12 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



January 8, 1910. 



GLEANINGS. 



The amount of cacao exported from Trinidad during 

 November last \vas 4,112,711 it). The total shipments from 

 January 1 to the end of November, 1909, were 45,480,098 IJ). 

 In 1908, they were 39,790,047 Bi. for the same period. 



We have to acknowledge the receipt, from Messrs. 

 Sandbach, Parker & Co., Georgetown, Demerara, of a map 

 of the colony, together with useful statistical information in 

 connexion with the latter. 



The number of pine-apples exported from the Azores to 

 London and Hamburg during 1908 was 1,155,888. In 1907 

 and 190G the numbers were 1,306,G58 and 1,281,487, respec- 

 tively. The average price received for each fruit was Is. 5(7. 

 (^Diplomatic and Consular Reports, No. 4,239 Annual Series.) 



Statistics show that, during 1908, there was an increase 

 of 8'3 per cent, in the number of mills engaged in the pro- 

 duction of lumber in the United States. At the same time, 

 there was a decrease of 7,031,785,000 feet, or 17 '5 per cent., 

 in the total quantity of the output. The largest manufac- 

 ture of lumber takes place in the State of Washington. 



B. Remmers and Sons, of the Bourse, Philadelphia, 

 U.S.A., announce that they have made a special study of the 

 requirements of machines for making starch from the cassava 

 and yucca roots, and that they can supply apparatus for the 

 purpose. This includes root-washers, grater.s, re-grinders, and 

 starch-refining centrifugals. 



From a trade paper published in the United States, it 

 is gathered that conditions in the broom corn market there, 

 during November last, were steadj', with a tendency to 

 upward prices. In most parts of the Western territory, 

 prices were higher than they had ever been before, so that 

 growers are greatly encouraged, and will probably largely 

 increase their acreage in 1910. 



The interest that is being taken in the production of 

 new and useful varieties of plants was recently ilhistrated by 

 Professor E. Biffen at a meeting of the Cambridge and Isle 

 of Ely Chamber of Agriculture. He stated that, in the ett'ort 

 to improve British barley, 250 distinct types had been experi- 

 mented with by the University and Agricultural Department, 

 including varieties from .such distant places as China, Tibet, 

 Australia and California. The aim of the experiments was 

 to obtain a barley which should combine good cropping 

 capacity, qualitj', and stiffness of the straw. So far, the 

 first two characteristics had been combined, but the third had 

 still to be obtained. 



A report thai; has just been issued by the Italian 

 Secretary of Agriculture shows that, in connexion with 

 reafforestation, 122,000 acres of Government land has been 

 planted in trees, of which 69,000 acres was planted in 1907 

 alone. The amount spent in this connexion during that 

 year was about £400,000, and there now remains only about 

 36,000 acres of Government land to be planted. 



A communication received from the Colonial Secretary 

 of Grenada state.s that the certificates awarded to Messrs, 

 J. T. Gairy and (_;. A. O. Phillips, who were successful in 

 passing the Intermediate Examination in Practical Agri- 

 culture held there in November, were publicly presented to 

 them by his Excellency the Governor at a meeting of the 

 Legislative Council on the 17th December last. 



The Hawaiian Planters' Monthly for October 1909 

 gives a recipe for stencil ink suitable for marking sutfar-bacs. 

 It is made by dissolving 1 lb of glue in 1 gallon of hot water, 

 and then stirring in 1 lb. of lamp black. This makes a semi- 

 solid stock, which may be diluted for use with a suitable 

 quantity of hot water. The ink made in this way is cheap, 

 dries very quickly, is practically indelible, and will not smear. 



The report on the Botanic Station and E.vperiment 

 Plots in Antigua, for the month of November, shows that 

 the following plants, seeds, etc., were sent out during the 

 month: cane plants 19,000, sweet potato cuttings 4,330, 

 limes 2,900, onions 2,200, hay-grass {Andropogon caricosusy 

 600, cocoa-nuts 565, mahogany 104, shade trees 55, royal 

 palms 45, eucalyptus 25, grafted mangos 6, miscellaneous 



economic plants 36, decorative plants 11. 



The average output of olive oil from Asia :\Iinor, includ- 

 ing the chief neighbouring islands is about I6i million gallons 

 a year. In very good years, this quantity increases to about 

 25-i million gallons. Usually, not more than v^ to 25 per 

 cent, of oil is exported; the best qualities go to France and 

 Italy. The crop of 1909 appears to have been a failure in 

 almost all olive-producing countries, and the yield from the 

 Levant is not expected to e.xceed one-half of an average 

 production. {Jomnial of the British Cliaiaber of C'ommercey 

 Smyrna, April 1909.) 



The West India Committee Circular for December 7, 

 1909, states that Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Sir Daniel Morris, 

 and Mr. H. P. Cowell, with Mr. 1!. H. McCarthy, their 

 technical adviser, will leave in the S.S. ' Oceanic' on the 16tli 

 instant for New. York, on their way to Jamaica, where they 

 expect to arrive m the R.M.S. ' Clyde ' on January 27, and to 

 meet the Canadian members of the Royal Commission, the- 

 Hon. W. S. Fielding and the Hon. William Paterson. After 

 hearing evidence in Jamaica, they will proceed to Barbados in 

 the R.M.S. ' Berbice ', arriving there on February 14. 



At the close of the International Congress of Tropical 

 Agriculture and Colonial development, which was held in 

 Paris in 1905, an International Association was founded, 

 having for its principal object the organization of such 

 Congresses in the future. It is now proposed by the Inter- 

 national Association to hold a second Congress at Brussels 

 in May 1910. The local arrangements at Brussels will be 

 made in co-operation with the Belgian Association for the 

 study of Tropical Agriculture; the International Botanical 

 Congress will also meet at Brussels at the same time, and 

 will take part in the proceedings. 



