^G8 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



AuiiusT 12, 1916. 



Conclusions as to the manuring of corn are to be found' 

 in the Phillipine Agriculturisl and Forester for .January to 

 February 1916. In Philippine soils, the use of reasonable 

 amounts of phosphatic manure appears to be profitable. Corn 

 does not seem to show any sign of preferring one form of 

 fertilizer to another as a means of supplying the same element 

 of plant food. Applying large amounts of commercial 

 nitrogenous fertilizers does not pay in the Philippines. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Curator of the E.xperiment Station, Tortola, has for- 

 warded a return showing the quantity of concentrated lime 

 juice exported from the Presidency of the Virgin Islands for 

 the quarter ended June 30, 1916. This amounted to 6 casks 

 containing 240 gallons, valued at £50. 



According to an article in the Gardener's Chronicle for 

 May 20, 1916, leaf spot on vines is closely correlated with 

 the amount of boron compounds in the soil solution. Thfr 

 question has been raised, as to whether the condition of the 

 leaves of sugar-cane grown on 'gall' patches in Antigua may 

 not be caused by the same compounds. Boric acid in solution 

 above a certain concentration is toxic to plants; when present 

 in lower proportions it produces spotting or browning of the 

 leaves. 



We have been informed by the Agricultural Superinten- 

 dent, St. Lucia, that a small patch of Columnrais coffee has 

 been successfully raised by the Agricultural Department 

 and that a few plants will be set out at Reunion Experiment 

 Station for trial. This coffee was described in the Agricvl- 

 tural Neil's. 



By June 30, 1914, fifteen societies with unlimited 

 liability, had been registered in Mauritius under the pro- 

 visions of the Co-operative Credit Societies Ordinance (191.3). 

 The aggregate working capital of these societies amounted 

 to Rs. 125,676, of which a sum of Rs. 37,550 or less than 

 30 per cent, was lent by the Government. 



A paper in Mededeelingen Van Het Proefstation voor de 

 Java Suikerindustrie, on the morphology of the sugar-cane, 

 with illustrations, which is prelinunary to a description of the 

 varieties of sugar-cane, should prove valuable to the same 

 end in the West Indies. Those engaged in the selection of 

 the sugar-cane should give this paper their attention. 



The price of all kinds of skins is so high at present that 

 the Jamaica Agricultural Society is agitatmg that in time 

 tanning might be increased to such an extent in Jamaica that 

 it would be unnecessary to import leather. In connexion 

 with this suggestion, the Journal of the Society reproduces 

 some useful notes on the manufacture of leather. These 

 .show that the defects are — the importance of dryin", trim- 

 ming and curing. Curing is done by spreading ordinary 

 coarse salt evenly all over the hide. 



We have received a copy of the Jamaica Daili/ Gleaner 

 for July 3, 1916, containing a map .showing the level or easily 

 accessible areas in that island which are suggested as being 

 suitable for the cultivation of sugar, Altogether of first 

 class land there is an estimated available area of 84,205 acres 

 and an available area of .second class land amounlinc to 

 33,500 acres. This gives a total of 117,705 acres, which°is a 

 larger area than that estimated by the West India Committee 

 in their recent investigation concerning the extension of the 

 British Colonial sugar industry. 



The Agricultural Department in the Southern Provinces 

 of Nigeria furnishes the native cacao growers with a certifi- 

 cate when their cacao has been cured, according to the rules 

 laid down by the Department. Where a certificate is held, 

 the merchants have willingly given a higher i)rice for the 

 cacao. This practical method naturally appeals to the farmer, 

 and has done much good. 



Reference to the difl:erent species of Castilloa rubber 

 tree will be found in the Bulletin of the Jamaica Department 

 ■of Agriculture (Vol. I, No. 8). There appears to be three 

 different species in Jamaica; Castilloa Gnatemaltaca, the first 

 introduced into Jamaica; Cas^tV/on elastica, the true Castilloa: 

 and C. costaricana, from Costa IJica, of which there is now 

 A small plantation in Jamaica. 



The general result of the Woburn pot culture experi- 

 ments and field experiments with Professor Bottomley's 

 'Humogen" is as follows: Under conditions such as those 

 obtaining in green-house cultivation, and where plants can 

 be regularly watered and tended, a good preparation of 

 humogen may produce a very marked increase in the growth 

 of the green parts of plants and in the growing of green 

 crops, but it will show practically no benefit in the produc- 

 tion of grain. Under natural conditions of crops growing 

 in the open, it has not as yet been established that, as 

 regards the ordinary corn crops of the farm, any advantage 

 is likely to accrue from the use of humogen when used in 

 quantity such as a farmer is likely to be able to afford. 

 Details as to these experiments conducted at Woburn will be 

 found in the Journal of the lioyal Agricultural Society of 

 England, Vol. 76 (1915). 



