184 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 11, 1910. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

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

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 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. 



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Agricult ural ^tm 



Vol. IX. SATURDAY, JUNK 11, 1910. No. il".'. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Publications of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Parts I and II of the Report on Sugar-Cane 

 Exjjeriments in the Leeivard Islands, 1908-9, are 

 now being issued. The conclusions in these formed 

 the subject-matter of Pamphlets 63 and 64 of the 

 Department Series. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



Agriculture and the Supply of Labour forms the 

 subject of the editorial of the present number. 



The article, on page 179, giving an account of the 

 introductions of sugar-canes into Mauritius, at different 

 times, presents some indications of thfi history of the 

 sugar industry of that colony. 



An abstract of an account of interesting work that 

 is being done in India, in connexion with fruit-growing, 

 appears on page 180. 



A way in which the making of Bordeaux mi.xture 

 may be simplified is described on page 181. 



The Insect Notes of this issue, which will be found 

 on page 186, give an account of two common hardback 

 beetles of the West Indies. 



An article dealing with the work of co-operative 

 credit societies, in India, appears on page 187. 



The last of the series of articles on The Chief 

 Groups of Fungi, which have been appearing as 

 Fungus Notes, is given in the form of a tabular 

 diagram, on page 190, where its use is explained It 

 should be stated that the yeasts are mentioned, in this, 

 under their generic name of Saccharomyces. 



Tubers of Calathea AUouya. 



With reference to the article on page 152 of the 

 current volume of the AgrlcultmxU News, dealing with 

 tubers of Calathea Allouj/a, Mr. W. H. Porter, of 

 Dominica, gives' statements in support of the useful- 

 ness of these as a vegetable, and has kindly drawn 

 attention to a passage in the History of the Carlhhy 

 Islands, by I. Davis, published in 1666. This passage 

 is as follows: ' The Potatoe {sic) is a root much like 

 the Saligots growing in Gardens, which are called 

 Topinamhous, or Jerusalem Artichokes, but of a much 

 more excellent taste, and more wholsome {sic). Those 

 Topinamhous or Artichokes, which are now not only 

 very common, in most parts, but cheap, and slighted as 

 being a treatment for the poorer sort, were heretofore 

 accounted delicious. For in some extraordinary Enter- 

 tainments made at Paris by the Princes, to entertain 

 Embassadours (.sic), in the Year M. DC. XVI, they were 

 served up among the most exquisite dishes.' 



According to Mr. Porter, and to Mr. Jones, 

 Curator of the Dominica Botanic Station, the tubers 

 are known by the name of ' topee tambou' in Dominica, 

 as well as in Trinidad. 



The Japanese Camphor Industry. 



The Board of Trade Journal for April 7, 1910, 

 gives an abstract of an article, published in the Nach- 

 richten fur Homdel unci Industrie, which presents 

 particulars regarding the position of the Japanese 

 camphor industry. According to this, the Japanese 

 Camphor Jlonopoly raised the price of its camphor, 

 between 1903 and 1907, and caused the production to 

 increase in Formosa and Japan. In the latter year, 

 the Japanese sales fell off to a large extent, on account 

 of competition with artificial German camphor and 

 Chinese camphor; this is shown b}- the circumstance 

 that, while the exports of camphor from Japan (includ- 

 ing Formosa), for 1907. were 6,919,194 lb., valued at 

 £780,925 (taking the Kin at 1-3 lb., and the Yen at 

 2.S. Oi'/) those of 1908 were 4,522.135 lb , valued at 

 £385,253. The result was that the -Japanese Camphor 

 Monopoly was forced to effect a considerable reduction 

 in the price: but, notwithstanding the fact that the sales 

 increased so that exports during the first ten months of 

 1909 were 9,434,727 Iti., valued at £644,375, the Mono- 

 poly has been working at a loss. About SO per cent, 

 of the Japanese supply of camphor is obtained from 

 Formosa, and the cost of production of this tends to 

 increase, so that it is expected that the Japanese 

 Monopoly will restrict the rate at which it is produced, 

 in order to relieve the over-stocked condition, and that 

 it will then again raise the price of its camphor. 



