348 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



October 21, 1916, 



The influence of pen manure and water upon the bac- 

 terial activities o^he soil is dealt with in a paper in the 

 Jiiurnid of Agricultural Research for September 4, 1916. The 

 ammonifying power of the soil is increased with the/ manure 

 applied up to 25 tons of manure per acre, but the greatest 

 increase per ton ^ manure was obtained in soil receiv- 

 ing 5 tons. The application of manure to a soil in- 

 creases also its nitrifying powers. The application of irri- 

 gation water to a fallow soil apparently depresses its nitri- 

 fying powers. 



GLEANINGS. 



We have been informed by the Agricultural Department 

 in St. Lucia that garden fetes are to be held on October 1 9 

 in the Botanic Gardens at Castries and also at the Agricul- 

 tural Station, Choiseul, in aid of the British Red Cross 

 Society. 



The distribution of plants from the Experiment Station, 

 St. Lucia, during September w^s as follows: limes, 3,450; 

 oranges (budded), 6; decorative and economic, 24. There 

 were also distributed 10 packets of vegetable seeds and 4,000 

 cassava cuttings. 



It appears from the Cyprus Af/riculturalJournalior Jaly 

 19, 1916, that some experiments have been made to find out 

 whether Sakellarides and Sea Island cotton can be satisfac- 

 torily grown in Cyprus. It is stated that the Sea Island 

 seemed a much hardier plant than the Sakellarides but gave 

 much the same yield. The Sea Island stood the cold better 

 but took longer to ripen. The Sea Island gave a smaller 

 proportion of lint to seed than Sakellarides, namely, 98 fl)., as 

 against 108 R. from 315 lb. of unginned cotton. 



It is stated in the Wealth of India for .Jufie 1916 that 

 the Government of Madras has sanctioned the starting of 

 three coco-nut experimental stations on three distinct types 

 of soil at present bearing this crop. It is also proposed to 

 lease two .suitable plantations for the study of cultural and 

 manurial problems. The area under coco-nuts in the 

 Presidency of Madras is approximately 794,000 acres; thus 

 this experimental work would appear to be fully ju.stified, and 

 the results obtained will be fdllnwed with interest in other 

 ■parts of the tropics. 



The shipments of coconuts from Dominica hive aver- 

 aged for the past four years a little over | million nuts yearly, 

 but it is pointed out in the I'eport . of the Agricultural 

 Department for 1915-16, that as the local consumption is 

 considerable, it is probable that the annual production 

 of nuts is over the million mark. Considering how com- 

 pletely dependent Dominica is upon lime cultivation, it is 

 important that every effort should be made to extend the area 

 under coco-nuts. A fair amount of progress is stated to have 

 been made of late in establishing new areas. 



Under the heading of .Molasses ivrsvs Gasolene, the 

 Louisiana Planter for September 9 mikes reference to the 

 motor fuel produced by the South African Xatalite Motor 

 Spirit Company, which has already received attention in 

 a former is~ue of this Journal. It is said that the enterprise 

 shown in Natal in regard to this form of utilizing molasses 

 will stimulate similar, efforts in the West Indies. It will be 

 remembered that the volatility of this fuel is increased by 

 converting some of the alcohol into ether, while the corrosive 

 action of the fuel is overcome by the u.se of an alkali. 



Mention is made in the Journnl of the Royal Society of 

 Ai-ts (.September 8, 1916) of the great opportunity for 

 increasing the production of ct-ment in the Federated Malay 

 States. In ■ Selangor during 1915, 8,825 tons of limestone 

 were quarried and 5,725 tons of cement manufactured, all 

 of which was u.sed locally with the exception of 712 tons 

 exported. The statistics show that cement to the value of 

 £40,000 was imported in 1915, but that is much below the 

 average for the Federated Malay States, which ii nearer 

 £80,000. Cement is imported into the Straits Settlements 

 to the annual value of over ,£200,000. 



A rather remarkable form of adulteration is described in 

 the Agricultural IluUeiin of the Fe'hrated Malty States for 

 June 1916. It has been found that starch is sometimes 

 added to rubber latex with a view to increasing its weight. 

 The starch can be easily detected by boiling the rubber in 

 dilute hydrochloric acid and subsequently in pure water and 

 V)y creping it on a small experimental cn'ping machine with 

 hot water. From a sample by this treatment, the loss which 

 probably consisted almost entirely of tapioca or sago starch 

 ■was 50 9 per cent. 



New editions Lave been published of two books on 

 agricultural chemistry. The first is Dr. E. J. Russell's 

 Memoir on Soil Conditions and Plant Growth. The Experi- 

 ment Station Recot 1 1 Aiates that a i^tw chapter on the 

 relatioi.ship between tile micro organic popiilaion of the soil 

 and the growth of plants, and numerous sections dealing 

 with recent developments of other purts of the subject 

 have been added. The .second book is the Chemistry of 

 the Garden, described as a primer for amateurs and young 

 gardeners, by H. H. t'ousins. This book h is been reprinted 

 eight times since its Svst issue in 1898. This new editioo 

 receives a brief review in S'ature for August 24. 



