296 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 9, 1916. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 



NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 ■specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 •Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agiiculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 !News ' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 ■addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents, and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page 3 of 

 •the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, 



Agriculture for the West Indies F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



^ientific Assistant and 



Assistant Editor W. R. Dunlop. 



Untomolotjist H. A. Ballou, M.Sc. 



Mycologist W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



Chief Clerk 

 .Assistant Clerk 



■Clerical Assistants 



Typist 

 .Assistant for Publications 



A. G. Howell. 

 M. B. Connell. 

 rL. A. Corbin. 

 ■ P. Taylor. 



Miss B. Robinson. 



A. B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



Agricultural ^xm 



"Vol. XV. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1916. No. 37-5. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number deals with the subject 

 of agricultural colleges for the tropics. 



On page 292 will be found an account of the 

 working of the Antigua Oovernment Granary during 

 191.5, while on page 294 will be found the results of 

 last season's work at the St. Lucia Government Lime 

 Juice Factory. 



Insect Notes in this issue consist of information 

 concerning the control of a wood-boring larva. Fungus 

 Notes, on page 802, deal with a new fungus on the 



green scale. 



A review of a useful pamphlet on plant propa- 

 gation will be found on page 802. 



Agricultural Credit Societies in Ceylon, 



According to the Tropical Agriculturist, there are 

 now fifty-five registered societies in Ceylon with a mem- 

 bership of 4,800, and a paid-up capital of a little 

 over Rs. 2.5,000. The main object of these socie- 

 ties is to help the villager by lending him money 

 at a low rate of interest to carry on efficiently 

 his agricultural pursuits. Much good has also been 

 done by local societies purchasing and retailing 

 manure to members on easy terms. During 1915 and 

 the first quarter of 191(i, about 81 tons of manure, 

 purchased at a cost of about Rs. 8,450, have been dis- 

 tributed among the members of twelve societies. The 

 bulk of the manure was for paddy land. 



Several of the societies are interested in the 

 improvement of paddy cultivation, and with the assis- 

 tance of the Agricultural Society are making trials with 

 new strains of seed, in transplanting, etc. The starting 

 of gardens has been proposed by more than one society, 

 and it is hoped that these will be established before 

 long. In India the question of amalgamating the 

 departments controlling Co-operative Credit Societies 

 with the Agricultural Departments has been under 

 consideration. In Ceylon the Government anticipated 

 this idea by appointing the Director of Agriculture as 

 the head of the Co-operative Credit movement. 



Owing to local and foreign disturbances this 

 movement has not progressed as much as it thould 

 have done during the past year. 



It is hoped that the members of this Board will do 

 everything in their power to increase the number of 

 Co-operative Credit Societies, and thus help those who 

 are in great need of assistance. 



^^^^^, -^ 



Scientific Research and Industrial Progress 



Though not directly bearing upon agriculture, 

 the address delivered at Colombia University by 

 Dr. C. E. K. Mees, and reproduced in Nature (.July 13, 

 1916) is of general importance in that it shows the 

 necessity for scientific research where it is desired to 

 maintain the leadership in any line of industrial work. 



Referring to the modern industrial research 

 laboratory of the United States, it is pointed out that 

 the triumphs which have already been won by these 

 laboratories are common knowledge. 'The incandes- 

 cent lamp industry, for instance, originated in the 

 United States with the carbon lauip, but was nearly 

 lost to the United States when the tungsten filament 

 was developed, only to be rescued from tliat danger by 

 the research laburatorj' of the General Electric Ctun- 

 pany who fought for the prize in sight and developed 

 first, the drawn wire filament, and then the nitrogen 

 lamp: and we may be sure that if the theoretical 

 and practical work of the research laboratory of the 

 General Electric Company were not kept up the 

 American manufacturers could by no means rest secure 

 in their industry, as undoubtedly, later developments 

 in electric lighting will come, and the industry might 

 be transferred, in part, if not completely, to the 

 originators of any improvement. Manufacturing con- 

 cerns, and especially the powerful well organized 

 companies who are the leaders of industry in this 



