Vol. IX. No. 205. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



69 



thirds of the total ash is composed of these substances. Both 

 silica and iron oxide, as well as alumina, are found in con- 

 siderable amounts in the .shells, but these are mainly present 

 in the soil which adheres to them; the proportions in which 

 they actually occur in the shells them.selves are small. 



With particular reference to the oil content, analyses 

 made at Marseilles have given 42 to 45 per cent, for Mozam- 

 bique nuts, and 37 to 38 per cent, for those from Bombay. 

 Analyses conducted at the station with five samples of 

 Mauritius ground nuts have given the following average 

 percentages of oil: shelled nuts 44-5(5 per cent., unshelled 

 nuts 3426 per cent. 



In the matter of the extraction of the oil, a percentage 

 of 28 to 32 is obtained in Europe, after three separate 

 pressings, one of which is conducted with the aid of heat. 

 The following table gives particulars as to the percentage 

 composition of four samples of the cake left after pressing. 

 Samples 1 and 2 were Mauritius cakes, pressed hot; sample 



3 was a cake from the same source, pressed cold; sample 



4 was a cake left after extraction by pressure with heat, in 

 Europe: — 



As regards the vegetative part of the plant, analyses of 

 the stalks gave the results .shown in the fnllowing tabic. 

 Sample 1 was taken from plants grown between rows of 

 sugar-cane; these gave about A-ton of vegetable matter per 

 acre. Sample 2 was obtained from plants grown in the 

 open; these yielded about 5 tons of vegetable matter per 

 acre. In the former case, the stalks were half dry and the 

 leaves had all fallen: in the latter, the stalks had not dried 

 to such an extent and still bore the greater part of their 

 leaves: — 



Percentage composition. 

 No. 1. No. 2. 



Percentage after drying. 

 No. 1. No. 2. 



Trade Bet-ween Canada and the West Indies. 



At a special general meeting ot the Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society of (Irenada, held on the 4th ultimo, the 

 following resolutions were passed: (1) That in the opinion of 

 the Grenada Agricultural and Comnien-ial Society, it is 

 hiahly desirable that bettei- trade relations with Canada 

 should be established, and that an indispen.sable first step to 

 encourage such better relations is the provision of satisfactory 

 steam communication. (2) That the Grenada Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society is prepared sympathetically to consider 

 any preferential arrangements which may be proposed by the 

 Government of Canada. 



THE PERINI FIBRE PLANT. 



Accounts of the industrial importance, and of the 

 botanical affinities of the Perini Fibre Plant (//(7hS(-m.s 

 rculiatas) have appeared already in the Agricidtwnd 

 Neii-s, Vol. VIII, pp. 235 and 375. Through the cour- 

 tesy of H.M. Consul (Jeneral for Brazil, a copy of 

 a pamphlet relating to this plant, published in 1905, 

 has been received. From this, the following informa- 

 tion regarding its cultivation is extracted : — 



Although the best time for sowing is November, plant- 

 ing can lie ilone at any time of the year. At whatever time 

 the sowing takes place, however, when the time for gathering 

 the crop arrives, the plants should be cut about 4 inches 

 above the soil, and the stumps will readily shoot again and 

 allow of a second, and even a third crop, being gathered in 

 one year. 



To attain this end, the plantation should be divided 

 thus : — (1) A smaller crop merely for seed.s. (2) A large 

 I)lantation for inilustrial purpo.ses. 



For the first, the land should be prepared in September 

 to October, and the sowing done in November. Naturally, 

 for an extensive cultivation, ploughs will be required, and the 

 beds must be properly measured and prepared, twenty-five 

 .seeds being sown to the scjuare metre. The plant thus has space 

 to grow freely. Great care must be observed to keep the seed- 

 beds clean, and to avoid cri>ssfertilization with useless weeds, 

 so abundant in this country, This is absolutely necessary, if 

 the seed obtained is to give the best possible results. Four 

 months later, the first seeds should be gathered by hand, 

 and the crop of the second flowering is left to dry on the 

 plant. No part of this crop need be lost, but the fibre 

 extracted after (lowering is naturally coarser than if gathered 

 previously. 



For a large crop destined for industrial and textile pur- 

 poses, machinery must be employed. In the first year, the 

 ploughing and preparation of the land represent a considerable 

 expense. Three operations are commonly necessary, clear- 

 ing the brush-wood and trees, etc.; digging up the roots and 

 draining; sowing, in November, 2 grammes of seed per square 

 metre, equivalent to 100 .seeds per .square metre. 



The plant grows rapidly, with only one stem, not having 

 space to branch out. The stem will reach 3 or 4 metres high. 

 The facts of placing the plants close together, and of starving 

 them, are all in favour of the quality of the fibre, which 

 is thus prod-aced much finer and of a silky appearance. 



It should be cut before flowering, that is in February, 

 or 90 to 100 days after sowing. During this short period, the 

 plant attains a height of at least 3 metres. Thus we have 

 a harvest in February, another in .June and another in 

 October— when it will be necessary to dig up the roots and 

 plough and prepare the land for the new sowing in Novem- 

 ber. 



In a letter forwarding the pamphlet, H.M. Consul 

 General says that the most conflicting statements 

 have been made from time to time as to the potential 

 value and local production of the plant, and that it is 

 not being grown locally to any extent. He states further 

 that, according to well informed sources, its cultivation 

 in Brazil has not been very successful, so far. 



