Vol. IX. No. 20.5. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



71 



The percentage of lint cannot be accurately determined, 

 for individual plants, without scales which are fairly delicate 

 ia adjustment. Variation in percentage of lint may be judged 

 with sufficient accuracy by noting the density and complete- 

 ness of the covering of the seed. If the yield of seed-cotton 

 is the same, of course, the variety with a higher percentage 

 of lint is more valuable. 



HALF-YEARLY EXAMINATION OF 

 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS. 



The following are the general re[)i)rts of the exami- 

 ner (Mr. F. VV. South, B.A.) on the recent half-yearly 

 examination of the pupils at the Agiicultural Schools 

 in Dominica, St. Vincent and St. Lucia: — 

 j>OMiNic.\ \gim(Ultdi:al school. 



Twenty boys sat for this e.xamination. Of these, four 

 were seniors, fourteen juniors, and two were new boys. The 

 average percentages of marks obtained were as follows: 

 Seniors 68, juniors 50, new boys 42. The standard of the 

 work of the seniors is satisfactory', but the new boys and 

 juniors show considerable falling off since the last examina- 

 tion. Paul was the best of the seniors, and there were several 

 fair papers among the juniors. 



All the subjects were rather weak, but the following 

 require special and very careful attention: Oeograjjhy, Arith- 

 metic, among the juniors, English Grammar and ("omposition. 

 Spelling and Writing. The u.se of subheads, and of very 

 short and simple sentences might improve the Grammar and 

 Composition. It would be advisable, from the point of view 

 of general neatnes.s, not to allow the boys to use red ink, nor 

 to underline the headings on their papers too freely. Plenty of 

 room should be allowed for each question, and the answers 

 to them should not be separated by ink lines. It is only 

 necessary to leave a space of a line or two on the paper. 

 If these points are attended to, the general appearance of the 

 papers will be considerably improved. 



ST. VINCENT ..VGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 



Nineteen boys sat for this examination Of these, four 

 were seniors, eight juniors, and seven were new boys. The 

 average percentages of marks obtained were as follows: 

 Seniors 80; juniors 5S; new boys .52. The seniors again did 

 well, though all these averages are below those obtained in 

 the last examination, especially in the ease of the juniors, 

 where the falling off is rather marked. Derrick was the best 

 of the seniors, and Doddrige Davis of the juniors, while Otto 

 Haines and Rradshavv' also did fairly well in this class. 

 Howard Denbar's work was very poor, and he will require 

 the most careful attention. 



Some good papers were shown in all subjects. Any 

 special weaknesses are mentioned in the detailed reports. 

 Chemistry and Botany show room for improvement, and 

 Arithmetic also, in the case of the juniors; among the senior.*, 

 this subject was very good. The Composition was not .so 

 good as that of the last time, and the .Spelling of the new 

 boys requires attention. The papers were very neat, but 

 none of the boys put their class or the name of the school at 

 the head of them 



Though there is some falling off in the re.sults, as com- 

 pared with those of the last examination, it is clear that the 

 ]iupils are receiving very careful attention, and are being 

 trained in good methods. 



sr. LDCI.A .VC.KICULTUR.VL SCHOOL. 



Fifteen boys sat for this examination. Of these, one 

 was a senior, e'ght were juniors, and six were new boys. The 



average percentages of marks obtained were as follows: 

 .Seniors 78. juniors 75, new boys tj9. These results were 

 quite satisfactory, and show a slight improvement on those 

 of last time. Moise, Munrose and Mason did well among 

 the junioi-.s, and Angier, of the new boys. 



The standard in all the subjects was very fair, with the 

 exception of that of the new boys' Dictation, Composition 

 amo:ig the juniors, and Geography throughout. Arithmetic 

 and Agriculture were ihe best subjects; the former, in 

 l)articular, was very good. The writing was good, and the 

 papers neat, but diagrams and maps still require attention. 

 I'.nglish (irammar and Spelling show considerable imjirove- 

 ment. 



In general, the results are very satisfactory, and show 

 that the pupils are receiving accurate and careful instruction. 



THE PRODUCTION OF ALCOHOL IN THE 



PHILIPPINES. 



Be.sides rice, Indian corn and sugar-cane, the available 

 sources from which alcohol can be manufactured in this 

 archipelago are the sap of many palms and the cassava. 

 At present, nearly all the alcohol produced comes from the 

 bled .sap ( 'tuba") of the Xipa and other palms. Alcohol from the 

 Nipa has a disagreeable odour, which is .somewhat difficult to 

 remove, but for industrial purposes this would be of no cpn- 

 .■■■equence. A description of this palm {iVipa fntticans, 

 Wurmb.) may be found in many places. It is a species 

 widely distributed all the way from India to Malaya, in 

 Northern Australia, and Polynesia. A very detailed study 

 of the culture and bleeding of this plant has been published 

 by Ayala it Co. 



The production of tuba from a mature tree usually 

 increases during the first fifty to sixty days after tapping, 

 and decreases during twenty-five to thirty days more. If 

 tuba is drawn for a longer period, the tree will die. The tuba 

 from mature stems is white, has an aromatic odour, and is 

 sweet. That from palms having less mature fruit is bluish 

 and less sweet, and, therefore, has less fermentative value. The 

 average yield per tree fluctuates from i-litre to 3 litres per 

 day, .with a total of from .30 to -tO litres (sp. gr. 1'07 to I 08 

 at 15°). The juice contains approximately 12 per cent, of 

 fermentable material, which is largely saccharose. Thirty-two 

 to 3-f litres of tuba will usually i)ioduce 1 litre of pure alcohol. 

 In the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga, where the price 

 of the molasses residues from sugarcane is low, these are 

 mixed with the tuba before fermentiition, when the mixture 

 is said to give a larger yield of alcohol than would be obtained 

 from the two, if they were fermented separately. 



Alcohol is removed from the fermented tuba by distilla- 

 tion. The method used in the provinces produces a distillate 

 containing about 50 per cent, of alcohol. By redistilling 

 a sufficient number of times, a 95-per cent, alcohol might be 

 produced, but the process would be very expensive; therefore, 

 the crude alcohol is shipped to the large distilleries in Manila, 

 where it can be refined more economically. In the latter, 

 the process is continuous: the vapours pass through several 

 stills, and are cooled just sufficiently to condense them in 

 each one, until the proper purity is reached. It will, therefore, 

 be seen that after an alcohol once passes the crude 50-per 

 cent, stage, a purity of 95 per cent, can be produced with 

 very little more expense per proof litre than for that cf one 

 of lower grade. The economy of the |)urer form is obvious. 



The manufacture of alcohol from tuba is rather expen- 

 sive, and it is doubtful if the process could be greatly 

 cheapened. {Philippine A'lrii-iiltiirnJ Revieiv, November 

 1909.) 



