Vol. IX. No. 225. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



393 



be gained from the fact that it covers aheady 2,3()8 

 acres, although its production is a comparatively nev. 

 industry; while 1,084,7.57 lb. of cured tobacco was 

 exported, as compared with 570,102 lb. for 1908-9. 

 During the year, a certain amount of good sun-dried 

 tobacco was produced by natives, and sold for export 

 to a local firm. 



Para rubber can only be cultivated in a restricted 

 area, in West Xyasa district; here, 600 acres of Para 

 rubber are being grown successfully. The most suitable 

 variety for Nyasaland, at, present, apjirars to be Ceara, 

 which occupies 4,403 acres. The rubber produced is 

 of satisfactory (piality, having realized, in experi- 

 mental quantities, 8.t. lOd. per lb. in London. The 

 total export of rubber during the year was 27,144 It). 

 ■ — an increase of about 11,000 Ib.on that of the preceding 

 year. Notwithstanding the success of Ceara rubber, 

 the opinion is given that the present d<iubts as to the 

 length of life uf the trees and their power to recuperate 

 do not justify its cultivation on a large scale, so far. 

 A matter of interest is that rubber has been planted 

 by natives near sixty-six villages in West Nyasa, from 

 seed distributed duiing the year. Of other exports, 

 the amount of maize was 2,000 tons: this is the 

 first occasion on which this pnnhict has been shipped; 

 that of chillies was 119,12(i It)., which is an increase of 

 about 72,000 lb. on the .shipments of 1908-9. 



The number of Eucalyptus and Mlanji cypress 

 trees (Ccdlitris Whytei) raised from seed for trans- 

 portation were 200,000 and 1().5,000, resjtectively. In 

 regard to the latter, the native forests supply all the 

 wood for (iovernment buildings, at .i cost of about one- 

 eighth of that of the imported pitch pine. 



Importations of good breeds of cattle are being 

 made for the purpose of improving the stock in the 

 Protectorate, which amounts at jjresent to .57,().58 head, 

 of which 4(>,.509 are owned by natives. In this con- 

 nexion, it is ipf interest that, given satisfactory markets, 

 it is possible that Nyasaland may become an important 

 pastoral country. 



Nature Knowledge and Elementary Hygiene 

 in British Guiana. 



The report of the Inspector of .Schools, British 

 (Juiaiia, for 1909-10, shows that, although nature teach- 

 ing is not compulsory in the elementary schools in the 

 Colony, it is taught in all of these. Blackie's Tropical 

 Reader and Nature Teaching are recommended as the 

 books to be used in connexion with the subject, and 

 the rule has been made that from April 1, 1910, parts 

 of the latter ))ublication must; be presented for examina- 

 tion in all standards from the second upward, if a fair 

 grant is to be earned. Improvements are called for in 

 the box and pot cultivaliou carried out in schools which 

 do not possess gardens. As regards exjierimental work, 

 it is expected that some of the apparatus mentioned in 

 Nature TeacJt ing w'lW be introduced into the schools, in 

 order to diminish the tendency toward the learning 

 of facts from the book, without understanding them. 

 Encouragement is given, as well, to the collection of 

 natural history specimens and the making of drawings. 



Elementary hygiene has now been taught to the 

 pupils in the three upper classes of the primary schools 

 for nearly six years. It is stated that there is usually 

 an intelligent interest in this subject, on the part both 

 of the teachers and the children; although, as is the case 

 with the subject just mentioned, there is a great tend- 

 ency toward the giving of mere book teaching. The 

 hope is expressed that the effect of the work which is 

 being done will be to bring the principles of hygiene 

 into closer connexion with the matters of the daily life 

 of the pupils. 



During thi/ year 1909-10, lectures on agricultural 

 science and hygiene were delivered to elementary 

 taachers, in each of the three counties. The number of 

 teachers attending these was 102, of whom 54 presented 

 themselves for examination in the subjects, with the 

 result that 25 passed in agriculture, 32 in hygiene, and 

 21 in both subjects. The courses of lectures are given 

 in two parts, with an interval of about three months 

 between the parts. In the past, the lectures have been 

 weekly; they will be given daily, until the completion 

 of the course, in future, as a matter of general conveni- 

 ence. 



Decorticating Machinery. 



References have been made from time to time, in 

 the Agricultural Neivs, to various fibre machines (see 

 especially Vols. VIII, p. 293; an<l IX, p. 156). The 

 Qiieendand Agrvndtural Journal, for August 1910, 

 gives information concerning several larger types of 

 these machines, such for instance as are capable of 

 cleaning from 40,000 to 150,000 sisal leaves per day of 

 ten hours, with six men to attend to the machinery. 

 The examples of these that are mentioned are the 

 Piieto, the Todd, the Finnigan-Zabriski, and the Ajax 

 which is of British make. These are not suited to 

 small plantations, although an instance is given of 

 a Finnigan-Zabriski machine, which is producing 1 ton 

 of marketable fibre daily, in use on an estate of 

 60 acres. The cost of the best machines is as much as 

 £600, excluding freight and other expenses. They are 

 also costly in that the power for driving them ranges 

 from 50 to 70 h.p. 



Efforts are being made toward the production of 

 liiwer-})riced automatic machines. One of the latter is 

 the Irene No. 51, made by the Prieto Company, which 

 reipiires 12 h.p. and which has an output of 20,000 to 

 30,000 cleaned leaves per day. The cost of this is £300, 

 fo.b. London. 



The same journal states that, of the British made 

 machines, the automatic Ajax is stated to be a perfect, 

 low-priced machine. This does not require more than 

 15 b.h.p., as it is single-drum machine, with an 

 output of about 2,500 to 3,000 leaves per hour. It 

 weighs 2i tons net, and like the Irene, it is suitable for 

 plantations having an area up to 200 acres; it produces 

 A- to 1 ton of fibre jier day, according to the character 

 of the leaves. The machine is made by the Alma 

 Machine Works, Liversedge, Yorkshire, and sold by 

 Messrs. Walter Criffith & Co., 6 Crosby Square, 

 London. 



