88 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Makch 19, 1910. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

 News ' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Agents: Messrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents : Messrs. Dulau & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, W. A complete list of Agents 

 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News: Price Id. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4s. id. 



gigricultiirul ^tm 



Vol. IX. SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1910. No. 206. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the editorial, the consideration of the Problem 

 of Agricultural Education is continued, special attention 

 being paid to the means by which such education 

 should be given. 



Information as to the state of the nutmeg industry 

 and the feasibility of putting nutmeg oils on the market 

 is presented on pages (S4 and S.5. 



Special attention is drawn to the article, on page 

 85, entitled The Importance of Broad Breeding in Corn. 

 It is of particular interest to those who are working 

 with the object of obtaining improved varieties of corn. 



A general account of the preparation of land for 

 cotton-pLanting appears on page 86. 



The Insect Notes, on page 90, contain the con- 

 cluding article on Carbon Bisulphide, thus completing 

 the account that has been given in two articles. 



On page 94 appears the second part of the series 

 of articles that are being given under the heading 

 Fungus Notes, entitled The Chief Groups of Fungi. It 

 should be stated that Figs. 9 and 10 are reproduced 

 after Woronine, and Figs. II and 12 after de Bary. 



Interesting conclusions regarding the manuring of 

 land with lime and m.agesia are given on page 9-5. 



Publications of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture. 



The third number of Vol. X, of the West Indian 

 Bulletin is now being issued. This is largely taken up 

 with matters relating to the diseases of plants. The 

 first article, which is by H. A. Ballon, B.Sc, deals with 

 Legislation that Exists in the West Indies for the Con- 

 trol of Pests and Diseases on Imported Plants; the 

 second, by C. K. Bancroft, B.A., has for its subject The 

 Chief Fungi Causing Diseases of Cultivated Plants in 

 the West Indies. This article is illustrated by a plate 

 showing Spliacroffilhc rlaridum, Massee, and is follow- 

 ed by a short paper on Manurial Expernnents with 

 Cotton in the Leeward Islands, by H. A. Tempany, B.Sc. 

 In the next article, which is by A. H. Kirby, B.A., 

 information is given concerning the Rainfall of Nevis 

 and Antigua. As a last article, the subject-matter is 

 reproduced of a leaflet, recently issued by the Depart- 

 ment, containing a revised s^'llabus of the Courses of 

 Reading and Examinations in Practical Agriculture. 



There is also being issued Pamphlet No. 04 of the 

 Department series, entitled Manurial Experiments 

 with Sugar-Cane in the Leeivard Islands, 1908-9. 



The liVs^ Indian Bulletin, Vol. X, No. 3, and 

 Pamphlet No. 64, may be obtained of all agents for the 

 sale of the publications of the Department, Price 6d., 

 post free 8*/., and price 4(7., post free 5d., respectively. 



The Qualities of Palm Oil. 



An article in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, 

 Vol. VII, p. 388, states that Palm Oil (from Elaei's 

 guineensis), when freshly obtained by the natives, is 

 a pleasant-smelling and yellow-coloured fat, which is 

 often an article of food among Europeans living in 

 West Africa. Owing to the little care that is taken in 

 the preparation of the large quantities of oil that are 

 exported, as well as to the time taken for its transport, 

 it arrives on the European market in a very rancid 

 condition. The chief impurities in the exported oil are 

 water, sand, red clay and banana flour. If on reaching 

 England, the amount of water and sand exceeds 2 per 

 cent, of the bulk, an allowance for ' dirt" is m.ade by the 

 seller. 



The consistence of the oil varies, according to its 

 source, from that of butter (Lagos oils) to that of tallow 

 (Congo oil); the colour of the various kinds of oil ranges 

 from orange-yellow (Lagos) to dirty dark red (Congo), 

 or even grey and brown (Saltpond and Dixcove). This 

 variation in colour is due to local differences in methods 

 of preparation, and other causes. The nature of the 

 colouring matter has not been determined; it slowly 

 disappears on exposure to air. The oil is bleached, on 

 the manufacturing scale, by heating it to 150° C, and 

 passing air through it, or by means of bichromate of 

 potash and hydrochloric acid. 



The above information refers to the oil obtained 

 from the fruits. Oil is also extracted from the 

 kernels, in Europe, by expression, or treatment with 

 solvents. It is also prepared on a small scale, according 

 to crude methods, by the natives of West Africa, but 

 this oil is not exported. 



