulate the action of those organisms. It has 

 been found that the rate of nitrification is dependent 

 on the temperature, the supply of oxygen, the supply 

 of moisture, the presence of carbonates, and the 

 presence or absence of an excess of organic matter. 



In connexion with the fourth of these, namely the 

 jjresence of carbonates, exhaustive investigations have 



recently been undertaken at- the Georgia Experi- 

 ment Station. The result has been to show, firstly, 

 that nitrification is dependent on the amount of 

 carbonate present; secondly, that of the carbonates 

 magnesium carbonate has the greatest effect in stimu- 

 lating the growth and action of nitrifying organsims; 

 thirdly, that the nitrifying organisms of the soil do 

 not depend to any appreciable extent on the carbon 

 dioxide of the air for their supply of carbon. 



The Chinese Sugar Industry. 



Informer years, Swatow was the chief centre of 

 the Cliinese sugar-manufacturiog industry, and large 

 quantities of the product were exported to England in 

 sailing vessels. The demand is now, however, confined 

 to ports on the Yangtze-kiang, where the crude sugar 

 is still preferred to the refined asticle. The decrease in 

 production is shown by the fact that in 1899, the export 

 of sugar from Swatow was more than 111,000 tons, 

 while in 1908, it was only a little over 48,000 tons. 



There are no large estates in these districts, but 

 each farmer has a small amount of cane which he 

 cultivates in the old way that is indigenous to the 

 country. The result has been that, in spite of the 

 fertility of the soil and the cheapness of the labour, the 

 product, (according to the Monthlji Traile and 

 Consular Rcqiorts)}!^.^^^^^ displaced by that of the 

 Hong Kong refineries, which deal with sugar produced 

 on modern lines in the Dutch colonies. 



Forestry in Trinidad and Tobago. 



The annual report of the Forest Officer for 

 Trinidad and Tobago, for 1908-9, shows that the work 

 of demarcation done during that year in Trinidad 

 completes the southern boundary of the forest reserve, 

 with the exception of a length of about 22A miles. As 

 the boundary line, for the greater part, is at an eleva- 

 tion of 1,000 feet, it leaves out of the reserve the 

 larger part of the valley where the best land is situa- 

 ted, while on the other hand it includes the large 

 spurs where the land is generally poor. These large 

 spurs are of great value as wind-breaks for the 

 cultivation in the valley, and the forest reserve on 

 them aids in the conservation of water. 



In the plantations, the chief trees emplo^-ed are 

 cedar, Cyp (C'ordia sp.) and mahogany. It is reported 

 that cedar seedlings sown in 1907-8 averaged 12 to 15 

 inches in height, at the end of a year, while that of 

 some was over 3 feet. With reference to record work, 

 several plans of the reserve have been prepared on 

 a small scale for field use with the boundary records, 

 and will be lithographed. 



The returns of the revenue for the year show that 

 this was £1,609, which is an increase of £80 on that of 

 last year. It is considered unlikely that any great 

 increase in revenue will take place, since large areas of 

 forest lands are being sold annually and rendered 

 accessible by new roads, owing to the fact that timber 

 is sold from these at lower rates than those fixed for 

 timber from Crown Lands. 



