332 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 15, 1910. 



Nature, for August 25, 1910, states that the Inter- 

 national Horticultural Exhibition of 1912 will be held in the 

 grounds attached to the Roj-al Hospital, Chelsea. The area 

 leased for the purposes of the exhibition is about 20 acres, 

 and nearly three-quarters of this will be directly available for 

 the accommodation of the exhibits. The remaining portion 

 contains many fine specimens of trees. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Agricultural and Commercial Society of St. Kitts is 

 making arrangements for the holding of an agricultural show- 

 next year. The date on which this will take place will be 

 probably February 24. 



According to a report received from Antigua, sugarcane 

 in the island made fairly good growth during September, 

 compared with that of previous months. The condition of the 

 cotton crop, so far, is stated to be very fair. 



In connexion with the interest that is being evinced at 

 the present time in relation to agricultural banks, it may be 

 noted that a leading article on the subject, with special refer- 

 ence to the West Indies, appears in the August issue of 

 Tropical Life. 



Returns that have been received showing the areas of 

 cotton being grown at the present time on different estates in 

 Antigua are interesting, as they indicate that an increase is 

 taking place in the extent to which this crop is planted there, 

 and that its cultivation is becoming more widespread. The 

 total area under cotton in Antigua during the present season 

 is 424 acres. 



A report from the Agricultural Superintendent, St. Kitts, 

 shows that the cane crop in the island is growing well, but 

 that it is backward for the time of the year. The growth of 

 cotton in the island is satisfactory, on the whole: it has been 

 affected in a few places by heavy rain. In a general way, the 

 rains of last month have caused considerable growth to be 

 made by all crops. 



The report of the Agricultural Instructor, St. Vincent, 

 for August 1910, shows that most of the crops cultivated on 

 the Land Settlement estates, and on the private estates visited, 

 were in good condition. This was especially the case with 

 cotton. It is stated, however, that there is still room for 

 improvement on all estates in regard to the use of creen 

 dressings and pen manure. 



Recent issues of the Port-it-Spain Gazette contain an 

 advertisement by the Department of Agriculture of Trinidad 

 for an Agricultural Instructor for Tobago. This states that 

 the appointment will be temporary, and that candidates are 

 required to supply particulars of the posts previously occupied 

 by them, and of their training. An essential qualification 

 for the position is the possession of experience in the working 

 of a cacao estate. 



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

 exports of rubber from Para, Manaos, Iquitos and Itacoatiara 

 during the crop year 1909 10, which ends on June 30, were 

 as foUows: to Europe 21,.sy2,032 kilos.; to the United States 

 17,071,443 kilos. This makes a total for the year of 

 38,953,475 kilos.; the corresponding export for 1908-9 was 

 38,234,871 kilos. 



The Report on the Introduction of Improvements into 

 Indian Agriculture, extracts of which were given in the 

 Agricultural News, Vol. IX, p. 293, was referred to a Com- 

 mittee of the Board of Agriculture in India, 1910. The 

 report of this committee, as submitted to and passed by the 

 Board, has been recently published for general information, 

 under the title of Second Report on the Introduction of Im- 

 provements into Indian Agriciilture. This publication shows 

 what progress has been made under the various heads detailed 

 in the first report. 



The Commonwealth Gazette of July 1910 contains copie* 

 of two Proclamations dated June 28, 1910, issued by the 

 Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, under 

 the Quarantine Act of 1908. These provide for the appoint- 

 ment of Hawkesbury Farm, in the State of New South 

 Wales, as a quarantine ground for growing plants imported 

 into New South Wales, and for the appointment of a specified 

 area near the township of Palmerston, Port Darwin, as 

 a quarantine station for plants imported into the northern 

 territories of the States oi South Australia. (The Board of 

 Trade Journal, August 25, 1910.) 



The E.ijieriment Station Record, Vol. XXII, p. 703, con- 

 tains extracts from a paper on the stimulation of premature 

 ripening of fruits by chemical means, which appeared in the 

 Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. XXXII, 

 p. 208. In this, the conclusion was reached that the apparent 

 stimulation of the ripening of fruits by chemical means 

 depends solely on the killing of the protoplasm. Substances 

 introduced into the fruit kill or stimulate the protoplasm, 

 release the previously insoluble intracellular enzymes without 

 rendering them inactive, and thus bring about ripening, if 

 the fruits have reached the necessary degree of maturity. 



The Annual Report on the Dominica Botanic Station, 

 for 1909- 10, which is in the press, contains the following 

 suggestion concerning the Courses (if Reading of the Depart- 

 ment. It is advised that, under the conditions obtaining in 

 Dominica, candidates in that island should answer the 

 questions which appear in the Students' Corner of the Agri- 

 cultural News, and forward them to the Botanic Station, 

 where they would be corrected, and from which model answers 

 would be issued, if this is necessary. At the .same time, 

 assistance would be given to candidates, in solving any 

 difficulties that may have occurred in connexion with their 

 reading. 



