Vol. XV. No. 368. 



THE AGEICULTUEAL NEWS. 



ls5 



The Colonial Journal. 



In the Colonial Journal, for April lOlG are con- 

 tained Several editorial notes of interest. Amongst 

 the matters given prominence' is thfe "^luestion of trade 

 after the war: and in regard to the widespread feeling 

 that the war should be followed by commercial arrange- 

 tuents with the allies and our autonomous possessions, 

 to the exclusion of Germany, it is pointed out that this 

 feeling is the outcome not onl\- of the profound resent- 

 ment which has been caused by the enemy's military 

 methods, but also of the recognition of the fact that 

 wherever German trade has gone, it has been accom- 

 panied by an insidious political organization; and the 

 proper view, it is submitted, to be taken is that, 

 although economic beliefs remain the .same, the ques- 

 tion has ceased to be purely economical, and that other 

 factors come into play. In support of this view the 

 finding of the Board of Trade sub-committee is quoted, 

 viz: 'That there exists a strong desire to respond to 

 the feeling in our Dominions in favour of an Imperial 

 preference in trade, and that there is ako a strong 

 desire to arrange preferential trading with those who 

 are our allies in the present war.' 



A new prospect is said to be opened up for the 

 Bahamas by a suggestion that the deposits of seaweed 

 sl'.ould be exploited for the purpose of producing potash 

 compounds from seaweed. The current shortage of 

 potash compounds has assumed most serious dimensions, 

 as is seen from the fact that the ordinar}" commercial 

 chloride of potash (80 per cent, muriate of potash) is 

 now quoted in America at siiOO per ton: the rate in 

 July 1914 was S38. Attention has been directed to 

 the possibility of exploiting deposits of seaweed which 

 are present in abundance in the so-called Sarag;issa 

 Sea of the Central Atlantic. Vast amounts of this 

 seaweed are thrown up on the coasts of the Bahamas. 

 In one harbour, the accumulations of hundreds of 

 thousands of tons render navigation at times impossible. 

 The dried kelp obtained from this seaweed is said to 

 contain, on an average, 9 per cent, of potash. 



In regard to the increased consumption of sugar 

 in England, it is suggested that the incre:ise is not 

 altogether real, but is largely due to the manufacture 

 of chocolates and other sweetstuffs which used to be 

 imported from abroad. 



Reference is also made to the increased prices now 

 obtaining for West Indian sugar, but in this connexion 

 it is pointed out, however, that the replacement of beet 

 by cane sugar is being etfected chiefly by Java and 

 Cuba: in the latter island there has been a huge increase 

 of production, so much so that the coming season is 

 expected to see tiOO.OOO tons more than the last. This, 

 it is observed, is a sample of American enterprise, in 

 , which up-to-date machinery plays a great part. And 

 West Indian planters, who are said to be enjoying a 

 ^ood time, and, in some places, 'spending money with 

 the lavishness which usually accompanies a sudden rise 

 of income', are reminded that generally after a lise 

 comes a fall, and that continental beet will again be in 

 the market. 



Influence of Temperature on Soils. 



A paper on soil phj'sics of some importance has 

 been issued by the ilLcbigan College Experiment 

 Station as Technical Bulletin Xo. 22, entitled, Effect of 

 Temperature on Some of the most Important Physical 

 Processes in Soils. Temperature being a dominant soil 

 factor in the tropics, the results contained' in this 

 Bulletin should be noted in the West Indies. Amongst 

 the conclusions arrived -at is one that the capillary 

 movement of water in moist soils is not controll&l 

 entirely by the curvature of the capillary films, as is 

 generally believed, but also by the unsatisfied attrac- 

 tive forces of the soil i'6T water. Again, it is bebeved 

 that the amount of water lost from the soil by water 

 vapour is very small: there is no rising of vapour 

 during the night I'rom the warmer soil below to the 

 cold soil above: and the source of water of the dew is 

 not derived from the soil vapour as is commonly 

 believed. Results have led to the conclusion thac 

 temperature has a very marked influence on the 

 conservation of moisture by mulches. Temperature 

 is stated to have a tremendous influence upon the 

 aeration of soils. 



New Marine Industries for the West Indie?. 



A note in The Wealth of India for February iyi(i, 

 calls attention to the_ desirability of developing the 

 minor marine industries of Madius, which are said to 

 possess undoubted gotentialties, if systematically 

 organized. These industries are — pearl fishery, shell 

 coral, and beche-de-mer collection, turtle breeding, 

 cultivation of seaweed for vegetable gelatine, and so on. 

 This is ot interest in connexion with similar \iews puc 

 forward by the Imperial Department of Agriculture ia 

 regard to the shallow-water resources of the Lesser 

 Antilles, in a recent issue of the West Indian Bulletin 

 (Vol. XV, Xo. 2), under the title of A Method of Sponge 

 Cultivation. This artTcle called special attention to 

 what has been done jn the Caicos Islands near 

 .Jamaica in the matter of gro\ving sponges from 

 cuttings, and in regard to lobster canning, the r.-^ising 

 of turtle, and the collection of conch shells. 



The latest issue of the West India Committee 

 Circular (for May 4. 1916) states that consignments 

 of canned lobster and conch shells have been shipped 

 fi-om Caicos to the United States during the mocth 

 of February 191G, and further consignments ai-e afc 

 Grand Turk awaiting shipment. The Caicos Develop- 

 ment Company report that the area of sponge they 

 have under cultivation is progressing favourably, and 

 that they are still engaged in putting down more. 



It would seem that experiments in the shallow- 

 waters of the Lesser Antilles would be well worth while, 

 considering the small expense and great possibilities 

 involved. 



