380 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November IS, 1916. 



GLEANINGS. 



Statistics of coco-nut cultivation in the Malaya Penin- 

 sula show that there were 82,250 acres under coco-nuts in 

 1915, exclusive of the Straits Settlements. The area for the 

 Federated Malay States in 1915 was 54,822 acres, as against 

 58,027 acres in 19U. 



Bulletin No. 'Zl:l of the Agricultural Experiment 

 ■Station, Kansas, deals with the subject of Soudan grass. It 

 is stated that this grass makes a very palatable hay and that 

 feeding results have been uniformly good. Soudan grass 

 promises to replace a considerable portion of the millets and 

 sorghum sowed for hay purposes in Kansas. 



In connexion with the information given in recent 

 issues of this .Journal as to the control of the house fly, it 

 may be noted that Farmem' Bulletin No. 73J^, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, deals with fly traps and their 

 operation. Different kinds of traps are illustrated, special 

 ones having been designed for manure heaps 



Infectious abortion in cattle is dealt with in Circuhir 

 No. .-'•'', Michigan Agricultural College Experiment Station. 

 It is considered possible that calves may become infected 

 through milk from infected animals. Certain results tend to 

 indicate that children or adults may be aflected bj' the 

 consumption of ravif milk containing the abortus bacillus. 



Under the heading of Three Types of Commercial 

 Vanilla in Tahite, the Experitiient S'ation Record for 

 August 1916, notes that the type called Mexican vanilla is 

 V.planifolia, and that the type called Tahitan vanilla is 

 closely related thereto, but that the type which has been 

 provisionally called V. ti'irei, and which is thought to have 

 appeared there five or six years ago from an unknown source, 

 may be a variation or a hybird. It is said to possess qualities 

 of commercial value. 



Farmers' Bulletin No. 71'), United States Department 

 of Agriculture, deals with the measuring and marketing of 

 woodlot products, and should prove of interest to forestry 

 and land settlement ofliccrs in the West Indies. A section 

 is devoted to cordwood, and rules are given for the measure- 

 ment of timber that has been felled, and for the estimation of 

 standing limber. 



An article in the Empire Review on the romance of 

 lofwood states that the logwood tree is ripe for cutting in 

 ten to fifteen years, although sometimes it is as well to leave 

 it to mature for a longer period. The outer layers of the 

 wood are white, soft and worthless for any purpose other 

 than the fire. No special machine has yet been invented 

 for removing this outer wood. 



Several experitnents have been carried out in Burma, 

 in association with the Imperial Institute, with a view to 

 the production of Tepary beans, which are more suited to the 

 United Kingdom market than those usually grown in Burma. 

 This bean is chiefly grown in the Southern States of America, 

 and in .Mexico. The beans grown in Burma have been proved 

 to possess a high food value and have given good yields. It 

 is expected that Burma will export considerable quantities of 

 this bean in the near future. 



The development of rubber cultivation in Burma has 

 been very considerable during the last five years. According 

 to the India Rubber Journal; 310,2-iOlb. of rubber was 

 exported in 1911-12, but this gradually rose to 1,285,9840). 

 in 1915-10. Jixperience shows that large areas in Burma 

 are suitable for rubber cultivation, and it is considered that 

 an estate in full bearing should yield not less than 350 to 

 -100 ft of rubber per acre. 



Two main series of experiments have been conducted 

 with dynamite in Dominica, (1) to determine the eflect of 

 explosions of the soil among established lime trees, and (2) to 

 determine the eflect of using dynamite in making holes for 

 planting. After a period of two years, it is stated, in the 

 report of the Agricultural Department, that no advantige is 

 to be observed in the treated trees in the first experiment, 

 and the dynamited rows show no advantage whatsoever over 

 the ordinary spade-made holes. 



The Incorporated Chamber of Cominerce of Liverpool 

 Magaztne for August 1916, contains a report of the annual 

 meeting of the African Trade Section. This is of interest 

 in connexion with the deflection of trade in oil nuts from 

 Germany to Great Britian owing to the war. It may be 

 noted that oil nuts are the .source of glycerine which finds an 

 important use in the manufacture of high explosives. 

 Vegetable margerine for human consumption is also prepared 

 from palm kernel oil, but the most important commercial 

 product is soap. 



According to t\i&' Expe)nmenl Station AVcorrf, feeding 

 experiments have been described in which laboratory animals 

 (dogs and hens) were given bread made from mixtures of 

 finely ground seaweed and wheat, rye, and potato flour 

 ] )uring baking the characteristic odour of the seaweed 

 disappeared, and thp bread was found to possess good 

 qualities. In another note in the same publication the 

 composition of seaweed is given as follows: protein from 

 5 to 6 per cent.; fat from 0'9 to 22; starch from 8'4 to 139; 

 crude fibre from 54: to 6'4: ash from 183 to 23-4; and 

 potassium chloride froni 2 5 to 6 '3 per cent. The material 

 is found desirable as "a supplementary feed for poultrj-, grow- 

 ing swine, and horses. 



The subject of nitrogen bacteria and legumes is dealt 

 with in Ihdletin No. !J4 of the Tnivorsity of Illinois 

 Agricultural l",xperiment Station. The ikilletin clearly 

 shows the importance-of bacteria to legumes, one of the most 

 convincing pieces of evidence being that shown in I'late I, 

 where red clover is seen to be undeveloped in a sterilized 

 soil containing no nitrogen, while in an unsterilized soil 

 containing no nitrogen the growth is luxuriant. The 

 investigations also furnish conclusive proof that infected 

 sweet clover soil can be used for inoculating alfalfa fields. 

 It appears that proper inoculation is important for the 

 cultivation of the soy bean. 



