Vol. XV. No. 366. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



1.53 



inches in length and possessing si.xteen rows of grain 

 very regularly arranged. Much interest was evinced 

 in the class of exhibits showing methods of preparing 

 corn and corn meal as human food. 



The list of classes was as follows: Class I, twenty- 

 four ears of corn grown by an estate; Class II, 

 12 lb. of shelled corn grown by an estate; Class 

 III, 4 tb. of corn meal and cob meal ground on an 

 estate: Class IV, 4 tb. of corn meal prepared from 

 locally grown corn; Class VII, 8 lb. of corn dm d for 

 fodder; Class VIII, any other article made from any 

 part of the corn plant; Class IX, champion ear of corn 

 exhibited in any class: Class X, collection of dishes 

 illustrating various methods of serving corn and corn 

 meal as food. 



At the conclusion of the show Mr. Cowley moved 

 a vote of thanks to His Excellency for opening the 

 show, and referred to the great interest which the late 

 Governor, Sir Hesketh Bell, had always shown in the 

 maize industry. 



The Antigua Agricultural and Commercial 



Society. 



The useful activities of this Society are summed 

 up editorially in the West India Committee Circular 

 of March 9, where it is said a recent report by the 

 Chairman of the Society 'indicated what a wide field of 

 local affairs the Antigua Agricultural and Commercial 

 Society covers, and what a useful position it fills in the 

 community under its present able management.' 



At a recent meeting mention was made of the 

 success which had attended the recent maize show and 

 the 'At Home' given by the Society on that occasion. 

 The account also contains a report of the Antigua 

 delegates on the recent Cotton Conference which was 

 held in St. Kitts during March. The principal points 

 dealt with are enumerated in this report with particu- 

 lar reference to Antigua, but the report goes on to 

 say, 'it would be impossible to put forward anything 

 like a full account of a conference which lasted for 

 five days, and at which scientific men met practical 

 cotton planters and merchants and participated in the 

 most harmonious and interesting discussions it had 

 ever been the lot of the delegates to take part in.' 



Most consideration in this report was given to 

 matters relating to the protection of the interests of 

 cotton growers. These matters will be dealt with in 

 due coui-se in the articles on the Cotton Conference 

 which are now running in the Agricultural Netvs, but 

 it may be mentioned here, that according to the report 

 under notice, the necessary steps will probably be taken 

 in Antigua to bring about the formation of an Antigua 

 Cotton Growers' Association. This will constitute one 

 important step towards organization and co-operation in 

 the cotton industry throughout the West Indies. 



Improvement of the Sugar Beet. 



From the point of view of selection for improved 

 varieties or strains, the sugar beet differs essentially 

 from the sugar-cane on account of its being propagated 

 by seeds. In selecting sugar beets it is obvious that 



because of the large amount of hybridization that take* 

 place in the field, there naust be produced a much 

 larger number of mutationar'or 'sports' than can appear 

 in the case of the sugar-cane, which is almost entirely 

 reproduced vegetatively. On the other hand, a desir- 

 able strain of beet is not as easily preserved as a desir- 

 able strain of sugar-cane. In other words, there is more 

 chance of coming across beet plants abnornaally rich 

 in sugar, but there is less chance of keeping that strain 

 pure than in the case of sugar-cane. 



In Nature for March 2, 1910, appears an article 

 on the application of scientific methods in the improv- 

 ment of the sugar beet. This shows that from 1838 to 

 1868 the percentage of sugar in industrial sugar beets 

 was raised from 8'8 to 10"1. This was achieved by 

 the so-called 'physical' selection. Then came chemical 

 selection and the palariscope, which caused a rise from 

 101 in 1868 to 18-.5 in 1912. The higher sugar 

 contents were due to some extent to improved methods 

 of individual selection. 



Germinating Coco-nuts. 



There is an interesting and exceptionally well 

 illustrated article on germinating coco-nuts in a recent, 

 issue of the Journal of Heredity which brings out the 

 remarkable adaptations the coco-nut possesses for grow- 

 ing in a dry soil and climate. One illustration shows 

 three stages in the process of germination, indicated by 

 the ditferent sizes and shapes of the cotyledon or 

 'nursing foot' that grows into the central cavity. Ic is 

 stated that the formation of a soft, watery, superficial 

 layer on the endosperm after germination begins, 

 indicates the presence of an active fat-splitting principle 

 in the milk, which partly digests the meat and transforms 

 it into such a condition that it can be readily absorbed 

 by the growing cotyledon. The writer adheres to the 

 theory that the coco-nut is not naturally dispersed by 

 the sea. The cooo-nut probably originated in Central 

 America, and has found its way to littoral or island 

 shores through the agency of man. 



Manchester and Colonial Sugar. 



According to a note and comment in the Inter- 

 national Sugar Journal forMarchl916,the Manchester 

 School of Free Trade has been the backbone of the 

 resistance to all projects for enabling the British 

 Colonies to supply the Mother Country with a larger 

 share of her needs in sugar. It is stated that even 

 at the present time the Directors of the Manchester 

 Chamber of Commerce have recommended that there 

 should be no departure after the war from the old 

 precepts of free trade, and that no restrictions should 

 be placed on imports of enemy goods. At a meeting 

 of the Chamber, however, this recommendation of the 

 Directors was defeated by a large majority ot members, 

 and it would appear that in spite of the views of the 

 Board of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, public 

 opinion in that city is now sufficiently strong to ensure 

 a radical change of policy after the war. 



