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THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



1'ebruaey 12, 1916. 



The position and progress of the planting industry in the 

 Nyasaland Protectorate are dealt with by the Director of Agri- 

 culture, !Mr. Ste\var|^McCall in his Annual Eeport for the 

 year ending March 31, 1915. The most notable development 

 of the year was the extension and improvement of tea-grow- 

 ing prospects in the Mlanje district, several consignments 

 having realized the sati.sfactory price of Is. per Itx, which cora- 

 pare.< favourably with similar tea from the established tea 

 estates of the East. It is noticed that there has been a gradual 

 abandonment of Ceara rubber plantations in Nyasaland. 



GLEANINGS. 



According to information received from the Experiment 

 Station, Tortola, the return of lime juic<> .shipped from that 

 Dependency during the period October 1 to December .31, 

 1915, was 13 casks, equal to 520 gallons, estimated at a value 

 of £120. Presumably concentrated' juice was shipped. 



Some physiological work on the sugar-cane, conducted 

 in Brazil, is noted in the Experiment Station Record for 

 October 1915. Kesults are reported on a microscopical study 

 of the development of the bud of sugar-cane, showing the 

 distribution of glucose, starch, tannic acid, and albuminoids 

 in the growing plant. 



It is stated in the Ejperiment Station Record for 

 October 1914, that a substance called nitro-benzol is irsually 

 added to ground nut oil for the purpose of giving the oil 

 a pleasant odour, and deceiving the public into thinking that 

 the product is oil of bitter almonds. A method of determin- 

 ing the presence of the substance is referred to. 



( Concerning the culture of rice in California, Farmer's 

 Bulletin No. 688 of the United States Dejtartment of 

 Agriculture, states that clay soil with an impervious subsoil, 

 if it lies in level tracts and can be well drained, is well 

 adapted to rice. Shallow soils are preferable to deep soils, 

 because less water will be required to submerge them. 



The Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. X, Section A, 

 No. 2, contains two interesting papers, one on the enzymes of 

 cacao, and another dealing with ylang-ylang oil standards. 

 Unfortunately the copy of the journal under notice is an 

 imperfect one, several pages of the paper on the enzymes of 

 cacao being absent. It is intended to publish a summary of 

 this important cacao paper as soon as a complete copy has 

 been received. 



A year or two ago reference was made to the ginger 

 lily {JJedi/ckiiim. coronarium) as a new material for paper- 

 making. Another and more recent introduction is Zacatou 

 grass of the genus I'^picampes. It is a Mexican species. In 

 liulletin No. oO!), Bureau of Plant Industry, United States 

 I)epartment of Agriculture, it is stated that the grass can be 

 less expensively employed for paper-making than poplar 

 wood. Paper manufactured from this stock has shown 

 physical tests equal to those of a first-grade machine-finished 

 printing paper. 



The British Government has prohibited the export of 

 logwood from the British West Indies. This has led to the 

 appearance of articles on the subject in the West India 

 Committee Circular, and in the New York India Rubber 

 World. Financially it appears that the West Indies, notably 

 Jamaica, will sirfi'er: while the want of the material will be 

 severely felt in the Unrted States. It is hoped by the journals 

 in question that some more equitable readjustment may be 

 effected. At the .same time it has to be agreed that British 

 requirements must at the present juncture have first consider- 

 ation. 



In T/ie Board of Trade Journal for December 1915, it 

 is stated that a law is to be passed in Colombia providing 

 for State encouragement in the matter of cultivating the 

 mulberry tree, the breeding of silkworm, and the spinning of 

 silk for the requirements of textile manufacturers abroad. 

 Provision is made fo'r the appropriation of about £2,000 

 annually, to be distributed amongst the various Departments 

 of the Uepublic, and used for the foundation and mainte- 

 nance of schools of sericulture, the purchase of spinning 

 machines, and the payment of premiums to producers of 

 silk and cultivators of the mulberry tree. 



In the monthly report of the Agricultural Instructor, 

 Grenada, for December 1915, forwarded to this Office by 

 His Excellency the Governor, it is observed that the 

 general condition of the crops in the Experiment Plots on 

 the settlements at Westerhall and ilorne Kouge was satis- 

 factory. The limes at Westerhall have improved considerably 

 during the past three^ months: these at St. Cyr Mountain 

 Settlement are making good growth, while the crop at Morne 

 Rouge is practically over. Considerable progress has been 

 made in the planting of beans on thej Settlements, and it is 

 stated that the coco-nuts show a good appearance. 



Oil-mixed Portland cement concrete is the subject of 

 a note in the Montlili/ Bulletin of Agricultural InteUii/ence 

 and Riant Diseasis for November 1915. Concrete and mortar 

 containing oil are alin.-st perfectly non-absorbent of water, 

 and arc therefore excellent materials for damp-proof con.struc- 

 tion. The addition of oil, however, does not inirease to any 

 great extent the impermeability of concrete subjected to heavy 

 water pressure. The bond between conciete and plain bar 

 reinforcement is decreased by the use of oil, but when, 

 deformed bar.% wire mesh or expanded metal is used there is 

 no apparent decrease. 



