204 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



June 25, 1910. 



GLEANINGS. 



Eeturns show that the area of cotton planted in 

 Barbados during the year 1909 was 4,121 acres. Of this 

 3,620 acres consisted of newly planted cotton, and 501 acres 

 of so-called ' ratoon ' cotton. 



The report by the Agricultural Instructor of Xevis, for 

 March 1910, states that the yield of cotton has been fairly 

 satisfactory, and that it Is now certain that the area for next 

 season's crop will be extended greatly. 



The imports of rice into the United States, iluring the 

 nine months ending March 31, 1910, were 81,000 short tons; 

 in a similar period in 1908-9, they were 77,000 short tons. 

 (The Louisiana Planter and Siir/ar Manufacturer, May 28, 

 1910) 



The amount of rubber exported from the Federated !Malay 

 States during the last eleven months of 1909 was .5,442,412 lb. 

 During the same period in 1908, the amount was 

 2,762,666 ft., so that the increase for 1909 is 2,679,746 ft. 

 (L' Agronomic Tropicak, March 1910.) 



Information has been received from Mr. H. A. Tempany, 

 B.Sc, Chairman of the Permanent Exhibition Committee of 

 Antigua, stating that this committee has decided to forward 

 a collection of exhibits to the forthcoming exhibition at 

 Toronto, and a smaller one to that of St. John, 



The Uganda Official Gaxette publishes rules made 

 recently under the Uganda Cotton Ordinance, 1908. These 

 provide for the registration of all cotton hand-gins in the 

 Protectorate, and for the destruction, supply to the Govern- 

 ment, export, or disinfection of all seed which comes from 

 .such sins. 



The cotton crop of Peru, for 1907, amounted to 1.5,000 

 tons, valued at £584,441. This was an advance over that 

 of the preceding year, and the outlook for 1908 and 1909 

 was rejjorted to be most favourable. The amount of rubber 

 exported in 1908 was 2,536 tons, valued at £604,311; in 

 1907, the exports were valued at £954,582. {Board of 

 Trade. Journal, April 14, 1910.) 



According to a report which has been received from the 

 Curator of the Montserrat Botanic Station, this year's cotton 

 crop in that island is likely to reach more than 200,000 ft. 

 of lint, though it may not come up to the crop of last year, 

 which was one of 238,000 ft.: the value will, however, be 

 greater. The area planted was not more than 1,550 acres, or 

 700 less than last year. 



A catalogue has been received of the Australian ilonkey 

 Jack, which appears to be very useful in effecting the 

 removal of the stumps and roots of trees expeditiously and 

 cheaply. The price of this runs from £5 lO.s. to £6 lO.s., 

 with double purchase, and £4 10.«. to £5 15s., with single 

 purchase. These are made by a firm whose address, in 

 England, is 6, Alma Street, Smethwick, Brimingham. 



Enquiries have been made recently in connexion with the 

 culti\ation of bay trees {Pinieiita acris) in the island of San 

 Jan, D.W.I. These have elicited the information that there 

 is little of the nature of systematic cultivation of bay trees; 

 the undergrciwth is merely cut away, so as to permit the 

 growth of the young trees that have been sown naturally. 

 Trees are, however, planted out systematically, to a certain 

 extent, on the estate of the Danish Plantations Company and 

 at estate Lamesure. 



The Agricultural Superintendent, St. Vincent, states 

 that in order to enable the growers of Marie Galante cotton, 

 in the islands of Canouan and Mayreau, to dispose of their 

 cotton at a fair price, the Government has sent a sloop to the 

 first-mentioned island and bought up the small growers' 

 produce, paying on account a price which was more profitable 

 than that obtained usually from dealers. A similar .scheme 

 was to be put in operation, in regard to the cotton in 

 !Mayreau. 



The E.r/idriment Station Record of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, for April 1910, gives an account 

 of experiments which have been conducted recently in Russia 

 with plants grown in water and sand cultures. These show 

 that injury was done to the plants when magnesia was 

 present, but lime absent; and that the yield became greater 

 with the increase of the proportion of lime to magnesia. 

 Loew's view that each plant has a definite lime-magnesia 

 ratio, for the best growth, was not confirmed (see Agricultnral 

 New!^, Vol. IX, p. 95). 



The exports of ginned and unginned cotton from Uganda 

 for 1908-9, were 10,246 cwt. and 12,805 cwt., respectively. 

 The similar figures for the period 1907-8 were 12,911 cwt. 

 and 4,263 cwt. According to the Colonial Reporta, Annual, 

 Xo. 636, which gives the report on Uganda for 1908-9, the 

 unginned cotton is ginned and baled in the East African 

 Protectorate, and is exported from Mombasa as ginned cotton. 

 Taking the loss in weight of .seed-cotton, on being ginned as 

 two-thirds, the Cjuantity of lint exported from the Uganda 

 Protectorate during 1908-9 shows an increase of 183 cwt. 

 over that of the previous year. 



The Transvaal A'jricultural Journal, for April 1910, 

 states that valuable research work in connexion with the 

 breeding of corii has just been completed by the Transvaal 

 Government Botanist. In thi.s, it has been shown, after five 

 years' trial, that maize follows Mendel's law in the matter of 

 the production of hybrids, and an entirely new South African 

 sugar-corn, comparable to American sweet corn has been 

 produced. This is important, in view of the difficulty that 

 has been ex|)erienced in growing sweet corn in the Transvaal. 

 Experiments are now being con<lucted with the object of 

 obtaining a variety of Hickory King corn which shall be 

 characterized by an early ripening habit. 



