Vol. IX. No. 220. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



313 



Trade of Mexico. 1909. 



The Diplomatic and Consular Reports. No. 

 4498 — Annual Seriev, gives the following intormation 

 concerning the products of Me.xico. of an agricultural 

 nature, that were shipped during 190S-9. 



The chief agricultural exports are heneijuen (sisal 

 hemp) and coffee. Of the former 107,809 tons, value 

 £2,438,027 was exported, as against 1 10,7-lG tons, value 

 £2,7.58,224, in 1907-S As regards cotfee, there was an 

 increase from 21,4.59 tons, worth £1,081,31.5, in 1907-8, 

 to 2(i,(i92 tons, worth £1,2()0,5U7 in 1908-9. 



1'he shipments of rubber, in 1907-8 aiiuiunted to 

 .5,624 tons; this was greater in 1908-9, being U,01.5 tons; 

 at the same time, there was a slight decrease in the 

 value of the exports. There 'was a large increase in the 

 export of guavule shrubs for making rubber, namely 

 from 1,293 tons, valued £12.5,.S.52 in 1907-8, to 3,022 tons 

 val'ied £463,-567 in 1908-9. Thus this export becnme 

 greater by about 27-5 per cent. 



Fresh fruit from Mexico finds an excellent market 

 in the United.States. and the amounts exported in 1907-8 

 (7,239 tons, worth £38,4-30). increased to 9,3.51 tuns, 

 worth £49,30.5, in 1908-9. There was a decrease in all 

 the following exjjorts: limber, law tobacco, dye-woods, 

 chickpeas and vanilla. 



A Test for Dirt in Milk. 



It is sometimes useful to be in jio.'^.session of a test 

 which will show in a simple manner the extent to 

 which germs are present in milk, especially as the 

 determination of this gives some indicatioa as to the 

 amount of care that has been exerci-ed in obtaining 

 and purveying the milk. In this connexion, a method 

 of testing, called the Re<luetase Test, is described in the 

 Transvaal Agricultural Journal for July 1910, p. 654. 



A descrijrtion of the reductase test is as follows. 

 Ten cubic centimetres of the milk to be tested are 

 shaken well with i-c.c. of a solution of methylene blue 

 in a test bottle, or tube, which has been boiled in water. 

 The air is then excluded by pouring liquid pai-afiin wax 

 into the bottle to a thickness of about 1 cm. Finally, 

 the bottle is placed in water which is kept at a temper- 

 ature of 45 C. The colour of the methylene blue 

 gradually disajjpears, and the longer the time this takes 

 to happen, the purer is the milk. 



The solution of methylene blue is pre]iared by 

 dissolving i-gm. of the pure substance in about 15 c.c. 

 of 90 per cent, alcohol, at a temperature of 70C The 

 blue solution is then cooled and filtered, and water is 

 added to the liquid which comes through the filter, in 

 the proportion of 1 part of the liquid to 39 parts of 

 water. 



The test depends upon the fact that the germs in 

 the milk produce reductase, which has the power of 

 decolourizing methylene blue; so that the smaller the 

 amount of germs present, the longer it takes for the 

 colour to disappear. This explains why air is excluded 

 while the test is being conducted, for if it were not, the 

 oxygen in it would destroy the reduct.ise that is being 

 formed by the germs, antl would thus render the test 

 useless. 



The Production of Rice in Japan, 1909. 



The Diplomatic and Consular Rejjorts, No. 4451 

 Annual Series, shows that the production of rice in 

 Japan, during 1909 reached a record, so that the export 

 figures exceeded -59,000 tons. At the same time, it is prob- 

 able that the growth of the figures will be still more pro- 

 nounced in the j)resent year, as much of the 1909 crop 

 still remained to be ship])ed on December 31. The large 

 ])roduction was not, however, a great boon to the grow- 

 ers; many of them complained that a smaller crop 

 with normal prices would have suited their interests 

 better. The richer growers have been holding for an 

 increase in price. 



The chief purchaser of the rice was Hawaii, because 

 of the possession of its large Jajtanese popidation. The 

 amount taken by the United Kingdom was doubled, and 

 there was a large increase in the exports to France, the 

 Netherlands .-md Austria-Hungary. 



Manurial Experiments with Maize. 



(Jne of the subjects treated in Farmers" Bulletin 

 No. 107, of the Transvaal Department of Agriculture, 

 entitled RpsuUs of Erpcrimcnts: Experimental Farm, 

 Potclie/stritoin, deals with the conclusions that have 

 been arrived at after investigations into the manuring 

 of maize. These are in the nature of a continuous 

 experiment, which was commenced in 1906. The trials 

 are in two series, in both of which the treatment of the 

 plots in order, is as follows: no manure: farmyard man- 

 ure (8 tons jier acre every third year); superp)hosphate; 

 superphosj)hate and sulphate of potash; basic slag; 

 dissolved bones; bone meal; guano; and no manure. The 

 oiilv difference between the two .seriesis that one receives 

 applications of nitrate of soda, while the plots in the 

 other do not obtain this manure. 



The experiments are c^irried out, under the most 

 equable conditions obtainalile, on a brown loam which 

 is very poor in plant food — both available and unavail- 

 able — especially as regards nitrogen and phosphoric 

 acid. The soil also contains insufficient lime. 



It was shown, in the result, that the application 

 of nitrate of soda was not remunerative, and other 

 experiments conhrm this. The explanation of the 

 circumstance is given as follows: (1) the loss of the 

 nitrate of soda through the washing caused by heavy 

 rains, which are common; (2) the rapid conversion of 

 the soil nitrogen into nitrates; thus artificial appli- 

 cation of these is not required; (3) the rapidity of travel 

 of water through the i)lant during the growing season, 

 so that, although the soil water contains only small 

 amounts of salts, enough passes through to provide as 

 much of these as the plants require. 



Potash produced losses which may probably be 

 explained by its effect on the texture of the soil. 



A distinct gain followed the use of phosphates, and 

 the general advice is given that the farmer should 

 employ superphosphate and bone meal in the first and 

 second years, and bone meal alone, afterwards. 



