344 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 29, 1910. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



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 News ' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

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 town, Barbados. London Agents : Messrs. Dulau & 

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 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



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gigricultural flriufi 



Vol. IX. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1910. No. 222. 



r - 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number has reference to the 

 Agricultural Conference to be held in January 1911. 

 It gives particulars of a preliminary and jJi'ovisional 

 scheme which has been outlined in connexion with this 

 conference. 



Under the heading of Sugar IntUhstry, an interest- 

 ing article on the influt'nce of molasses on soil fertility 

 is given on page 3:39. 



Pages 340 and 341 present accounts of two inter- 

 esting plants that have been obtained from Mauritius 

 and Ceylon, by the Department, for trial in the West 

 Indies. 



An account which deals witli the interests of the 

 West Indies at the recent C'anadian Exhibitions is given 

 on ])age 343. 



The Insect Notes, on i^age 346, give information as 

 to recent work that has been conducted in relation to 

 frog-hoppers in Trinidad. 



The annual repot ts on the Botanic Stations, etc.j 

 in St. Kitts and Montserrat, are reviewed on page 347. 

 A review is also givt-n of the rej)ort of the Entomologist 

 to the Trinidad Board of Agriculture, 19G!l-l(). 



As has been stated, the frog-ho))per in Trinidad 

 receives attention in the Insect Notes. Facts in rela- 

 tion to a fungus which is destroying this jiest, in that 

 island, are presented in the Fungus Notes, on page 350. 



Crude Oil Emulsion for Cattle Ticks. 



Mr. H. Maxwell-Lefroy, M.A., F.E.S., F.Z.S , Im- 

 perial Entomologist, India, draws attention in the Plant- 

 er.s' Clirvnicle for Jtdy 10, 1910, to the use of crude oil 

 emulsion as a remedy for cattle ticks, emphasizing more 

 particularly its cheapness. 



It is pointed out that, while the treatment of cattle 

 with Paranaph costs about 2s. per head, annually, that 

 with crude oil emulsion can be effected by an expendit- 

 ure of about 2A(?. per head j)er annum. 



The greater expense in using the former mixture 

 is understood, when it is considered that 7.5 lb. of it con- 

 tains 50 lb. of soap, C lb. of napthalene, and 13 lb. (2 gal- 

 lons) of oil, while crude <iil emulsion contains 80 per 

 cent, of crude oil. 



It is evident that this method of treating cattle 

 for ticks has a sjjecial application in reference to 

 Trinidad and Barbados, where crude oil occurs nattirally. 



Ramie Wool. 



The Tropical Agriculturist for August 1910, 

 p. 108, gives an abstract from the Indian Agriculturist, 

 Vol. XXXV, No. 4, which describes a new development 

 in connexion with the ramie plant (BoeJtmeria nivca). 

 This consists in the treatment of the fibre, on the fields 

 where it is grown, in such a way as to produce from the 

 tibre-yielding bark of the plant a material which is 

 quite different from any fibre having a similar source. 

 The product is a soft fibre which has been called ' pro- 

 cessed ramie', and which may be shipjjed by the planter 

 to the manufacturer, who simpl}- passes it through 

 a carding machine, when ramie 'wool is obtained, which 

 felts, and may be spun at once. It has a special value 

 in that it forms a \"erv good mixture with cotton, 

 sheep's wool, etc. 



The process for the production of processed ramie 

 is said to be very simple, so tliat it can be worked by 

 the ordinar}' labour at the command of the planter; 

 it does not require the use of any chemicals, and the 

 machinery em]>loyed is similar to that used for scutch- 

 ing. 



The material has been exhibited in London, and iS 

 stated to be valuable as a wool. Yarn has bi-en pro- 

 duced from it, and this has been woven mixed with' 

 natural wool, wool rags, and waste wool and tlofiks. The 

 cloth obtained is strong and warm, has a good a])]iear- 

 ance, and may be dyed successfully. 



It is estimated that the cost of treating 1 ton of 

 dried ramie canes would not exceed, in India, 7s. This 

 does not include the cost of passing them through the 

 scutching machine, which would amount to about 11.!*. 

 per ton. By means of the process, it is claimed, more 

 ramie is extracted from the cane than can be obtained in 

 any other way. 



A machine ca])able of producing 5 cwt. of 

 jirocessed ramie daily may be obtained for £20; it^ 

 action is simjily to eliminate the bark, with very small 

 destruction of the fibre. Hlnquiries in connexion with' 

 the machines may be made to Mr. Robert G. Orr, 708, 

 Salisbury House, Finsbury Circus, London. , 



