412 



THE AGEICTTLTtrRAL NEWS. 



December 16, 1916. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Journal 6f the Jamaica Agricultimd Societi/ calls 

 attention to the fact that the recent reports of the Department 

 of Agriculture show that the extensive supply of cacao seed- 

 lings for planting up estates is being vvell maintained. At 

 Hope in 1914-15 only 7,591 plants were sent out, but in 

 1915-16 there were 20,024 cacao plants distributed. Alto- 

 gether the department distributed 127,652 of these plants. 



According to the Lours/ana Planter for November 

 4, 1916, the principal variety of sugar-cane now grown in 

 Louisiana is D.74. Out of several hundred varieties that 

 have been tried, D.74 and 1).95 have proved most .suited to 

 Louisiana conditions owing to the fact that they have the 

 highe'st saccharine content coupled with that comparative 

 early maturity that is essential for sugar-cane in Louisiana. 



At a meeting held in Trinidad recently it was strongly 

 urged that the Government should help to establish a co-oper- 

 ative lime juice factory on similar lines to that which is working 

 successfully in St. Lucia. It appears that the cultivation of 

 Jimes is making distinct progress in Trinidad and that at a not 

 very distant date its exports will be considerable. Those 

 interested in lime cultivation in Trinidad should read a paper 

 on the subject published in the I'roccedinys oj the A<jru:ulliiral 

 Society of Trinidad and Tohaqo for October 1916. 



The Agricultural Superintendent, St. Lucia, writes to 

 say that the following agricultural produce was shipped from 

 that island by the S.S. 'Sargasso' on November 16; concen- 

 trated lime juice, 97 casks: lime oil, 35 carboys and cases: 

 cacao, 62iS bags; sugar, 850 bags: and kola, 19 bags. This 

 included 15 casks of concentrated lime juice and 12 carboys 

 of lime oil from the Government lime juice factory, bringing 

 the total shipment for the year to date up to 66 casks of 

 concentrated lime juice and 12 carboys of distilled lime oil. 



The methods of preparing the land for corn culture in 

 the southeastern United States is described in Farmer's 

 Bulletin, No. 729, United States Department of Agriculture. 

 It is stated that on warm, well-drainc<i land, corn in furrows 

 has the advant.-.ge over that planted by other methods, 

 because its growth may be better controlled, serious injury to 

 the roois in cultivating is avoided, and weeds and grass are 

 more easily combated. Methods of preparing furrows and 

 planting in them are described, and special attention is called 

 to the desirability of using the lister. 



An account of the present position of the marine 

 industries of the Bahamas is given in Colonial Repoits^ 

 Annual, No. 900.1915-16. It appears from this that the 

 cause for the diminution in the supply of current sponge is 

 due to the deficiency of shell. Each of these particular 

 sponges has a shell as a base upon which it is attached and 

 growing, and it follows that an abundance of shell in the 

 current means an abundant crop of current sponge. The 

 distribution of shells throughout the current ledge is 

 advocated together with the prevention of the practice of 

 carrying oS both sponge and shell by the sponger. 



In the Experiment Station Record for September 1916 

 a note appears on studies on alkaloid formation in plants. 

 They were carried out with different varieties of tobacco and 

 show that there is no clear and constant relation between 

 the richness of the fertilizer used and the nicotin content of 

 the resulting plant, but they do show an increa.se of nicotin 

 with the age and growth of the plant. The total nitrogen 

 varied during growth according to the variety of plants and 

 the situation of the leaves tested. In the less strongly 

 manured plant, the total protein nitrogen decreased with their 

 age. In the more heavily manured, the content was greater. 



A cojjy has been received of the report on the Botanic 

 Station, British Honduras, for the year 1915. This, as usual, 

 deals merely with work carried on at the Botanic Station. 

 It is noticed that a fine lot of new seedling canes raised 

 from canes imported from British Guiana were raised for 

 distribution, indicating that in this colony also the area under 

 sugar-cane is underyoing extension. There was also distri- 

 buted from the Station a large number of coco-nut and 

 cacao plants. LTnlike the other products, the export of 

 coco-nuts increased during the year 1915, being roughly 7 i 

 million as against less than 61 million, the average for the 

 previous three years. 



An interesting account of the .Jamaica hurricane ot 

 August 15 to 16, 1916, has been prepared by the Govern- 

 ment Meteorologist of that Colony. It appears that the 

 first warnings from Washington placed the centre too far 

 away to the south-east and that the storm came more or less 

 as a surprise to the island. The report contains full obser- 

 vations made at various stations, and the writer uses these 

 to formulate certain conclusions as to conditions which 

 obtained. He employs a formula for determining the velocity 

 of the cyclonic ^\ind3 by the fall in the barometer below the 

 mean, and there are several other similar points in the report 

 which will prove of interest to those who are concerned with 

 the study of storms. 



In reply to a letter concerning assistance in the matter 

 of supplying Tortola with planting material rendered urgent 

 by the recent hurricane, His Honour the Adminstrator of 

 St. Lucia informs this Office that owing to the scarcity of 

 ground provisions locally, the Agricultural Superintendent 

 has only found it possible to forward lA gallons of cowpeas 

 to that island, llis Honour adds, however, that the Leais- 

 lative Council has voted £200 (or the relief of the sufferers. 

 In this connexion it may be added that a relief fund has 

 been started in Barbados and a considerable sum of money 

 has been collected, some of which has been expended locally 

 on lumber which is urgently needed for the reconstruction 

 of houses in Tortola. The Government of Barbados has 

 voted .£100 for this purpose. 



