Vol. XV. No. 381; 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



397 



SULPHITATION IN WHITE SUGAR MANU- 

 FACTURE. By Francis Maxwell, London: Norman Eodger, 

 1916. Pp.72. Figs. 8 + Plates in. Price7s.6rZ.net. 



The shortage in white sugar since the war has not been 

 due so much to actual shortage in raw sugars as to lack of 

 refining facilities. This circumstance lends additional impor- 

 tance to the manufacture of plantation white sugar. Up to 

 the present, Java, Mauritius, and Louisiana are the only places 

 where the sugar-cane factory has been equipped for turning out 

 this grade of sugar ; it is likely, however, that the production 

 of white sugars on the plantation will extend to other places 

 in the future. 



The present volume constitutes a useful source of infor- 

 mation regarding the simplest form of refining process — 

 Sulphitation. The information given is of a simple character, 

 clearly and conveniently arranged, and should prove extremely 

 helpful to the factory worker. The principal points dealt 

 with are the preparation and properties of sulphurous acid; 

 generating plants and their control; action of the acids on 

 juices; application of sulphitation to juice; and sulphitation 

 of the syrup and molasses. A special chapter is written on 

 the sulphitation process in practice, and a description is given 

 of the process as adopted by the leading white sugar 

 countries. An original feature of the book is the summary, 

 which is in the form of questions and answers. The 

 questions are such as would be asked by the practical worker 

 in his training in sulphitation, and the answers are obviously 

 the replies of an expert thoroughly familiar with the various 

 operations involved. 



FIXATION OF ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN. 

 By Joseph Knox: Gurney and .facksons. Chemical Mono- 

 graphs. London, 1914, Price i.s net. 



This book gives an account of the more important 

 processes for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, and more 

 especially of the theory on which they are based. The 

 methods described are those which were in actual operation 

 at the time of writing. Since then, there have been impor- 

 tant developments in Germany whose supply of nitrate for 

 munition purposes depends almost entirely upon the fixation 

 of atmospheric nitrogen. 



It has been suggested that some of the water power 

 at pre.sent running to waste in islands like Dominica and 

 Grenada, in the West Indies, might be utilized to generate 

 electricity for effecting fixation. Lime for neutralizing the 

 nitric acid would be readily obtainable, and it might be 

 possible to produce nitrate of lime for manurial purposes and 

 for export. From the We-st Indian point of view this book 

 Is of particular economic and agricultural interest. 



THE PROGRESS OF LAND SETTLEMENT 

 IN GRENADA. 



The year 191-5-16 saw considerable activity in regard to 

 land settlenaent in Grenada. An account of what was achieved 

 appears in the Report of the Agricultuial Departnaent for 

 1915-16. According to this, the estate known as the St. Cyr 

 Mountain Lands, situated about 10 miles from St. Georges, 

 was acquired by the Government for land settlement purposes, 

 for 462,814 plus the cost of survey, and road construction, etc., 

 which bring up the total cost to £3,.")97 10s. The roads made 

 throughout the settlement for the purpose of giving access 

 from every lot to the bye-ways of the district cost £23-5, and 

 are of a total length of 3i miles. The construction of these 

 roads, also of a li mile connexion passing through the settle- 

 ment and joining up the Beauregard and Adelphi bye-ways, 

 was carried out by the Agricultural Department. 



There are thirty-six lots containing bearing cacao or 

 mixed cacao and nutmeg trees varying in quantity from |-acre 

 to a whole lot, but only a few of them are entirely under 

 these crops. The remaining eighty-four lots were under 

 either bush or forest. The lots average about 2 acres each. 



The sale prices of the lots containing cacao ranged from 

 about £14 to £35 per acre, according to the number and 

 condition of the trees ; and the uncultivated lots were sold 

 at £10 10.5. and £12 per acre. The allottees of the higher- 

 priced lots containing cacao were required to pay not less 

 than a deposit of Is. 3cl, the total value of the lot, with the 

 balance to be paid in five annual instalments. 



The empty lands were sold on the usual land settlement 

 terms of one-fourth or one-twelfth deposit of the value, with 

 the respective balances payable in nine annual instalments 

 commencing three years from the date of allotment, and in 

 eleven annual instalments commencing twelve months after 

 allotment. Interest at 5 per cent, per annum is charged an 

 all unpaid instalments. 



A special committee of the St. Andrew's District 

 Board — the parish in which the settlement is situated — 

 kindly co-operated with the Agricultural Department in the 

 selection of the most desirable settlers. In this connexion, 

 291 applications were dealt with. 



The Superintendent's report on the valuation of the lots 

 for sale was submitted in March 1915; the first batch of 

 applications was dealt with in April, and by the close of the 

 year under review, practically the whole of the lots on the 

 settlement were allotted and occupied. With the exception 

 of a few of the later settled lots, they are being worked, and 

 on some of them very good progress has been made. These 

 results are, on the whole, very satisfactory, and reflect the 

 activity of the Department which, while understaffed, has 

 been responsible for the work. 



The estate is well watered by four tributaries of 

 the Fond Perdu River; the climate is humid, the rainfall 

 being estimated at about 100 inches per annum. 



The soil is, on the whole, a fairly deep loam, dark-brown 

 in colour, or a red clay subsoil interspersed with boulders 

 about 2 feet below the surface, and here and there cropping 

 out. The subsoil is rather close-textured, but the surface soil 

 is fairly friable, and in this respect is amenable to improve- 

 ment by tillage and drainage. It is well suited for the cul- 

 tivation of ground provisions. The cacao can be considerably 

 improved, particularly by attention to the drainage of the 

 land and building up its permanent fertility with supplies of 

 organic matter. 



With the exception of the south-east corner of the estate 

 the land is fertile. There are two warm mineral springs, one 

 in the river, and one at the western end of the estate. 



