Vol. XV. No. 383, 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



431 



We are led to these reflections, based upon experiments 

 recently made in Cuba with a sugar-cane harvester, in which 

 it was found that to cut the canes at the ground line the 

 machine was compelled to 3Ut through a large quantity of cane 

 trash utilized for mulching the growing caue crop, and thus 

 retainingthe moisture in the ground, retarding its evaporation, 

 and the canes thus getting a monopoly of all the moisture 

 the land contained. 



As against this, we in Louisiana, with our more intense 

 cane culture, count generally on petting two crops of cane 

 from one planting; the first, called the plant cane crop, the 

 canes being planted in the fall or early Spring, and the second 

 crop coming off a year later, being known as the crop of first 

 ratoons. Second ratoons are grown to some extent, but by 

 the best cultivators such culture is thought inadvisable, and 

 second ratoons have been practically abandoned in Louisiana. 

 In Louisiana we have generally an adequate rainfall, and we 

 have bottom water not very far below the surface. We thus 

 find that we do not need the mulching that is utilized in 

 Cuba for the retention of the moisture, and get our mulching 

 with the upper 2 inches of surface soil, which during the 

 earlier growing season can be done with weekly working with 

 horse hoes. As soon as the plants are large enough to shade 

 the cane rows, which are ordinarily 6 Feet apart, such 

 ■cultivation ceases, and ordinarily the moisture in the soil 

 is adequate to carry the crop on to maturity and, in fact, it 

 is generally reported that the drier autumns, say, at least 

 from the first of September onward and possibly from the 

 first of August onward, give us the finest cane crop. 



This difference in the climatic conditions and in climatic 

 exigencies constitutes a difference between our culture and 

 that of Cuba that has not yet been studied. We do know 

 that Cuban cane fields are very liable to be attacked by 

 fire, and we can readily see that, aside from the green 

 plant canes growing, the immense mulch of old cane trash on 

 the soil creates a danger that^does not exist in Louisiana, and 

 yet that has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to the 

 Cubans. 



In Louisiana it is thought that to whatever extent the 

 cane trash can be ploughed into the ground sufficiently early 

 to rot it in such a way as will prevent its interfering with 

 subsequent culture, is very advisable. The retained vegetable 

 matter, developing humic acid, sets free the mineral constit- 

 uents of the soil which promote the growth and maturity 

 of the cane plants, and in this way gives to us an advantage 

 in Louisiana that offsets in degree the gains that Cuba has 

 in the retention of moisture by the cane trash mulch on her 

 .soils 



With increasing cane culture and greater care in sugar-cane 

 production, and the fact that other tropical cane countries 

 cannot do as Cuba does, apparently lead to the conclusion 

 that the Cubans will soon be changing their methods into 

 the regular cultural methods practised in most other tropical 

 cane countries. We presume that they never will do the 

 immense amount of hand labour in the field that is practised in 

 Barbados, which island is probably the most advanced place 

 in the world in tropical cane culture, looking at it from 

 a physical point of view. Cuba will avail of machinery as 

 rapidly as she can. It is a generally recognized fact that 

 Cuban cane is short-^^jointed, and when very long is very apt 

 to be slender and does not give the average weight 

 per acre or per hectare or per cabelleria that is expected 

 as an average, and does give a weight of cane produced 

 which in fact scarcely averages better than the average we 

 iret in Louisiana, say, 16 to 17 tons for ratoon canes, and 19 

 to 20 tons for plant canes. {Louisiana Planter, Novem- 

 ber 2:., 1916.) 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKETS. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the follow- 

 ing report on the London drug and spice markets, 

 for the month of ( )ctober: — 



The drug and spice markets during October have beea 

 conducted throughout the month with but very little change, 

 either in bulk or prices, since our last report for September. 

 Buyers continue to be very chary of buying in bulk, and 

 continue to be satisfied by purchasing only in quantities to 

 meet immediate wants. The following are the chief details. 



This has been in very slow demand. At auction at the end 

 of the month the quotations were as follows: Fine .Jamaica. 

 110s., middling to good 90s to 100s. and common to good 

 SOs. to S.5s. Some 32.> bags of rough washed Cochin were also 

 oflered, of which 70 bags of wormy fetched -SOs. per cwt. 

 A very quiet tone has prevailed with pimento throughout the 

 month, at the end of which it stood at 3j^rf. to 3|(7. per ft). 



S.\RS.4PAEILL-^. 



This drug has been in very little demand. The offerings 

 at auction on the 19th of the month were as follows: grey 

 .Jamacia 32 bales, native Jamaica 15, Mexican 54, and 

 Guayaquil 9. Of the grey .Jamaica only 6 bales were sold 

 at Is. \Qd. per ft), for fair, and of native .Jamaica, only 2 

 bales found purchasers, fair native red fetching 10^/. per ft». 

 Xone of the Mexican or Guayaquil was disposed of. 



CITRIC ACID, LIME filL, LIME .TIJICE, ANNATTO SEED, KOLA, 

 CASHEW NUTS, AND CASSI.\ FISTCTLA. 



At the beginning of the month the quotation for eitrie 

 acid was 2.5. 9'.1 per ft). A week later it dropped to 2s. 8^'/., 

 and in the course of another week to 2s. 7|rf. to 2s. Si/ ; 

 at the close of the month it stood at from 2s Ihd. 

 to 2s. %d. West Indian distilled lime oil was well 

 represented at the early part of the month when con- 

 siderable quantities changed hands at 9s. per S). for dis- 

 tilled and lis per ft), for hand-pressed. Towards the end 

 of the month it was stated that these prices had slightly 

 advanced. Fair raw West Indian lime juice was quoted itt 

 the middle of the month at 3s.3d per gallon, which price 

 has remained steady through the month Annatto seed 

 was represented at the auction on the 19th of the 

 month by 21 packages, but failed to find smj purchaser. 

 Kola was also well represented by 167 packages; only 

 69 however found buyers at 5|rf. per ft), for small to 

 bold, slightly dark Ceylon halves; 3^. per ft. was paid for 

 mouldy and wormy; sea-damaged ranged from 4Jr/. to r)\d. 

 Si.xty packages of ca.shew nuts were also offered at the .sale 

 on the 19th but not one was sold; on the other hand, !> 

 bags of Cassia Fistula from Dominica were dispo.sed of ab 

 37s per cwt for bold, part wormy. 



Information has been received in answer to an enquiry 

 from this Office as to the price of the Diston tree-pruning saw 

 which is in use on some estates in Dominica. It appears that 

 the frame and one blade cost $18 per dozen. Extra blades 

 cost 1 5c. These saws, which answer their purpose very satis- 

 factorily, can be obtained from Henry Diston & Sons, 30 i, 

 Broadway, New York. 



