Vol. IX. Xo. 212, 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



185 



Rubber Trees and Green Manuring. 



An article with this title appeared on page 13 of 

 the current volume of the Agrlrallurai Neu->i. Mr. 

 R. D. Anstead, B.Sc, late Agricultural Superintendent 

 in Grenada, under the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 culture, draws attention to this in the Planters' 

 Ckronicb' [India] for March 19, 1910, and gives an 

 account of an experiment, having connexion with the 

 same subject, which was carried out by him recently in 

 South Travancore. In this, two samples of soil were 

 taken, one from under a very poor covering oi Passi- 

 flora sp., and one from a patch which had been kept 

 clean weeded, and which was exposed to the sun. Equal 

 weights of the samples were dried in an oven for five 

 or six hours, and the weights taken again, when it wa-s 

 found that, although the Passifiora was of poor growth 

 and gave a minimum of shade, the soil beneath it con- 

 tained 11 per cent, more moisture than that of the area 

 which had been kept clear of weeds. 



Mr. Anstead points out that this experiment is 

 a strong argument in favour of keeping the ground 

 covered with a growing cover crop, even during the dry 

 season, at any rate in some kinds of cultivation, and 

 suggests that leguminous weeds, such as Catssai mimns- 

 aides, may well be used in the place of plants like 

 PassiHora. He also draws attention to the usefulness 

 of plants grown in this way, in the prevention of the 

 loss of surface soil by washing during heavy rains. 



The Protection of Seeds from Birds. 



The German Imperial Biological Institute has 

 conducted experiments in order to find out the extent 

 to which seeds may be protected from birds, by impart- 

 ing to them an unusual colour or an objectionable 

 taste or smell. A short account of these, given in the 

 Queensland Agriculturul Journal, Vol. XXIV, p. 172, 

 shows that, as regards colour, the trials were made 

 with a red colouring matter, Prussian blue and 

 aniline green, the mixture for treatment being 

 made with 0"2 parts of glue dissolved in 8 parts 

 of water, together with 20 parts, 05 to I'O part, 

 and 04 part of the colouring matters, respect- 

 ively; this amount of the mixture was used for 100 

 parts of seed. It was found that the coloured dressing 

 did not affect the germinating power of the seed, and 

 that the blue colour was most useful in keeping the 

 birds away from it. 



In the experiments, where a dressing was u.sed 

 which would give the seed an unpleasant taste or smell, 

 it was found that 0'6 part of powdered aloes, with <S 

 parts of water, to 100 parts of seed, and a 3-per cent, 

 solution of creolin, in the proportion of 8 parts to 100 

 parts of seed, were successful in entirely protecting the 

 latter from the attacks of birds. 



The trials showed, incidentally, that the birds 

 employed in them (rooks and crows) are influenced, 

 when searching for food, by colour, taste and smell. 



It is suggested that useful experiments on the 

 same lines, with substances like aloes and creolin, 

 might be tried by planters in the West Indies when 

 plants such as maize and Guinea corn are being sown. 



Sesbania Aculeata as a Green Manure. 



Reference has been made already to the use of 

 Seshania aculeata as a green manure in India, where it 

 is known as ' dhaincha' (Agricultural Netos, Vol. VIII, 

 p. 271; Vol. IX, p. 124). In the quarterly Journal 

 of the Department of Agriculture, Bengal, January 

 1910, the suitability of this plant for green manuri.ng 

 is emphasized, and it is compared, in this connexion, 

 with Pliaseolus aconitifolius. It is stated that the 

 plant grows well on poor soil. In an experiment, ground 

 was prepared for sowing, by means of a hoe, and the 

 seed was .sown broadcast among tea plants; in five 

 weeks time the seedlings had grown to a height of 

 1 foot, and were ready to be hoed into the soil. Seed 

 for a new crop is easily obtained, as the plant forms 

 this in a most prolific w.iy. 



Calcium Cyanamide and Nitrate of Lime. 



It is of interest that the results of experiments 

 with calcium cyanamide and nitrate of lime, recently 

 conducted at Rothamsted, which were noted shortly on 

 page l(i9 of the last number of the Agricidtural News, 

 are paralleled exactly by the conclusions that have had 

 to be ilrawn from similar trials lately made at the 

 Agricultural College, Turin, Italy, a note on which 

 appears in the E.rperiment Stufliyn Record, Vol. XXII, 

 p 431. In these, it was found, similarly, that both 

 calcium cyanamide and nitrate of lime have a manurial 

 value equal to that of sulphate of ammonia and nitrate 

 of soda, and the additional interesting observation was 

 made that granular calcium cyanamide is more conven- 

 ient to handle than nitrate of soda. 



The Renard Road Train. 



The Colonial 0§ice Jounxd for April 1910 gives 

 an account of a report made of official trials with the 

 Renard road train, conducted in India. This shows that 

 the driving of the train is a simple matter, and that the 

 system of steering ensures that the trailing cars follow 

 accurately the track of the locomotor and of those in 

 front, so that the train runs perfectly safely round 

 corners and through congested traffic. An efficient 

 system of brakes is provided, by means of which a train 

 running at a speed of 12 miles an hour may be brought 

 to a stop within a length of 12 feet, without incon- 

 venient shock. 



A trial was made with a train, loaded with over 

 14 tons, in which gradients of one in eighteen to one 

 in twenty-five, and even one in twelve, were success- 

 fully ascended. In one instance the train was stopped, 

 and started without difficulty, on a gradient of one in 

 eleven, on a curve of 12 feet radius. Assistance is given 

 in work of this kind by the fact that the train can be 

 run at eight different speeds. 



Trials have shown that little damage is done to 

 the road surface, whether the train is running light, or 

 is heavily loaded, and the results demonstrate generally, 

 that such trains an; suited to the conditions which 

 obtain on roads through the larger part of India. 



