Vol. IX. Xo. 21 i. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



217 



Imperial Expansion, 1902-8. 



Information concerning the commercial growth of 

 the Empire during tlie period 1902 8 is summarized in 

 the Journal of tlie Roi/al Sori'-ty cf Arts for June 3, 

 1910. This shows ihat, (iurint; " ]!I02, the total 

 trade of the British Empire with foreign countries 

 wa.s £870,000,000. while in 1908 it had become 

 £1,121,000,000. The trade within the Empire, dur- 

 ing the same period, increased from £297,000,000 to 

 £377,000,000, so that the augmentation of trade alto- 

 gether was £325,000,000. 



The remarliable e.xpansion tliat has taken piace in 

 the amount of commodities produced by the Empire, 

 during the same period, is pointed out, with the follow- 

 ing illustrations. The production of coal, in the time 

 under di.=cussion, expanded from 24il,000,000 to 

 301,000 000 tons: that of iron from 13,379,000 to 

 Hj.399,000 tons; that, of cotton from 1,099,2.52,000 1b. 

 to 1,479,04-1,000 lb. The similar increases for wheat 

 were 410,000 000 to 541 000,000 bushels, and for gold 

 from £30,000,000 to £53,000,000, in value. The 

 journal goes on to point out that these figures, while 

 the}' demonstrate the potentialities of the Enifdre, 

 give but a faint indication of its ultimate productive- 

 ness, when the oversea lands are more adeijuately 

 peopled, and more fully cultivated. 



Artificial Pi'oduction of Nitrates. 



In the MontJily Consular and Trade Reports for 

 March 1910, information is given, which has been 

 obtained from various British Consular Reports, 

 concerning the manufacture of nitrates from the air, in 

 Norway. These show that, up to now, over a million 

 pounds sterling has been spent on the works at 

 Notodden and Svaelgfos, and the power stations which 

 are being constructed at Ejukan and \'amina. (Jn the 

 completion of the work, at the end of 1910, a little over 

 £3,000,000 had been spent. An impoitant point in 

 connexion with the industry is the opi)ortunity which 

 it has given for the founding of several minor indus- 

 tries in connexion with the manufacture of nitric acid 

 and various nitrates for commercial purposes. A point 

 worthy of notice is that no coal is used in the produc- 

 tion of these substances, and it is stated authoritatively 

 that the sale of saltpetre produced in this way will not 

 be disturl)ed by competition with Chili saltpetre in 

 the matter of price, for many years. 



The Notodden works, together with the Rjukan 

 -works, when they are completed, will absorb 240,000 

 horse-power, and produce sait[)etie of an export value 

 of over £1.000,000. In 1908, the value of nitrates 

 produced in Norwa}- was about £111,666 and the 

 expenses of production amounted to £83,750. 



At the present time, ocean-going vessels cannot 

 approach Notodden nearer than Skien, and all goods 

 have to be carried by lighters between these places. 

 Plans are being considered for the purpose of widening 

 and deepening the water-ways, so that ships may be 

 loaded and unloaded at Notodden. 



Bur Grass. 



An account of bur grass (Ci'vchrus ecliinatus) 

 appears in the Proceed in;/-'^ nfthe Ayricidtural Sociefi/ 

 of Trinidad and Tohacjo for May, ^910. This mentions 

 that the grasses of the genus Cenchrus are known in 

 Trinidad as bur grasses, sand burs, .sand spurs and cock 

 spurs. Dealing with the one especially under discus- 

 sion, the account goes on to point out the injury that 

 is inflicted on animals when feeding, and even on men 

 while passing through the grass, through the strong 

 spines on the burs which enclose the flowers and seeds. 

 The wounds caused by them appear to be specially 

 dangerous, as they are likely to cause lock-jaw, unless 

 great care is exercised in cleansing them, and keeping 

 them clean. The burs naturally form the means of 

 distribution of the seeds, and through them the grass 

 may be introduced into [)laces that are many miles 

 away from the areas where it exists already. 



The grass grows best on dry, sandy or gravelly 

 soil, but it is also commonly found on roadsides, in 

 3'.irds, in places where rubbish is deposited, and in 

 girdens, in the last of which it may become a serious 

 nuisance, as a weed. 



Measures are suggested in the article for the 

 purpose of the extermination of this plant. These 

 consist in cutting otf the spikes of the plant as soon as 

 they appear, in order to prevent it from forming seed; 

 or better, in pulling up the whole plant from the 

 ground, and making heaps of it, which are allowed to 

 become drv, and are then burnt. 



Calcium Cyanamide and Nitrate of Lime. 



In the present vohinie of the Agricultural News, 

 pp. 169 and 185, the results of recent experiments have 

 been given shortly, which show that calcium cyanamide 

 and nitrate of lime posses a manurial value which is 

 almost the same as that of nitr^ite of soda and sulphate 

 of ammonia. It is of further interest to note that these 

 results are supported by experiments that have been 

 conducted during the years 1905-8, at the Aberdeen 

 and North of Scotland College of Agriculture. An 

 account of these is contained in Bulletin 13 of that 

 College, an abstract of which appears in the Journal of 

 the Board of Agrivaltv/re for M.ay, 1910. According 

 to this, the trials were conducted on a series of plots 

 manured with equal amounts of nitrogen, potash and 

 phosphate, the only difference being in the way that 

 the nitrogen was supplied, this difference being brought 

 about by applying it as nitrate of soda, sulphate of 

 ammonia, nitrate of lime and cilcium cyanamide. In 

 each case, there were two other plots, one with no 

 manure, and the other with the potash and phosphate, 

 only. The first acted as a control in the matter of the 

 soil productivity without manure, the second, similarly, 

 in relation to its power to yield crops, without added 

 nitrogen, but with potash and phosphate. 



In the result, it is shown that calcium cyanamide 

 was equal to nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia 

 for grain crops, while nitrate of lime was rather more 

 effective, weight for weight, than any of the other nitro- 

 genous manures, probably because of its power to supply 

 lime to the soil. 



