28 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 22, 1910-. 



GLEANINGS. 



The distribution of plant?, etc., from the Antigua 

 Botanic Station and Experiment Mots for December last was 

 as follows: cane plants 98,350, sweet potato cuttings 1,400, 

 bay grass (Andropoijmi cavicosun) 350, limes 200, cocoa-nuts 

 TiO, eucalyptus 47, palms 8, miscellaneous seeds 50 packets. 



The Diplomatic and Conxulur Jitjiorfs, Xo. 4,380, 

 Annual Series, states that it is interesting to note that the 

 ABC of Cotton Flantin;/, published by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, lias been translated into the French 

 language, and published bj- the local Government in the 

 official journal. 



A remarkable development in the cultivation of sisal 

 (Ac/ave rir/ida, var. xigahnui) has taken place in German East 

 Africa. This is shown by the fact that the export has risen 

 from 421 tons (value £16,205), in 1903, to 1,820 tons (value 

 £67,408) and 2,830 tons (value £108,084), in 1906 and 

 1907, respectivelj'. 



The amount of cotton exported from the Nyasaland 

 I'rotectorate during the year ended March 31, 1909, was 

 756,120 a., of a value of £28,355. For the period 1907-8 

 the similar figures were 403,48(3 ft), and £13,999. The chief 

 varieties grown are Upland and Egyptian. {Colonial 

 Reports — Annual, No. 619.) 



Particulars have been received from J. f J. Childs l^- Co., 

 Ltd., Hawthorn Eoad, Willesden fJreen, London, N.W., of 

 air motors which are manufactured by this firm for providing 

 electricity for such purposes as lighting, cooking, ventilating, 

 charging accumulators for electrically driven vehicles, working 

 lifts, irrigating and pumping, etc. 



A curious application of the telephone has recently been 

 made, that is, as an aid to the destruction of white ants. The 

 luodification employed for this purpose consists of a steel 

 tulje having a microjihone at the upper part. Its use is to 

 detect the places \\here the nests are present, and it is said 

 to lie efi'ective within a range of 15 to IS yards. 



Dr. Olsson-Seft'er has recently descrilied two new ilexi- 

 t-an rubber plants. One of these is Jatioplia iircns, which 

 yields a product similar to lialata, the method of collection 

 Iseiiig to cut otf the Viranches and extract the rubber from 

 tliem. The other 'plant' i-eally consists of three .siiecies of 

 J'luiaeria, from which the latex is olitained in a similar way. 



A statement that has been made by H.M. Consul at 

 Seville tends to show that the Seville sour orange crop of 

 1909 will be somewhat below the average in both Cjuantity 

 and general quality. Although the crop was below the average 

 last year, considerable quantities remained unsold at the end 

 of the season, even though the trade at Messina had been 

 interrupted. 



A report on the trade and navigation on the port of 

 Havre {Diplomatic and Consular Reports, No. 4,323, Annual 

 Series) shows that the imports of American cotton into 

 France through this port in 1908 were 941,943 bales, 

 against 827,240 bales in 1907. The imports of Indian, 

 cotton have fallen to 23,000 bales; this is on account of the 

 reduced crop and high prices in India. 



The syndicate appointed to consider the steps to be taken 

 for the erection of a building for the Department of Agri- 

 culture of the University of Cambridge reports that the 

 erection of the building is now practically completed, and 

 that the fittings sanctioned arc in a forward state. The 

 syndicate anticipates that the building will be ready for 

 occupation by the Department for the Lent term of the 

 present year. {Nature, December 2, 1909.) 



The report of the Director of Agriculture of the Fede- 

 rated Malay States (to which reference has alreadj' been 

 made in the Af/ricultttral JS'ews, Vol. VIII, p. 349) contains 

 information that the sensitive plant {Mimosa pudica) is in 

 many ways the most suitable plant that has yet been tried 

 for cover in rubber plantations. The chief objection to it is 

 the presence of thorns on its stems, which cause injury to 

 coolies when they are walking through it. 



A company called the Colonial Fibre Plantina- and 

 Trading Compan}', Ltd., has been formed to acquire: (1) the 

 fibre plantations, factories, etc., owned bj' Pita, Ltd., in the 

 island of West Caicos; (2) the rest of the cultivable land of 

 the island (about 600 acres), on lease from the Crown, for 

 twenty-one years from July 1907, with the option of a renewal 

 for a further twenty-one years. This places the company 

 practically in occupation of the whole island. The capital is 

 £100,000, in £1 .shares. 



A remedy for intestinal parasites in goats and sheep is 

 given in the Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural Societt/,. 

 October 1909, as follows: Take dry tobacco leaves or stems 

 and grind them to a fine powder. Mix 1 ft. of this powder 

 with an equal amount of fine salt, and place it where the 

 animals may have constant access to it. After a week, increase- 

 the quantity of tobacco, making the proportion 2 parts of 

 tobacco to 1 of salt. This mixture, while harmless to th& 

 animals, kills all intestinal parasites. 



The members of the Committee which has been appointed 

 by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to give advice on 

 medical and .sanitary cpiestions connected with the British 

 Colonies and Protectorates in Tropical Africa are the follow- 

 ing: — Mr. H. J. Eead, C.M.G. (Chairman); Sir Patrick 

 Manson, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.; Sir Hubert Boyce, F.R.S.; 

 Mr. C. Strachey; Mr. W. T. Prout, C.M.G.; Dr. T. Thomson, 

 C.M.G.: Profes.sor W. J. Simpson, C.M.G.: Dr. J. K. Fowler. 

 The Secretary to the Committee is Mr. A. Fiddian, of th& 

 Colonial Office. 



The report of the Agricultural Instructor, Nevis, for 

 December 1909, states that, although the area under cotton 

 this season, in Nevis, is less than that of the 1908-9 crop, it 

 is certain that very much more cotton will be reaped. All 

 the ginneries are now very busy, and facilities are provided 

 for the local purchase of cotton. It is also stated that, from 

 the seedling canes grown in the nursery pilots at the Station, 

 over 8,000 jilants of eleven varieties have been distributed to 

 planters for trial in different parts of the island, and that 

 there are several thousand more still available for distribu- 

 tion. 



