153 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May U, 1910. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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gigncult ural ^tm 



Vol. IX. SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1910. No. 210. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



A second article on the Functions of Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations forms the editorial of this number. 

 It deals more especially with the work of these stations 

 that is directly connected with practical agriculture. 



An abstract of part of a bulletin recently issued, 

 dealing with the eflect of the structnre of sugar-cane 

 on mill work, is given on page 147. 



An interesting article on the yield from cacao trees 

 is extracted on page 14S. 



On the next page there is an account of a recent 

 prize-holdings competition, held in Dominica. 



An abstract of a translation of the report on the 

 conclusions reached at the Commercial, Industrial and 

 Agricultural Congress held recently at Manaos, is given 

 on page 151. 



The Report <>/ the Department of Agriculture, 

 Trinidad, for 1908-9, is reviewed on page 154. 



The series of articles on The Chief Groups of Fungi 

 is continued as Part VI, on page 158. In this issue, 

 the consideration of the Uredinales is continued, and 

 the remaining groups of the Basidiomycetes are dealt 

 -with. It should be mentioned that Fig. 26 is repro- 

 duced after Tulasne. 



It is with a profound feeling of sorrow and 

 loss that we place on record the fact that 

 His Majesty King Edward VII died at Buck- 

 ingham Palace on May 6, 1910, at 11.45 p.m. 



The sense of bereavement consequent on 

 this momentous event must be felt equally 

 deeply by all who owned His Majesty's allegiance, 

 whether officially or privately. 



Rainfall in Antigua. 



The returns of the rainfall in Antigua for 1909 

 show that the greatest precipitation was recorded at 

 the station on the dam at ^Vallings reservoir: this was 

 59'99 inches. Next in order were Big Diiers, Wallings 

 (Hill), Creek Side and Green Castle, with 58'IS, 56'25, 

 54'81 and 54 80, respectively. The smallest rainfall 

 was registered at Mannings, namely 27'36 inches. 

 Next above this were Comfort Hall, Collins and Sion 

 Hill, with 32-87, 35-36 and 36-23, respectively. The 

 precipitation measured at Codrington ^'lllage, Barbuda, 

 was 4267 inches. 



From a statement in the returns, it appears that 

 the rainfall of the year may be considered to have been 

 favourable: it closely approaches the average for the 

 past thirty-six years. Its distribution has been fairly 

 good, except for the small precipitation in March and 

 September. 



The greatest rainfall that took place in twenty- 

 four hours was 2"41 inches on November 28. The 

 precipitation for the year was 45'10 inches, which is 

 0'21 inches below the average for the thirtv-six years 

 from 1874 to 1909. 



Tubers of Calathea Allouya. 



Specimens of these tubers have been received 

 recently from the Curator of the Botanic Garden, 

 Dominica. In that island, they are known as Tokkee 

 Tambo, and in Trinidad as Topee Tambou. These 

 names are evidently a corruption of the French word 

 Topinambour, meaning .Jerusalem artichoke (Helian- 

 tlius tuherosus). In forwarding them, Mr. Jones states 

 that they occur wild in the forest, on the windward 

 side of the island, and are grown on the edges of 

 peasants' gardens, that is between the garden proper 

 and the forest, where they are given little attention. 



In the Ketv Bulletin, No. 70 (1892), p. 244, it is 

 stated that the root of this plant usually consists of 

 a large ovate body, to which the tubers are loosely 

 attached by strong fibres. The colour of the leaves is 

 pale green: they are somewhat papery in texture, and 

 are borne on long stalks. The flowers are pure white 

 and the fruit is a 3-celled capsule containing three seeds. 



The tubers are edible, and are boiled and eaten in 

 the same manner as the ordinary potato. Their taste 

 resembles somewhat that of the artichoke. 



