Vol. XI. No. 2-53. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Cambodia Cotton in Madras. 



It is stated in the Agricultural Journal of hvha 

 tor October 1911, p. 3(>5, that Cambodia cotton is prob- 

 ably ot the same species as American Upland, resem- 

 bling it very closely, but being, in the climate of 

 Madras, much hardier and more vigorous and yielding 

 a stronger and fuller lint than either newly introduced 

 American or acclimatized Dharwar American. It 

 responds readily to irrigation, on account of its possess- 

 ion of a tapering taproot which branches freely near the 

 surface of the soil. This protection from drought ren- 

 ders it possible to manure heavily Cambodia cotton, 

 and thus to obtain large yields; the same circumstance 

 explains, however, why it cannot resist prolonged 

 drought if grown on black cotton soils with the aid of 

 rain alone. 



The Flowers of the Papaw Plant. 



It is well known in the West Indies that, although 

 the male and female flowers of the papaw tree are 

 usually produced on separate trees, flowei-s possessing 

 both characteristics (hermaphrodite flowers) and arising 

 in female inflorescences, are often found, and that it is 

 also possible to cause a 'male' tree to bear female 

 flowers and ultimately fruits, by cutting it back. 



L'Agricallure Praticjue des Pays Cliauds fur 

 October 1911 gives attention to an exceptional case, 

 where hermaphrodite flowers aruse in a male inflores- 

 cence, in a note which describes a plant in the Jardin 

 Colonial in Upper Guinea, near Kindia. This plant 

 had already borne male flowers, without fruiting, when 

 suddenly at its full flowering time, it produced long 

 a.xillary inflorescences containing gamnpetalous flowers 

 with normally developed stamens and a rudimentary 

 ovary. At the time of reporting, three fruits had 

 appeared, each about 4 inches long, and soon after 

 a young fruit about half as lart^e. One of the fruits 

 was plucked, and was found to contain numcmus nor- 

 mal ovules. It was not expected, however, that these 

 would attain a true maturity, as their stalks were 

 exhibiting a yellowish tint which indicated premature 

 ripening. 



In presenting the note, mention is also made of the 

 observation of a similar phenomenon, a'oout 1.S87, by 

 a French authority and by travellers in Central Africa. 



The Lower Limit of Available Soil Moisture. 



The Experimeyit Station Record, Vol. XXV, 

 p. 214, gives a method, proposed by Messrs. L.J. Briggs 

 and H. L. Shantz, for determining the lower limit of 

 available soil moisture. This consists in growing 

 plants in a small glass pot, evajjoration from the soil 

 surface being prevented by means of a seal of wax 

 which is melted and poured over the soil surface. In 

 the case of monocotyledons, this wax seal can be 

 applied immediately after planting the seeds, and the 

 seedlings will grow readily through the wax, forming 

 a perfect seal around the stems. In that of dicoty- 



ledons, the wax, which is usually a mixture of parafliu 

 and vaseline having a low melting point and low heat 

 conductivity, can be melted and poured around the 

 stems of the seedlings without injur}^ During growth, 

 the pots are immersed in a water bath to avoid conden- 

 sation of the soil moisture on the pot walls. The water in 

 this bath is stirred constantly to keep the temperature 

 uniform, and a temperature of about 70 and a relative 

 humidity of about S,5 par cent, are maintained. The 

 amoiint of water added to the soil at the beginning de- 

 pends upon the texture, and will vary from 5 per cent, 

 for sand to 30 per cent, for clay. As soon as the plants 

 show unmistakable signs of wilting, the moisture in 

 the soil in the pots is determined, and this is taken as 

 a measure of the non-available soil water. 



Tests of the method with Kubanka wheat seedlings 

 in<licate that the probable error of the mean of the 

 determinations from twelve pots or more does not 

 usually exceed O'l per cent, of actual soil moisture, 

 which is fully comparable to the accuracy with which 

 the soil itself can be defined through its physical pro- 

 perties. 



In these tests, the mean non-available moisture 

 was 2.59 per cent, in fine sand, 966 per cent, in fine 

 sandy loam, and 16'3 per cent, in clay loam. The 

 method is stated to be particularly adapted to the stuily 

 of transpiration. 



Camphor in Formosa, 1910. 



The shipments of camphor, the production of which 

 is a (iovernment monopoly, from Formosa during 1910, 

 amounted to 6,486,272 lb.; of this 35,072 lb. only was 

 taken by Japan. According to Diplomatic and Con- 

 sular Reports, No. 47(i9 Annual Series, it is stated 

 that Japanese refiners have to pay an amount which 

 means 1(/. per Hi. more, for crude camphor, than those 

 in Europe and America, and there has therefore been 

 a strong movement among consumers in Japan to 

 induce the Government to sell the article at the same 

 price in the home and foreign markets. The matter is 

 of particular importance, as the manufacture of celluloid 

 has been taken up recently in Japan. An order has 

 now been issued by the Formosan Government that, 

 from April 1, 1911, the price of camphor exported to 

 Europe shall be raised from £7 .5s. to £7 10s. per case. 



The output of 1910 did not reach the estimate, 

 which is the same as the quantity authorized to be pro- 

 duced, namely, 7,70(),000 lb. The distillation of cam- 

 phor from the leaves is still in the experimental stage. 



All the camphor oil was sent to Japan for the ex- 

 traction of its camphor. 



The Japanese Government has taken strong mea- 

 sures for the subjugation of the savages in the interior 

 of Formosa, and a speedy increase is taking place in the 

 area of forest land under control. The proportion of 

 oil to camphor is much higher from the trees in the 

 south than in the north, and as the new areas are chief- 

 ly in the north, this is a matter of much importance. 



The Government is encouraging the planting of 

 camphor trees, particularly by the distribution of seed- 

 lings from its nurseries 



