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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 2, 1916. 



GLEANINGS. 



Institutions and business establishments which employ 

 a con.siderable number of youths between the ages of fifteea 

 and twenty will be interested to learn of a scheme of 

 education adopted by thejj!tlunicipal Council of .Johannesberg, 

 at their Abattoir and Live Stock Market. On the recom- 

 mendation of the Council, the Education Department conducts 

 classes at the Abattoir, tlius giving these youths an oppor- 

 tunity of improving tliek education and fitting them for 

 responsible positions in various walks of life. This 

 matter is referred to in the report of the Director of Abattoir 

 and Live Stock Markets, July 1, 1914, to .June 30, 1915. 



In the St. Ltuia Gazette for November 11, 1916, 

 a Proclamation appears containing the regulations regarding 

 the maximum price of foodstuffs in St Lucia. The maximum 

 price of flour (white) is fi.xed at 3 id., white loaf sugar 5J-rf., 

 and corn meal 'Ihd. per BE),, respectively. The prices vary 

 according to distance from Castries, the principal town. 



Experiments on the manuring of maize, described in 

 the Rhodesia A(jrindlural,Journii I for August 1916, show 

 that the same land that receives a dressing of manure the 

 previous year is capable of still producing large increases in 

 the yield of maize by virtue of residual value. This opens 

 up the question as to whether the application of manure 

 is worth while i»very year. 



According to a paper in the Journal of Af/ricultural 

 Jiescarch (Vol. VII, 5fo. 2), on the immobility of iron iu 

 plants, various observations on rice and pine-apples grown 

 with insufficient iron seem to show that iron after once being 

 transported to the leaves is immobile. In a general way it 

 would appear that once iron has reached the leaves of plants 

 it is not translocated to other parts of the plant. 



The Colonial Jmirnal for October 1916 contams notes 

 of interest to the West Indies. I'eference is made to the 

 sugar industry from various points of view, including the 

 need for more central factories, together with the economic 

 changes pending in .Jamaica in regard to the substitution 

 of sugarcane for bananas. An interesting business note 

 appears on the running cost of motor vehicles, which has 

 particular reference \n motor lorries. 



Much attention has been given in the rubber journals to 

 a paper by a Russian cheiuist on the mechanism of the 

 process of vulcanization of caoutchouc. In this paper it is 

 maintained that the vulcanization of rubber can be effected 

 without sulphur. This is an important discovery. It seems 

 that an organic compound can be used instead, and apparently 

 more cheaply and effectively. The actual success of the 

 process from a manufacturing point of view has not 

 yet been established. For full information see the Inditi 

 Rubber Journal for September 30, 1916, or the India, 

 Rubber ]Vo7-ld for November 1, 1916. 



According to 7'he Times, it appears that Glasgow has 

 been making requests for larger supplies of sugar. The Sugar 

 Commission have stated that they would be glad to increase 

 supplies available for consumption, butliaving regard to the 

 paramount necessity of restricting the amount of tonnage 

 reijuired for the transport of sugar, they do not feel it would 

 be to the national interests for supplies to be increased at the 

 present time. 



In connexion with the possible shortage of foodstuffs in 

 the West Indies, the Antigua Agricultural Department has 

 issued a leaflet describing the useful characters of the diff- 

 erent provision crops produced locally, and giving directions 

 as to the jireparation of the.se foodstuffs for consumption. 

 It would appear that all the i.slands working in conjunction 

 with the Imperial 1 )epartmcnt of Agriculture arc fully alive 

 to the need for preparedness in regard to the local su[)ply of 

 food 



The rearing of Angora rabbits for their wool is the 

 subject of a useful article in the Journal of the Board of 

 Agriculture (England and Wales) for October 1916. The 

 housing and feeding of the.se animals together with plucking 

 the wool and the marketing of it are described in detail. 

 As the Angora is very susceptible to cold, and warm housing 

 is essential in a temperate climate, the production of these 

 animals might form a ininor industry in the West Indies. 

 There seems to be a special demand for the wool at the 

 present time, and the raising of these animals can undoubt- 

 edly be made a very paying business; but it is advisable to 

 start on a small scale first. 



The first Annual Report of the Committee of the Privy 

 Council for scientific and industrial research was published in 

 September, and has created widespread interest not only in 

 England but also in other places. The observations and 

 recommendations, while more directed to industrial conditions 

 in England, possess significance in regard to agriculture and 

 research in the West Indies. The various Governments have 

 been furnished with copies of this report. The London 

 Chamber of Commerce Journal states: 'The best .scientific and 

 technical education for all engaged in industries and manu- 

 facture is required, and this able report will be most helpful 

 and suggestive to those . who desire that Great Britain shall 

 retain her high place as a nianufacturing country.' 



Useful at the present tinie when attention is being 

 given to the production locally of food and fodder crops 

 is Farmers' bulletin No. 7 iJf, United Suites Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, dealing with the feeding of grain 

 sorghums to live stock. The section dealing with the 

 value and use of the grains states that very often the 

 entire heads are ground up, producing a feed of greater 

 bulk, while the meal resembles corn-and-cob meal in 

 food value. It is desirable at the present time in the West 

 Indies to use Guinea corn for purposes of human consump- 

 tion as far as possible, but its value as a stockfeed may be 

 borne in mind, particularly in regard to the coarser varieties 

 or where there has been a partial failure of the crop, niakina 

 the threshing and winnowing scarcely worth while. 



