Vol. XV. No. 375. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



293 



The following is a suramarized statement of the posi- 



tion:— 



Total weight of cob corn purchased 



Total amount paid 



Price paid 



Total number of persons from whom 



bought 

 Kiln-dried corn sold 

 Price realized 

 Average price per 112 tti. 

 E.xpenditure on bags 

 Expenditure on labour and materials 

 Loss on transaction 

 Per cent, kiln-dried corn on cob corn 

 IMoisture per cent, wet corn 

 Moisture per cent, dry corn 

 !i[oisture per cent, loss 

 Shelling per cent. 



109,y!57 lb. 

 £298 ISs. lOd. 

 6s. Id. per 11-2 B>. 



52 



67,0.S2 lb. 

 £315 3s. 

 10s. CW. 



£13 

 £37 

 £35 

 60-9 

 18-3 

 10-6 

 7-7 

 65-0 



17s. 



9s. 



3s. 



id. 

 lOd: 



9d. 



Id. 



GROWING WRAPPER TOBACCO 

 UNDER SHADE. 



In the Philippine Agriculturist and Forester for .June 

 1916, are recorded the results of interesting work done in the 

 production of cigar wrapper tobacco under .shade »t the College 

 of Agriculture in the Philippines. The object of the work may 

 be considered as the testing under shade of the native 

 Cagayan, Tirona Hybrid and the acclimatized foreign 

 varieties — Turkish Lowland, Vuelto Abajo, Sumatra, and 

 Texas Cuban — to find out in a preliminary way what their 

 respective possibilities are in the production of wrapper leaves 

 under Philippine conditions, as compared with leaf produced 

 in the open tield. 



The cultures were located on a very slightly inclined 

 piece of ground by the IMolawin Kiv(!r, some 40 feet above 

 the river level. The soil is rather heavy and had never 

 been used before for tobacco, although other crops such as 

 rice and sugar-cane had been cultivated on it; and the 

 mere fact that it is not specially adapted for growing 

 'wrapper markedly served to .show the effect of the cheese- 

 cloth cover. 



The seed used in the present work was obtained from 

 the varieties above mentioned, the object of including so 

 many varieties being to find out which ones would profit 

 best by shade culture, and which would not. The seeds were 

 sown in carefully prepared wooden Hats in September 1915, 

 and the seedlings transplanted into prepared seed beds about 

 two nionlhs after in November at distances 4 c.c. part 

 each way, which proved sufficient for the purpose. 



The shade tent was built to cover an area of 774 

 square metres, or about one-thirteenth of a hectare. The 

 cloth used for cover was not of the special weave in common 

 use in America, but the same fabric as is commonly used in 

 the making of mo.squito nets. The area under shelter 

 ■was divided into six plots varying in size according to the 

 number of seedlings available at the time of replanting. 

 Outside the tent, check plots were laid out corresponding 

 to the number of plots inside. 



All the leaves being especially produced for wrapper, 

 harve.sting was done by priming, or the act of removing or 



gathering the leaves singly from the stalk as they severally 

 reach the proper degree of ripeness. Harvesting began in 

 February 1916, and the difference in appearance of the leaves 

 inside and outside the shade tent was so obvious that it 

 seemed as if the outside leaves were ripening earlier; hence 

 these were primed one or two days earlier. 



In the process of curing, the leaves were never exposed to 

 the direct rays of the sun, so that the whole process followed 

 was a cool ' or natural one. The fermentation was done 

 in Manila because, among other reasons, of lack of room and 

 necessary materials in the College, the course adopted being 

 that of aging first and fermentation later, which is said to be 

 the method universally practised in America. 



As to the effect of .shade on the quality of the crop, on 

 the whole, Cagayan and Tirona Hybrid gave the best results, 

 the leaves produced under shade being pronounced as 'equal 

 if not superior to Sumatra but never inferior.' Turkish Low- 

 land, Texas Cuban and Vuelto Abajo gave only fair re.sults. 

 Tables are given, .showing that the burning qualities of only 

 Cagayan Sumatra, and Tirona Hybrid were improved whea 

 shaded, and that there is usually a considerable increase in 

 th^ size of the leaf when grown under cheese-cloth. 



There is also recorded a description of work on fertilizer 

 tests of tobacco carried out at the Agricultural College, 

 to which the following conclusions and recommendations are 

 appended: these should be of interest to tobacco growers in 

 the West Indies: — 



Conclusions. (1) Looked at from the standpoint of 

 financial return.s, the largest gains were obtained from the use- 

 of manure alone Plot (1) and legumes alone (Plot 7). 



(2) From the economic stand-point of the Fillipino- 

 farmer, green manuring, using cowpeas and other leguminous 

 crops, and animal manuring, using horse manure and carabao 

 dung, furnish the cheapest material for the production of 

 better crops of tobacco. 



(3) Systematic and careful application of commercial' 

 fertilizers should be carried out by every large grower so as 

 to determine the needs of his particular soil. 



(5) All varieties used in the test showed a creditable 

 response in height, vigour, and to some extent, in yield, to 

 the fertilizers applied. 



Hecommendations. (1) More extensive and careful study 

 in the fertilization work is needed (a) to obtain better 

 production, (b) to deteri.iine when the quality of each of the 

 different varieties we have at hand reaches its best, (c) and to 

 some extent, to develop the aroma and flavour of their leaves. 



(2) In using any fertilizing material, either commercial 

 or natural, with the aim of increasing the yield of the crop in 

 question, the land should be put in its best possible tilth. 



(3) This work should be repeated in all of the important 

 tobacco-growing districts of the Islands, 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Information has been received to the efiecfc that 

 Mr.H.A Ballou M.Sc, Entomologist to thi.s Department 

 has arrived in E-gypt. A.s stated in a former issue of 

 this journal, Mr Ballon's services have been lent to the 

 Egyptian Government for a year in connexion witb 

 insect problems of cotton production in that country. 



