Vol. XV. Xo. 363. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



&9 



The report refers to some interesting ratooning experi- 

 ments. Good results were got by leaving the trash in the 

 fields, thereby conserving soil moisture. When the season 

 is wet, however, cultivation pays, with the exception that 

 the ploughing under of trash in . the ratoons is distinctly 

 unprofitable. 



As in Hawaii, extensive experiments have been made in 

 Queensland in regard to the value of poi-sonous sprays for the 

 destruction of vifeeds. Where the growth of weeds is very- 

 rank it appears that spraying is not profitable. 



Important trials with liming, subsoiling, mixed manur- 

 ing, and ordinary cultivation are recorded in the report. It 

 seems that subsoiling with lime gives a slight advantage 

 over the plot limed without .subsoiling, but not enough to 

 pay for the cost of subsoiling. In the second series, lime with 

 and without manure gave exactly the same result, so that 

 the manures applied were so much waste money. In the 

 third series, the subsoiled plot gave 1'6.5 tons of cane more 

 per acre, which ju.st about paid for the extra subsoiling 

 operations. In the fourth series, manures without lime or 

 subsoiling gave a .slight increase of 1 '86 tons over the plot 

 without manures. The results, however, are so nearly equal, 

 that it is evident, in a year like the present, little or no 

 advantage has been gained from the u.se of lime 

 fertilizers or subsoiling. At the same time it is pointed out 

 in the report that it does not follow that these agents would 

 not pay in normal seasons. 



The report concludes with a. section recording the work 

 of the Division of Entoniolog}-. The principal pest which 

 requires control is the cane grub. Attempts are being made 

 in the direction of trapping by means of attractive odours, 

 killing by the use of stomach poisons, the employment of 

 deterrents, and the encouragement of natural parasites and 

 predaceous insects. 



The Growth of the Stem, Leaf, and Leaf- 

 Sheath of Suffar-cane. — The writer describes a new 

 method for measuring the growth of the hidden leaves and of 

 the upper portion of the stem of the sugar-cane. By insert- 

 ing a needle horizontally in the growing region, holes are 

 made through all the leaves, sheaths, and internodes, which 

 will .serve as points from which to measure the growth 

 of the various parts with respect to the outer sheath 

 which has ceased growth. 



By removing the leaves one by one after a certain time, 

 the displacement of the holes in the different parts of the 

 stem can be measured with respect to the small hole formed 

 by the needle in the outer sheath. The writer discusses the 

 'pros' and 'cons' of this method, and its possible errors. He 

 then describes the structure of the meristem and of the 

 siurrounding parts, as a method for indicating graphically the 

 mode of growth. 



From these determinations the writer concludes that 

 the elongation of the sheath occurs later than the growth of 

 the leaf; that the internode at the- extremity of which 

 the leaf occurs begins to elongate when the growth of the 

 entire leaf has almost finished; that the growth is basipetal, 

 and there is a zone at the base of the internode which has 

 not yet reached its maximum growth when the upper portions 

 have already reached theirs. 



These observations were verified by measuring the cells 

 of the sheaths and of the internodes at various stages of 

 growth. In the cells furthest from the base of the inter- 

 node the growth first reaches its maximum. The growth of 

 the stem was studied by making a long narrow opening in 

 the enveloping sheaths and marking the stem with ink. 

 The same results were obtained by the various methods. 



The writer explains how this mode of growth of the- 

 exterior leaves may be the primary cause of the .symptoms 

 of the disease known in Java as 'top rot' or 'pokkah-bong', 

 and characterized by the rotting of the leaves, or by 

 a defective unfolding of the leaves. (Mimthly Bulletin of 

 Agricultural Intelligence awl Plant Z>w(.sp.«, September 191-5.) 



TRADE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 

 IN 1914-15. 



The British Board of Trade publishes an interest- 

 ing statement of the foreign trade of the Philippines 

 during the years ended June 30, 1914 and 1915, res- 

 pectively. The imports were during the latter year 

 subject to general reductions throtighout, the decline 

 under iron and steel being most marked. The total 

 value of the imports in 19I.";-I4 was $.56,011,-570 and 

 in 1914-15 it was #44,479,861. 



Of greater interest to agriculturists is the state- 

 ment of the exports. 



That the decline in the value of exports which was only very 

 slight, viz., from .r>l, 2.38,048 in 1913-14 to $50,91.5,061 

 in 1914-1.5, was largely due to the increased production of 

 copra, and the enhanced price of .sugar. The quantity of 

 copra exported rose from 70,392 tons, valued at !|8,297,429- 

 in 1913-14, to 146,406 tons, valued at 112,394,712 in 

 1914-15; it will thus be .seen that the increase in value was- 

 not commensurate with the large quantity marketed. It is- 

 remarked that the trade in copra followed the lines of previous- 

 years, with the exception of shipments to Germany, in place 

 of which a new Italian trade of considerable importance was 

 developed. 



The following table shows the quantities and values of 

 the principal exports from the Philippine Islands in the two 

 years ended June 30, 1914 and 1915: — 



Dol. = 4.«. \\d. at par. 



