Vol. IX. No. 222. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



34" 



A Promising Weed. 



Under this heading, the A (jri cult aval Journal of 

 India for Ajuil 1910, page 16.5, gives an account of 

 Melilotus alba, or wild lucerne, as it is called, on 

 account of its close resemblance to cultivated lucerne. 

 This grows, during the dry season, to a height of about 

 3 feet and is readily eaten both by horses and cattle. 

 It is therefore recommended a.s a dry season fodder 

 crop. 



It is thought that Melilotus alba will also prove 

 to be of much use as green manure. Its value as such 

 has not yet been completely tested, but it has been 

 observed to give an increase in the rice crop where it 

 has been ploughed in, previous to sowing. 



The plant is a biennial, and has been found to 

 grow readily on rice lands which are fairly retentive of 

 moisture. As it is a weed, it is hardy and can be 

 raised with a minimum amount of attention. Investi- 

 gations are in train for the purpose of obtaining further, 

 nil ire definite information concLining this plant, in rela- 

 tion to the uses for which it has been devised. 



Trade of Sierra Leone. 1909. 



Information concerning the following agricultural 

 exports from Sierra Leone is given in Colonial Reports 

 Annual, Xo. G-18. 



The quantity of kola nuts (which amount to more 

 than 20 per cent, of the total expoi't) that were shijijied 

 in 1909 was \'.V2i tons, value il-^iO 19, as c<impared 

 with ],](i2 tons, value £10S,S!I5 in 190.S. The ]inces 

 obtained for this product during 1909 were higher than 

 those oi the previous year. The chief use of the nuts 

 by the natives in the Protectorate is, of course, in rela- 

 tion to their pro])erty as a tonic stimulant: one nut, well 

 chewed and eaten, will sustain a man for a whole day 

 without food. There is no intoxicating or reactionary 

 effect after its use; though its taste is \ory bitter and 

 astringent. 



There was an increase in the amount of the staple 

 product of the colony — i)alm ki-rnels — of 9,17(5 tons 

 over the quantity exported in 190M. This increase is 

 one of 272 per cent., and is valued at £149,727. The 

 enhance<l supjily of these, as well as of kola nuts, is 

 caused mainly by the greater facilities for transjiort and 

 a wider knowledge of market ]irices, so that the native 

 jilaces greater confidence in traders. 



The palm oil produced in the Protectorate is meet- 

 ing a regular and consistent demand. The exj)orts 

 diiring 1909, were 851,999 gallons of the value of 

 £()4,273 — an increase over the quantity exported in 1908 

 of 3(J2,.362 gallons, of the value of £27,822, The oil is 

 a staple food throughout the Colony and Protectorate, 

 and its many domestic uses make it imjjossible to esti- 

 mate, even api>roximately, the (|uantity that is used for 

 home consunq)tion. 



The export oi' ginger during thi- year amounted to 

 722 tons, value .£14,147, as compared with 637 tons, 

 \alue £11,871, shi]i]ied in 1908. The opinion is ex- 

 ])ressed that the increase in 2)roduction of this commodity 



should be greater. Prices are low, mainly on a?co'mt 

 of the rougn methods that are employed in the cleaning 

 and preparation. 



The expoits of other agricultural jirorjucts wer-^ as 

 follows: jiiassava, 675 tons, value £9,8-59; rice 55,537 

 bushels, value £10.034; gum eoj.al, 4(i tons, value £5,036; 

 and rubber. 26 tons, value £8,079, There were increases 

 in the amounts of these, over those of 1908, in all cases 

 except that of rubber. As regards the last-named 

 product, it is stated that Sierra Leone is not at present 

 a rubber-producing country, though there appears to be 

 no reason why it should not export a larger amount 

 of the indigenous product. 



Cane-Planting in India. 



An account of experiments with material for plant- 

 ing sugar-cane is given in the Ae/ricuUural Journal 

 of India, for April 1910, p. 178. The trials originated 

 partly from the fact that a large number of cuttings, 

 taken from the middle of the cane(' middles') and j)lant- 

 ed in irrigated land, failed to sprout, so that the holes 

 were sup])lied with tops which were cut from standing 

 canes. A few days after the tops had been removed, it 

 was seen that the buds on the topped canes were swell- 

 ing, and that they appeared as if they wotdd supply 

 good planting material. An experiment was made in 

 order to ascertain if this was the case, when it was 

 found that a better and earlier stand of cane was obtain- 

 ed than when ordinary, unsjjrouted tops, or cuttings 

 were used. 



In relation to this matter, the conclusion is there- 

 fore reached that, from the point of view of germination, 

 cuttings showing signs of sprouting are preferable to 

 tops, for j)lanting, the only circumstance in favour of 

 the latter being the economy effected bv their use. 



Banana MeaL 



A short article under this title a])peared in the last 

 nnmhuv oi' the Agricidtiiral News, the information for 

 \\hich was taken from L' Agrono inie Trojncale for May 

 1910. In the same paj^er it is stated that banana meal 

 has a high value as food, but that the difficulty ha.s 

 been, in the past, to prepare it in a form in which it 

 may be used readily as such. Attempts to make bread 

 from it in the ordinary way have been abandoned. It 

 has also been mixed with ordinary flour for the same 

 purpose, but the result has been to obtain loaves 

 which taste of straw. It is only by making a paste of 

 the meal, by submitting it to the action of steam, 

 under pressure, that bread having an agreeable taste 

 has been obtained. 



It is because of this discovery that various 

 products <ibtained from banana meal, and known in 

 commerce under such names as Bananine, are now 

 being manufactured in England. Attempts are being 

 made to introduce similar sulistances into the con- 

 tinental markets. In connexion with these, a Swiss firm 

 has recently })roduced a banana chocolate wiiich sur- 

 passes oatmeal chocolate both in respect of the nutrit- 

 ive value and of the aroma. 



