Vol. XV. No. 362. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



95 



Leaving the above subject and turning to the question 

 ■of the movement and loss of water in" soils, attention may 

 be called to an interesting paper appearirig in Vol V, No. XIV, 

 ■of the journal referred to above, entitled 'The Effect of 

 Temperature on Movement of AV^ater A'apour and Capillary 

 Moisture on Soils'. This investigation has led to some 

 interesting conclusions, one of which is that the capillary 

 movement of water in moist soils is not controlled entirely 

 by the curvature of the capillary films, as is generally 

 believed, but also by the unsatisfied attractive forces of the 

 soil for water. Other results are that the amount of water 

 lost from the soil by water vapour is very small; that is, that 

 there is no rising of vapour during the night from the warmer 

 soil below to the cold soil above, and that the water nf the 

 dew is not derived from the soil vapour as is commonly 

 believed. 



Another paper in the same issue deals with soil temper- 

 atures. It is stated as a general conclusion that in temperate 

 countries a system of clean cultivation with a winter cover 

 crop is characterized by extreme diurnal and annual fluctu- 

 ations in soil temperature. A straw mulch equalises these 

 fluctuations to a niarked extent, as does also a grass crop, 

 though in a less degree. 



WASTE LAND AND LOGWOOD. 



An effort is being made by the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment in St. Lucia to encourage the utilization of some 

 of the waste land, particularly that adjacent to the 

 coast, for the cultivation of logwood. Mr. A. J. Brooks, 

 the Agricultural Superintendent, has prepared a leaflet 

 on the subject which gives very useful information. 

 In this it is pointed out that the logwood industry 

 ■was at one time a very appreciable one in St. Lucia, 

 the value of the exports being worth no less than £71,111 

 in 1893. The value of the annual exports now, however, 

 has fallen to about £4,000. One reason for giving attention 

 to the planting of logwood lies in the fact that the market 

 value of logwood is at present high on account of the disrup- 

 tion in the aniline dye trade. At the same time the question as 

 to what the future prices for dyes will be, is an open one. 

 It must be remembered that very strong efforts are being 

 made in the direction of producing aniline dyes in England, 

 and after the war the demand for vegetable dyes is certain 

 to be very much less than it is under the present disturbed 

 condition. There is however a special demand for logwood 

 dye, and in a general way its extended cultivation in the 

 West Indies may be advocated, provided it is only grown on 

 soils where other crops cannot be profitably produced. 



Commercially there are two varieties of the logwood. 

 The first is the valuable variety, the one producing the great- 

 est quantity of dye. This is known as 'red' logwood. The 

 second variety is not valuable, and is known as the 'bastard' 

 logwood. The wood of the useful variety when split through 

 the middle shows a deep red colour throughout, and when 

 a few chips are placed in water it quickly becomes discol- 

 oured. The freshly cut surfaces of the wood of the valuable 

 kind darken quickly upon exposure. On the other hand, the 

 useless variety emits a strong odour when cut, and the surfaces 

 ■do not darken upon exposure. 



The best time for planting seed in .St. Lucia is in 

 ^February and Alarch. A careful search should be made for 



the most vigorous matured trees yielding the highest percen- 

 tage of dye. Before gathering the seed special care shoulc! 

 be taken to see that the tree produces the wood desired, and 

 this is readily done by chipping away a small portion of the 

 sap wood from the main stem, about 3 feet above the soil. 

 By such selection it is possible to increase greatly the 

 amount of dye, and recognition of this fact greatly 

 accounts for the Honduras and Mexican logwoods con- 

 trolling the markets. The seed pods should be stripped oft" 

 when quite mature, and spread out in layers in a cool place. 

 If they are placed in large heaps before they are properly dry 

 they will heat and conmierice to ferment, thus destroying 

 the vitality of the seed. A further selection operation is to 

 pass the seeds through sieves to separate the full from the 

 immature. 



After the young plants have developed in the nurseries, 

 the planting out is a very simple matter. It is not necessary 

 that the lands to be planted in logwood should be lined and 

 holed as is advised for other crops. The soil reqtiires no 

 preparation such as forking and draining, and no wind-belts 

 or shade trees are needed. In dry and exposed localities the 

 plants may be set out at 15 feet apart, and in humid or 

 sheltered situations at 20 feet This will take 193 and 108 

 plants per acre, respectively. When planting, a small circle 

 should be cleared, about 2 feet in diameter, of grass and bush. 

 The soil should not be forked, but a small hole should be 

 made with a spade just sufficiently deep and wide to accom- 

 modate the roots of the plant. Fill up with soil and press 

 the earth with the feet as firmly as possible. The object of 

 this treatment is to prevent the holes becoming filled with 

 water. 



Logwood is unlike other orchard crops, inasmuch as 

 the whole of the tree must be cut down when mature, and 

 not just its leaves or fruit. Owing to this, the question 

 of obtaining a continuous supply arises. Where large areas 

 are available, it may be practicable to divide them up into 

 sections and to plant' a certain area each year. This will 

 guarantee a regular supply being obtained. 



Logwood usually takes from eight to ten years to reach 

 maturity. A saving of two to three years may be made ou 

 the second and following crops, by planting a fresh lot ot" 

 seedlings throughout the plantations, midway between the 

 existing trees after the sixth or seventh year. 



The actual cost of planting out logwood does not 

 amount, on an average, to more than Is. or 2s. per acre. The 

 Agricultural Department in St. Lucia is obtaining through 

 the Imperial Department a supply of logwood seed from 

 Honduras, of the variety which yields the greatest quantity 

 of pigment. The Honduras logwood is known to yield 

 a much higher percentage of dye extract than the Jamaican, 

 and if seedlings of this can be rai.sed for distribution, it will 

 make the prospects of success in this attempt to revive an 

 old industry more promising. 



In conclusion it may interest the reader to know that 

 two articles on logwood appear in Vols. IV and V of the 

 West Indian Bulletin. The first refers to diseases of logwood, 

 the chief one of which is a root rot; and the second article 

 consists of chemical notes on the 'bastard' logwood. In this 

 it is endeavoured to show the ways in which bastard logwood 

 differs in chemical characteristics from the useful variety. 

 An extension of this work in regard to the Honduras logwood 

 to show why it is superior to the West Indian, would be use- 

 ful, and would seem to be indicated. 



