THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 16, 1912. 



In a discussion of the direct causes of irregularity 

 in West Indian cotton, it was concluded that the feature 

 is due mainly to interruption of nutrition, whereby in- 

 terference takes place with the building up of ihe fibres 

 during their period of growth. As has been indicated, 

 this irregularity in nutrition may arise from the exist- 

 ence of untoward conditions in regard to weather and 

 insect and fungus pests; it is also brought about by the 

 unequal distribution of the fibres on the seed, whereby 

 the insufficient food-supply of these, where they are 

 most closely crowded together, causes the production 

 of weak fibres. It is a natural circumstance that 

 the control of the conditions under which the plants 

 grow is not entirely in the hands of the agricul- 

 turist, although as has been proved, much can be done 

 toward minimizing the evil effects from pests and dis- 

 eases. The circumstance is quite different as regards 

 the distribution of lint on the seed, for the employment 

 of proper methods of selection will have the effect of 

 bringing about greater uniformity of this; and it may 

 be claimed that much good has resulted already from 

 the simple rejection of clean black seeds from material 

 that is to be used for planting. A last matter for con- 

 sideratiop in relation to the effects arising from unequal 

 nutrition is that the possession of too many seeds by 

 the boll will necessarily be a factor in reducing uniform- 

 ity, and the experimenter and grower are thus faced 

 by a condition that possesses the greatest difficulty in 

 regulation. 



The last subjects for special mention in connexion 

 with the discussions on cotton production related to 

 the obtaining of fixed types, to be employed in cultiva- 

 tion, and the increasing necessity for specialization in 

 agriculture. It was brought forward that an impor- 

 tant feature relating to the first of these is the making 

 of a collection of material showing the different types 

 of cotton, grown and found wild in the West Indies. 

 The second subject — specialization — received its em- 

 phasis in the necessity that increases from day to day, 

 for the assistance of specialists, on the part of agricul- 

 tural departments. 



The discussions at the session during which agri- 

 cultural education was considered dealt mainly with 

 the extent to which nature study and agricultural 

 teaching should be ,taken up in elementary schools, as 

 well as with the scope of such subjects in so far as they 

 are suited for treatment in schools of the kind. Em- 

 phasis was laid upon the importance of the practical 

 treatment of these matters and of the provision of the 

 efficient training of teachers. Attention was also 



given to the means for the instruction in agricultural 

 subjects of those who w ill ultimately hold positions of 

 responsibility as practical agriculturists, and descrip- 

 tions vvcre afforded of the work that had been done in 

 this direction in different parts of the West Indies and 

 in British Guiana. 



In the consideration of the matters brought for- 

 ward in relation to rubber, a (piestion arose, out of the 

 information presented in the first paper read at the 

 session, as to the kinds of soil that are best suited for 

 Hevea cultivation, when it was stated that this may be 

 successful, even in heavy clay soil, if the rainfall is not 

 very large; more rain was wanted, and could be toler- 

 ated, for Hevea on lighter soils. After the elucidation 

 of other interesting kindred subjects, the description of 

 the exploitation of rubber in part of the West Indies 

 and British Guiana served to show that e.xperimenta- 

 tion is done on a large scale and that caution is being 

 exercised in this work of the agricukural departments 

 in order to provide the most accurate knowledge con- 

 cerning rubber introduction and cultivation, and to 

 guard against any inadvisable extension of the industry. 



^luch interest was shown in regard to the choice 

 and manner of importation of Hevea seed, and in refer- 

 ence to the latter, evidence was brought forward to 

 show that the best method of packing is that in which 

 charcoal containing about ten per cent, of actual mois- 

 ture is mixed with the seed in the parcels. The sub- 

 ject of the choice of seeds was discussed in relation to 

 the importance of the possession of an exact knowledge 

 of the nature of the trees that are employed as a source 

 of the seed. In regard to one matter, it is natural 

 that trees which mature earliest should be used to fur- 

 nish the demand for seed; and it is a question of impor- 

 tance, whether such planting material is likely to yield 

 the plants that are best for rubber j^roduction. Some 

 observations have shown it to be probable that the age 

 of the trees furnishing the seed is not of prime impor- 

 tance, as long as they are good jjroducers of latex; though 

 it is naturally safer to employ the older trees for the 

 purpose, as more is known concerning their oualities. 



Consideration of the question of the manner of 

 planting Hevea seemed to lead to the conclusion that,at 

 least as far as some experience is concerned, while wide 

 planting is usually advocated in Malaya, close setting 

 of the plants, with subsequent thinning, has been found 

 successful in the West Indies. The opinions expressed 

 as to the utility of Castilloa as a rubber producer in 

 this part of the world differed materially: it seems that 

 the plant may prove itself useful when planted widely 

 iu conditions that are particularly suited to it, and 



