Vol. IX. No. 207. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



103 



and the price had fallen to S'llrf., — an increase in production 

 of 745 per cent., with the price 40'S per cent, lower. Pro- 

 duction had then apparently, for the time being, overtaken the 

 consuming power. In 1904-5, the season's crop wa.s 13,557,000 

 bales, and the price 4 -DSrf. As compared with 1894-5 there 

 had been an increase of 3703 in production, but the price 

 was 44 6 per cent, higher. The great increase in the woiWs 

 spindle.s is shown in the following figures : 1 S70, 58 millions; 

 1881, 75 millions; I8S5, 81 millons; 1895, 94 million; 1905, 

 113 millions ; 1909, 1-29 millions. This year, it is to be 

 feared, the American crop w-ill not exceed 11 million bales, 

 and may well be less, ('i'he Journal oj tite Rui/al Soi-iety of 

 Arts, February 25, 1910.) 



METHODS FOR GETTING RID OF 

 MISTLETOE. 



A short note on the mistletoes of the \Ve.st Indies 

 appeared in the A'jricnltnral jVcirs, Vol. VIII, p. 345, and 

 a means of getting rid ipf this pest was indicated in a general 

 way. In i^.uUetin No. IGG of the I'nited States Department 

 (jf Agriculture, entitled T/a MUth-loc I'tst in the South Wext, 

 the subject is dealt with in a thorough manner. Much of the 

 information that is given does not go beyond the usual methods 

 that are employed for the eradication of mistletoe, but several 

 interesting facts are brought forward which render the contents 

 of the bulletin worthy of notice. 



^\'llere small branches are infested, the pest will be 

 eli'ectually removed by the careful cutting away of these at 

 a few inches below the place where the parasite is attacking. 

 The ditticulty that presents itself, in employing this method, 

 is that of reaching the higher branches. This may be over- 

 come by the employment of that form of pruning shears in 

 which the instrument for cutting is attached to the end of 

 a long pole and worked from below by means of a strong cord. 

 It is important that, however the cutting may be effected, it 

 should be done cleanly; there should be nothing in the nature 

 of tearing or breaking of the branches. 



In cases where the infes'atiou has taken place more 

 largely, a great deal may be done toward keeping the mistletoe 

 under control by continually removing the sprouts at fairly 

 frequent intervals. The removal of the mistletoe may be 

 ■effected by the employment of a hook at the end of a pole, by 

 means of which it is broken from the branches. The work will 

 be more ofKcient if a pruning hook is used instead of an ordin- 

 ary one, as by means of this, the parasite can be cut off close to 

 the surface of the branch on which it is growing, so that many 

 of the undeveloped buds will be destroyed. This method of 

 treatment has an advantage in that it reduces the chances for 

 fruits and seeds to be formed, and so lessens the extent to 

 which the pest may be disseminated. The best time for the 

 removal of the mistletoe in this manner will be naturally dur- 

 ing the period of the year when the rainfall is lowest, that is 

 when the number of leaves on the tree gives the greatest 

 chance for the parasite to be seen. Care would be required 

 in order that the bark of the tree may be wounded as little as 

 possible by the hook, and where this had been done the 

 injured surface would have to be coated with tar. 



An account is given, in tlie bulletin mentioned, of 

 attempts that were made to prevent the reappearance of the 

 mistletoe after it had been cut from deeiily infested branches. 

 In each case, the mistletoe was shaved off clo.se to the bark, 

 and large branches were smeared or painted with : (1) a strong 

 wood preservative called carbolineum, (2) asphalt paint, (3) 

 laundry soap. In each case, part of the treated surface was 

 wrapiied closely in coarse canvas, while the other part wa.s 



left unwrapped. The results were as follows : — 

 Substance used. Appearance of Mistletoe. 



On wrapped part. On unwrapped part. 



Carbolineum None None 



Asphalt paint In following season None, while wrapped 



Laundry soap Not delayed ,, ,, 



No injury to the branches resulted fiom the treatment. 

 It would thus appear that applications of a strong preservative 

 like carbolineum will kill mistletoe, without injuring the 

 branch on which it grows, and that milder preparations, such 

 as asphalt paint, coal tar and white lead, may be used for the 

 purpose of checking the development of young mistletoe 

 shoots, while, by the additional precaution of wrapping the 

 branch, the parasite may be ultimately killed. 



The removal of large areas of tissue, in the case of much 

 infested bi-anches, is also dealt with. It is suggested that, 

 wherever wounds of any kind have been made for the purpose 

 of removing mistletoe, the cut surfaces should be treated with 

 a solution consisting of 1 part of corrosive sublimate in 1,000 

 parts of water (that is to saj', 1 oz. of corrosive suljlimate in 

 7 gallons of water, as is used for disinfecting cotton .seed), 

 or with one containing 1 lb. of copper sulphate in 5 gallons 

 of water, before the protective dressing is ai>plied. 



RATES OF GROWTH OF RUBBER PLANTS. 



In the Anmuil Adiiiitiistration RejMrt (1908-9) of the 

 Government Botanic (hardens and Parks, the Nilgiris 

 (Government of Madras), particulars of the rate of growth of 

 various plants are given. Among these are statistics, relating 

 to the growth of various rubber tree.s, in the Botanic 

 fJarden at Kuller, of which a part is extracted below. In 

 the rejiort itself, particulars for six dates are presented, but 

 only three of these have been taken — those for the beginning, 

 the middle (approximately) and the end of the period of 

 observation. In the following table, figures are given for the 

 height (a), the girth at 1 foot from the ground (b), and the 

 girth at 4 feet from the ground (c): — 



ME.VSUREMENTS. 



