376 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November 26, 1910. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the ' Agricultural 

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

 the Department. 



Local Agents: Messrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents : Messrs. Dulau & 

 Co., 37, Soho Square, W. A complete list of Agents 

 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News: Price \d. per number, 

 peat free 2d. Annual subscription payable to Agents, 

 28. Id. Post free, 4s. 4(j. 



gigricultural ^tm 



Vol. IX. SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 26, 1910. No. 224. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in the present number is concerned 

 with the most recent work that has been done in rela- 

 tion to The Action of Heat on Soils. 



Pages 872 and ."^73 give information in connexion 

 with the report that has been issued by the recent 

 Banana Commission of British Guiana. This throws 

 light on several questions in relation to the export of 

 fruit from the West Indies. 



An abstract of an interesting article that has 

 appeared lately, on the use and manufacture of Egypt- 

 ian cotton, is given on page 374. 



On page 37o are presented the results of the lecent 

 preliminary examinations held in connexion with the 

 Reading Courses of the Department. 



The Insect Notes, on page 378, give an account of 

 the recent introduction of the St. Vincent 'Jack Span- 

 iard' into Montserrat, as well as a description of the 

 cowpea curculio. 



Reviews of two recent publications of interest to 

 horticulturists and agriculturists are given on page 379. 



Page 381 contains the Students' Corner, in which 

 an opportunity has been taken to discuss the papers 

 set at the recent Courses of Reading preliminary 

 examinations. 



The Fungus Notes, on page 382, are concerned 

 with further obsei-vations on die-back diseases, and 

 additional notes on the pink diseases of plants. 



Work Under the Food and Drugs Ordinance, 



British Guiana, 1909-10. 



The work under this Ordinance, for the half-year 

 ended March 1910, is described in a series of official 

 reports that has just been issued. Those relating to 

 the colony show that the general rate of adulteration 

 is 10 7 per cent., which, though higher than that of 

 last year, is satisfactorily' low. The rate of adulteration 

 of milk in the coloiu' was 13'1 per cent., which, as is 

 stated by Professor Harrison, is higher than it should 

 be; it is, in fact, greater than it has been for the pa.st 

 two years. 



In special relation to the county of Demerara, it is 

 sh( iwn that the number of samples received for analysis 

 at the Government Laboratory, from the Police Depart- 

 ment and the Town Sujierintendent, during the period, 

 was liDO; the percentage <iit]iese returned as adulterated 

 was 103. This does not include the samples of milk, 

 the number of which w.is -012. With regard to these, 

 a percentage adulteration of 18 7 was found — the high- 

 est rate since 1907. The manner of adulteration, in 

 fifteen cases, was extracting the fat bj' skimming, or by 

 mixina: butter-milk with yenuine milk. 



Nandi Rubber. 



According to the Ketv Bulletin, No. 8, 1910, dried 

 specimens of a rubber vine (Landolphia iigandensis) 

 have been received from the Nandi forests in British 

 East Africa, together with information, an abstract of 

 most of which may be given, as follows. 



The plant is a liane, existing in considerable 

 cjuantities in the Nandi forests, which are at an eleva- 

 tion of (3,000 to 7,000 feet. The elevation of these, com- 

 bined with the presence of very humid conditions, makes 

 the climate almost temperate. A matter of special 

 interest is that the rubber from the plant is probably 

 the only kind occurring naturally, in a climate that is 

 not tropical, which can be obtained continuously. 



The amount of rubber produced from the Nandi 

 forests is, ordinarih", 7 tons yearly, having a value of 

 about £2,000 at Mombassa; only about one-third of the 

 vines are, however, being tapped at present. Various 

 circumstances, such as shortening the time of rest for 

 the vines, and the making of plantations, should increase 

 this output to a considerable extent. The average yield 

 of rubber from <:>ach plant is 1 oz. 



Tapping is conducted by shaving off slices of bark, 

 as far down as the cambium layer. The cuts are, how- 

 ever, often made too deep, causing the death of the 

 ti.ssue above and below them; making diagonal slits 

 with a knife would probably be a better method. The 

 latex has been coagulated with .salt, by wetting the 

 surface of the bark with salt water; by chewing, and by 

 using the juice of a fruit called Noguk, or Nokok 

 (probably Flacoiirtia sp.). 



The plant yields an edible fruit which, itself, con- 

 tains a large prcjportion of lati'x. 



