252 



THE AQRICULTURAL NEWS. 



August 6, 1910. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Tropical Agriculturist for May 1910 gives an 

 extract from the Fiji Times of April 6, pointing out that, 

 during the recent hurricane which passed over that colony, 

 sisal hemp plants showed an almost complete resistance to the 

 strong winds. In a few cases, plants had been partly blown 

 over, but these were placed upright, and no interference with 

 their growth appears to have taken place. Some injury was 

 done by the contact of the leaves of neighbouring plants, and 

 the Agricultural Department suggests, in consequence, that 

 these should be placed 10 feet apart, instead of 8 feet, as in 

 the past. 



A report by H.M. Consul at Para shows that the quan- 

 tity of rubber exported from Para, Manaos, Itacoatiara and 

 Iquitos during May 1910 was 1,643,191 kilos. Of this, 

 1,. 373,037 kilos, went to Europe and 270,154 to the United 

 States, 



The Selangor Gorernment Gazette of April 15, 1910, 

 shows that the weight of cultivated rubber exported from the 

 Federated Malay State.s during the three months January to 

 March of this year was 2,396,586 lb. The amount for the 

 corresponding period in 1909 was 1,148,269 ft). 



A copy of the revised and enlarged edition of the Tarifi" 

 of Kates for the Conveyance of Goods, issued by Neale & 

 Wilkinson, Ltd., General Foreign Carriers, and Shipping and 

 Insurance Commission and Steamship Agents, of 32, St. Mary 

 Axe, London, E.G. has been received recently. This is 

 entitled the New ABC Tariif of Kates for the Conveyance 

 of Goods and Parcels to all Parts of the World, and a copy of 

 it may be had post free on application. 



Cotton cultivation in Beira (Mozambique) has proved 

 very disappointing, notwithstanding the fact that it was 

 undertaken on a large scale by companies with ample capital, 

 possessing expert managers, and provided with modern 

 machinery. One company has abandoned its plantations 

 altogether; and another, while still continuing to grow cotton 

 to some extent, now gives more attention to planting maize. 

 (The Textile Mercury, June 4, 1910.) 



' , ■ The report on the Ibadan (Western Province of Nigeria) 

 Agricultural Show, 1910, received from the General Man- 

 ager, shows that the export of cacao from this Province, 

 during 1909, was 4,276,111 lb., while tho.se of maize and 

 cotton lint were 10,160 tons and 4,775,947 lb., respectively. 

 The rate of the agricultural progress of the Province that 

 is taking place is seen by comparison with the similar 

 figures for 1902, which were: cacao 38.5,540 lb., maize 60 

 tons, cotton lint 12,359 BE). 



An account of a new patent for the separation of rubber 

 from latex is given in a recent number of the Financier, and 

 in the Tropical Ac/riculturist for April 1910. The separa- 

 tion is effected by means of a slowly travelling belt charged 

 with positive electricity, which causes the removal of the 

 rubber from the latex, .so that it clings to the belt, from 

 which it is collected by scrapers fixed at a certain point. 

 The exhausted latex can be treated again bj- pa.ssing the belt 

 through it a .«econd time. 



Evidence showing the recognition of an additional r61e 

 probably played by bacteria is adduced in an abstract of a paper 

 giyen in the Experiment Station Record for June 1910. From 

 the work which is described in the article, it is concluded that 

 bacteria form one of the chief causes of corrosion of steel in 

 the soil, as analyses of the rust showed that it contained 

 a large amount of organic matter, and from 1-41 to 395 per 

 cent, of combined sulphur (calculated as sulphur dioxide), 

 while the steel before corrosion only contains 005 per cent, 

 of sulphur. 



H.M. Legation at Buenos Aires reports that the extent of 

 land under cotton in Argentina is very small in proportion 

 to the area of land suitable for its cultivation. Experiments 

 made some years ago showed that the Provinces of Entre 

 Rios and Corrientes, and the territory of the Chaco are suit- 

 ed for this industry. Difficulty in obtaining labour, how- 

 ever, has prevented its progress. It is understood that offi- 

 cial encouragement is now being given to the industry. 

 Further experiments made in the Chaco have proved highly 

 satisfactory. {The Board of Trade Journal, June 9, 1910.) 



The MonMy Considar a nd IVade Reports, for May 1910, 

 gives an account of a method, developed recently in Germany, 

 for rendering hard waters completely soft. It consists in 

 rapidly filtering the water through an artificially made sub- 

 stance called Permutit, by which the lime, manganese, iron 

 and magnesium compounds, which make the water hard, as well 

 as the bacteria it may contain, are, it is claimed, completely 

 removed. Its use is of special importance in the treatment of 

 water for employment in boilers, as such water will leave no 

 incrustation, with the result that cracking will be prevented, 

 the expense of cleaning reduced, and the cost of making 

 the steam lessened. 



A pamphlet issuedby the Koyal Society for the Prevention 

 of Cruelty to Animals, under the title of The Use of Bearing 

 Eeins on Hor.ses, has just been received. In it is quoted the 

 opinion of the late Professor Pritchard of the Royal Veterinary 

 College, to the effect that the use of the bearing rein when 

 tightly applied is painful and irritating to horses, is directly 

 and indirectly productive of disease when regularly worn, and 

 by its mechanical action greatly hinders horses from employ- 

 ing their full strength. For the above reasons — on the plea 

 of utility a.s well as of humanity — its use should be discon- 

 tinued. It is pointed out that this opinion, supported as it was 

 when it was given by five other professors and over 500 mem- 

 bers of the veterinary profession, is an overwhelming con- 

 demnation of the bearing rein. 



