Vol. XV. No. 367. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



175 



limited root range. (3) Lack of Water. The plant is well protect- 

 ed against drought, but cannot be expected to do more than 

 survive in periods when the comparatively shallow layer 

 penetrated by its roots is dry. This points to the need in 

 dry districts of close planting to shade the ground, mulching 

 of the surface with leives, or the maintenance of an effic- 

 ient dust mulch. (4) Poorly Prepared Planting Material. 

 The existence of the condition known as tangle-root, though 

 its occurrence does not necessarily mean that the plant 

 will be unhealthy, certainly impairs its powers of resistance 

 to root disease, reducing the effective root system and hinder- 

 ing the development of new roots to replace the old. It is 

 caused by the persistence, in a leathery condition, of old leaf- 

 bases at the time when the new roots are growing out behind 

 them, so that these are led to grow around the stem. It may 

 be avoided in joung plants by stripping or trimming the 

 lower leaf-bases before the plants are put in. Decay of the 

 base of the stem, by forcing root development higher up, 

 sometimes induces this condition. Under relatively dry soil 

 conditions stripping is probably always necessary; in wet 

 situations natural decay of the leaves is more rapid, and the 

 operation may be dispensed with. In this connexion Sharp (■■}) 

 a Jamaica grower states: 'We also carefully remove before- 

 hand the leaf sheaths from the base ^.f the sucker so as to 

 allow the roots to grow out at right-angles. If this is not 

 attended to and the plant is unable to throw off the sheath, the 

 roots early tend to become tangled and often twist around 

 the plant, which although apparently healthy for some time, 

 ■will sicken and die when the time for reproduction arrives.' 



In the case of the beds at Grove Station there is no 

 unfavourable factor apparent The soil is a deep black 

 mould, inclined to be sandy, and has been manured and 

 cultivated to what would seem to be a ^uite adequate extent. 



(Jn the other hand, none of the specimens examined, 

 from 1907 to the present time, has revealed the presence of 

 any parasitic organism adequate or constant enough to 

 account for the affection. It is intended to follow up the 

 matter in a .series of further experiments. 



W.N. 



1 1895 Webher, J. H. : Year-Vmok United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, 1895, 281. 



- 19(11 Webber, .J. H. : Bulletin j>f the Butanical De- 

 partmeitt. J itmaira. VIII, 83. 



"•' 1901 Sliarp ; West Indian BhIUHh II, 119. 



* 19U2 Smith, C. E. : BuUelia Botanical Depaitmeni, 

 -Jamaica, IX, llil (Wtd Indian BulMn, IV, 110). 



■'' 1904 Tryfin, H. : Queensland Agricultural Journal, 

 XV, 477. 



" 1907 Lucas, G. L. : Bnlletm Department of Agricd- 

 ■tiire, Jamaica, V, 41. 



^ 1907 Lucas, G. L. : iVid Ind'an Bulletin, VIII, 151. 

 . « 1907 Stockdale, F. A. : West lad^ian Bulletin, VIII, 

 158. 



'■' 1909 Henricksen & lorns : PuHo Bico Agricultw al 

 Experiment Station BvUefin, 8. 



1" 1910 Larsen, L. D. : Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Associ- 

 ation Pafhologicnl Bulletin, 10. 



11 1912 Wester, P. .1.: Philijipine Agrictiltural Review, 

 V. 530. ' 



In a letter received recently from Montserrat, Mr. "\V. 

 Kobson the Curator states that experiments have indicated 

 that local varieties of Lima bean are not very success- 

 ful there when grown on a field scale. He considers that it 

 ■will be necessary first of all to .secure the right type. He 

 suggests concerted action by the different local departments 

 •whereby seed of satisfactory types could be distributed 

 -amongst the departments. The opinions of local officers 

 •would also be welcome in regard to the time of year their 

 particular types should be planted. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the follow- 

 ing report on the London drug and spice markets 

 lor the month of March: — 



In reviewing the Produce Markets for the month of 

 March, it is necessary to say that on this occasion they cover 

 a period of five weeks the first auction having bee.i held 

 on the 2nd of the month and the last on the 30th. Through- 

 out the whole of this period there has been a steady and 

 uniform amount of business in drugs; chemicals and produce 

 generally, both in quantities and prices. The following are 

 some of the details relating to West Indian products: — 



GINGER. 



Throughout the munth ginger has held a firm po.sition. 

 At auction on the 1 5th, good washed Cochin fetched from 46s. 

 to 47s. per cwt., and Sierra Leone 39s. to 40s. On the 22nd 

 common Cochin was quoted at 42s. 6rf., fair at 4.5s., and good 

 washed at 47s. Qd. There were no quotations for .Jamaica, 



SAKSAPAKILLA. 



At auction on the 9th, sarsaparilla was in good supply 

 and fair demand, as follows: Grey -Jamaica, 47 bales were 

 offered and 38 sold at from Is. (id. to Is. 7rf per lb. for part 

 coarse and mouldy, to 1 .v. Sd. for fair grey fibrous. ( )f Lima- 

 Jamaica 17 bales were brought forward, but none sold. Of 

 native .Jamaica 34 bales were also offered, but found no 

 buyers, while for Honduras, 15 bales were sold out of 16 

 offered, fetching Is. 8d. to Is. 9rf. 



CITRIC ACID, KOLA, ANNATTO, CASHEW NUTS, CASSIA FISTULA, 

 LIME OIL, LIME .JUICE, AND PIMENTO. 



Citric acid has been advancing steadily throughout 

 the month. At the beginning it was obtainable at from 

 3s. 2d to 3s. 2^d. per lb. A week later it was reported 

 scarce at 3s. 3d., and at the close of another week it Wi.a 

 almost unobtainable at 3s. od. increasing in the closing week 

 to 3s. 9d. Kola was fully represented at auction on the 

 9tli, by 241 packages but none were sold: 6'/. to 6irf. per lb. 

 was asked for good dried Ceylon halves, and od. to 6rf, 

 for Java; 26 packages of annatto seed were also offered 

 at the sale on the 9th; and 10 were sold, ordinary 

 Ceylon fetching dd. per B). and sea-damaged .Madras 

 iid. to 5\d. Three packages of cashew nuts were offered 

 at the sale on the 9th but none were sold. At the sime 

 auction 6 baskets of East Indian Cassia Fistula were 

 brought forward but found no buyers. The quotation for 

 West Indian distilled oil of lime has been 9s,, and for hand 

 pressed 8s. Gd. At the end of the month, however, these 

 prices had advanced, 10s. to lO.s. 6d. being asked for distilled. 

 Lime juice has been in good supply throughout the month, 

 at from 3s. to .3s. 'id. per gallon. Piuiento towards the end 

 of the month had slightly advanced on previous rates. 



