Vol. XV. No. 381. 



THE AGRICULTURAL X£WS 



?99 



consisted of 28,650 onion plants, 2,286 eucalyptus, 100 

 coco-nuts, 95 Prosopis, 50 limes, 37 miscellaneous economic, 

 12 decorative, and $4 cuttings. la addition 110 packets 

 of vegetable seeds were sent out; 1,000 seed coco-nuts 

 ■were imported. In the Botanic Garden large numbers of 

 young eucalyptus were lost on account of heavy rains. 

 Touching staple crops, it is stated that in some places the 

 young cane crop is suffering from a superabundance of water. 

 On the whole, however, the cane crop is making rapid growth. 

 Large numbers of cotton bolls were shed during the latter 

 part of the month. The planting out of onion seedlings has 

 been general throughout the island. Germination was good, 

 and the loss in numbers, due to damping-off fungus, con- 

 .siderably less than in last year. Some attacks of cotton 

 caterpillars have been experienced. A leaflet on the possible 

 -scarcity of food in Antigua has been compiled. The rainfall 

 for the month was 13" 16 inches. The heavy rains which 

 have fallen have retarded the cultivation of land. 



Attached to the Curator's report is a short report on the 

 ■work of Agricultural Instruction for the month. In this it is 

 stated that early planted cottons have suffered somewhat 

 during the month from the recent high winds and heavy rains. 

 Boll shedding is common, and severe attacks of caterpillars 

 have also been exoerienced. One peasant has taken up the 

 cultivation of onions and has purchased 5,000 seedlings from 

 the Botanic Station. During the month the peasants' 

 attention was drawn to the possible shortage of food supplies 

 in Antigua in the near future, and they were advised 

 as to the desirability of the immediate planting of increased 

 areas of corn, sweet potatoes, rassava, and peas and beans. 

 In this connexion 10 packets of rounceval peas were distri- 

 buted amongst the larger growers who had available land at 

 their disposal. 



XEVi.s Jlr. W. I. Howell reports that the cane crop is 

 looking green, but in some places is disappointing, as despite 

 the fine weather the canes are not making much growth. 

 Cotton is ripening but a great part of the crop in some 

 districts has been damaged by the weather, the rains being 

 so continuous that the croD could not be reaped. The storm 

 of October 10 also did considerable damage to the cotton crop 

 along the seacoast. Cotton stainers are fairly plentiful in 

 some fields. The onion crop is doing well; provision crops 

 also continue to do well; a lirge acreage was planted in 

 sweet potatoes during the mcnth: 5,850 sweet potato cuttings 

 and 4,950 onion slips were distributed from the Botanic 

 Station. The rainfall for the month was 1086 inches, and 

 for the year to date, 52"56 inches. 



THE ENEMIES OF BACTERIA IN THE 



SOIL. 



The conclusion that luicroscopic, unicellular 

 animals known as protozoa bring about a reduction in 

 the number of useful bacteria in the soil was put 

 forward by Drs. Russel and H utchinson, of Rothamsted, 

 England, in 191.3. This conclusioo^was much criticised 

 in the United States, and led to much work being done 

 in various places in regard to the subject. The follow- 

 ing summaiy of a paper by Walesman in the American 

 journal. Soil Science (October 1916), shows that further 

 experimental support of the above theory has been 

 obtained: — 



The presence of protozoa seems to check the bacterial 

 numbers, which are found t" i i- ^ninller in the soils where 



the protozoa are present than in the corresponding soils 

 where they are ab.sent. 



The ammonifying efficiency of the soil does not go hand 

 in hand with the changes in bacterial numbers. 



Heating the soil at 65°C. for five hours destroyed the 

 protozoa in all instances but one, and greatly reduced the 

 bacterial numbers; but when proper moisture was added and 

 the soils were allowed to incubate for thirty days, the 

 bacterial numbers increased to almost three times those of 

 the check. There was a corresponding increase in ammonia 

 production in the soU. 



The action for forty-eight hours of i per cent, toluene, 

 which was then allowed to evaporate for forty-eight hours, 

 killed the ciliates, but not the flagellates; this treatment 

 also reduced the bacterial numbers, but they at once increased 

 after the toluene was allowed to evaporate. 



The action of toluene and heat is greatest upon soils 

 having a high content of organic matter, whether the pro- 

 tozoa are active or not. 



The Sassafras soils kept out-of-door gave higher 

 bacterial numbers and higher ammonifying efficiency than 

 those kept under labor,ttory temperatures, and the latter 

 gave higher numbers and ammonifying efficiency than those 

 kept at"30° C. 



The soils with the optimum moisture gave, in the miin, 

 higher bacterial numbers and ammonifying efficiency than 

 those containing full-moisture-holding capacity. 



There may be two types of protozoa in the soil, one 

 injurious to bacteria and to soil fertility, and the other 

 uninjurious and perhaps even beneficial. The beneficial 

 influence of antiseptics upon soil may be due to the killing 

 of the first type of protozoa. 



There are, however, 'other factors, which point out that 

 the improved soil conditions brought about by the action of 

 heat and antiseptics may be due to the improvement of 

 conditions for other organisms, such as fungi, to work in the 

 soil; or the soil itself may be changed in such a manner as to 

 offer new conditions to its micro-organic population. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture left 

 Barbados on Thursday November 30, by the C.K.M S. 

 'Caraquet' for the purpose of paying a visit to Trinidad. 

 Dr. Watts expects to return by the C.R.il.S.'Caraq'uet 

 on December 14. 



Mr. W. Xow,:-il. D.I.C., Mycologist on the Staff 

 of the Imperial 1 Icpartment of Agiiculture, returned 

 to Barbados from St. Vincent by the C.R.M.S. 

 'Chaudiere' on November 29. 



Dr. J. C. Hutson, B.A , Ph.D., arrived in Barbados 

 by the S. S. 'Parini.i" on the 27th., and has assumed 

 charge of the entomological work of the Department 

 pending the return [of Mr. H. A. Ballou, M.Sc, from 

 Egypt. 



