Vol. XV. No. 364. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



127 



Arnaud found a second form which he calls macro-sporangia, 

 which closely resemble the sporangia of Nematospora. Coryli, 

 Peglion, found in Italy in mouldy hazel-nuts. Sporangia 

 exactly corresponding to both these typei5 are found in the 

 affected cotton bolls, sometimes separately, sometimes 

 together. Some doubt has been felt as to whether they 

 belonged to the same organism, but the association of 

 the two forms in such widely different circumstances, as 

 shown by Arnaud's observation, greatly strengthens the 

 presumption, already made on other grounds, that they 

 are alternative forms of the same fungus. The arrange- 

 ment and number of the macrospores in the cotton 

 boll fungus are those of Peglion's Nemnitospora, and differ 

 somewhat from those shown by Arnaud for Eremothecium; 

 but the form of the macro-sporangium, and that of the actual 

 spores, are very similar in all three cases,^ and the yeast-like 

 budding of Nematospoi-a is characteristic of the corresponding 

 form of the cotton-boll fungus. 



W.N. 



THE VALUE OF SOIL EXPLOSIVES. 



In connexion with the editorial on the question of 

 -soil explosives which appeared in the last issue but one 

 of this Journal, the following summary of experiments 

 Carried out in Kansas, U.S.A., will be of interest. It 

 will be seen that ver^ little benefit was derived from 

 the use of explosives, the general results being in close 

 agreement with those obtained in the West Indies. 

 All available evidence goes to show that there is in the 

 ordinary way, no advantage in using soil explosives. 



A series of experiments was planned to determine the 

 effects of dynamiting on soil, the yield of crops, the moisture 

 content of ihe soil, nitrate development, the bacterial flora, 

 the physical condition of the soil, the leaching of salts in 

 alkali soil, and the growth and vitality of fruit trees. 



The crop planted on dynamited soil produced a higher 

 yield in seven instances, while the crop planted on undynamited 

 soil produced a higher yield in four instances. The greatest 

 increase in yield on dynamited soil was obtained at this 

 station with corn in 1911, when the dynamited plots produced 

 13 per cent, more grain than the undynamited plots. At 

 Agra the dynamited plots produced 17 per cent, less 

 wheat than the undynamited. In most instances the 

 difference in yield was no greater than would occur on two 

 areas of soil similarly treated. 



Moisture determination on a series of nine dynamited 

 ■and four undynamited plots on the Oswego Silt Loam at 

 Manhattan, extending over a period of three years, showed 

 no marked difference in moisture content of the soil. An 

 average of all the determinations gave less than one-half 

 of one per cent, more moisture in the dynamited than in the 

 undynamited land. 



Nitrate determinations on the same plots extending 

 over the same length of time showed no greater formation 

 of nitrates on dynamited than on undynamited soil. 



A count of the number of bacteria at different distances 

 from the centre of a dynamited area two years after the 

 dynamiting was done showed a small increase in bacterial 

 content in both the surface and second foot of soil as the 

 dynamited area was approached. 



A study of the effect of dynamite on the physical 

 con<?itior of heavy, plastic clay soil showed that the 

 explosion fciCfr out the soil particles at the centre of 

 the dynamite Cx^arge into the pore spaces of the soil mass 

 adjoining, thus producing a cavity surrounded by a hard, 

 compact mass. The soil instead of being shattered and 



cracked, was compacted and puddled, and left in pooree 

 physical condition than before the dynamiting was done. 



An alkali soil in the Arkansas River Valley dynamited in 

 the early Spring of 1912, with half-sticks of dynamite placed 

 2 i- feet deep at the corners of 1.3-foot squares had not beea 

 noticeably improved by the fall of 1914. However, there had 

 been some leaching of the salts from the surrounding soil. 



Fruit trees planted on dynamited soil at this station in 

 the Spring of 191 1 made a slower growth and survived ia 

 smaller numbers during the dry seasons following than did 

 trees planted on similar adjoining soil that had not beea 

 dynamited. 



In no instance was there improvement sufficient to pay 

 expense of dynamiting. (Kansas Agricultural Experimenti 

 Station Bulletin, No. 209.) 



BRITISH COTTON GROWING 

 ASSOCIATION. 



WEST AFRICA. Tlie low prices caused by the War have not 

 resulted in any large reduction in planting, as the monetary 

 assistance given by the Association, in co-operation with the 

 Government, the steamship owners, and the merchants, 

 enabled the farmers to dispose of their crops at fair prices. 

 There have, however, been great delays in marketing the 

 crop, and the congestion of traffic on the Government rail- 

 way has caused serious losses to the Association. It wa.** 

 pointed out that the extent of the industry depends on 

 whether it can be made more profitable for the grower, and 

 if the quality can be improved and the buying price increased, 

 there are good prospects of a large increase in the growth of 

 cotton. Experiments have been conducted by Mr. Johnson 

 on the Government Farm at Ibadan with with 'Georgia' 

 seed, which have given very good results. This type of 

 cotton gives a much higher percentage of lint than the 

 native varieties, and if it can be successfully established, it is 

 expected that a great stimulus will be given to cotton culti- 

 vation in West Africa. Only a small quantity of seed can 

 be raised on the Government Farm, and it was decided that 

 the As.sociation, in co-operation with the Government, should 

 make special arrangements with selected native farmers to 

 plant sufficient seed in order to raise a large quantity to be 

 available for general distribution. The Association have 

 arranged to pay a special bonu.s of j'/. per lb. for all seed- 

 cotton grown from Government seed in the season 1916-17. 

 This is estimated to cost £300. The purchases of cotton 

 in Lagos to the end of November amounted to 6,121 bales, 

 as compared with 13,.54l bales for 1914. In Northern 

 Nigeria the purchases to the end of November totalled 723 

 bales, as compared with 653 bales for 1914. 



ucANDA. A report from the Director of Agriculture was 

 read on the Cotton Growing Industry in the Protectorate 

 during the 1914-1-5 season. The report states that the 

 natives have no accommodation for storing such bulky crop 

 as cotton, and as the Ginning Companies refused to purchase 

 cotton except at extremely low prices, there was a big 

 wastage of the product, and much of the crop in a growing 

 condition was uprooted, owing to the absence of a fair market. 

 It is pointed out in the report that the action of the Associa- 

 tion in making arrangements to purchase cotton from the 

 natives at fair prices was of the very greatest assistance in 

 saving the situation. Had it not been for the action taken 

 by the Association, the industry might have been per- 

 manently ruined, as the natives would have lost all confi 

 dence in the crop. The total amount of seed-cotton sold 

 in the Protectorate for the season 1914-15 amounted to 

 13,757i tons, as compared with 24,122 tons for the seasott 

 of 1913-14. 



