156 



THE AORICULTUkAL NKWS. 



May 11, 1»12. 



The Gardeners' Chronicle for February 24, 1912, refers 

 to the fact that the botanical origin of the Irish potato has 

 been a subject of much speculation and discussion, but that 

 little certain knowledge has been gained in regard to it. It 

 states further, that a long and careful investigation, dealing 

 with the anatomy and moqihology of the chief cultivated 

 varieties has led to the conclusion that they are all derived 

 from a common ancestor, and that this ancestor is not any of 

 the known wild tuberous solanums. It is therefore to be con- 

 sidered that the potatoes are varieties of a true species of 

 Solanvin tuberosum. 



GLEANINGS. 



Official returns show that the exports of rubber from 

 Ceylon during the period July to December 1911, amounted 

 to 4,317,064 ft. Of this quantity 2,509,279 ft. went to the 

 United Kingdom and 1,065,850 lb. to the United States. 

 The total export during the similar period in 1910 was 

 2,364,880 ft. 



During the month of March cotton-picking was practi- 

 cally completed in Xevis, and owing to the drought the 

 average yield will be low. The fields were being prepared 

 for planting, with the hope that the weather will be favour- 

 able for earlier sowing than could be carried out last season. 



The quantity of wool produced in the Argentine 

 Republic during the season of 1910-11 was 194,229,275 ft. 

 The similar amount for the season of 1909-10 reached 

 174,405,249 ft. As is shown by these figures, the impor- 

 tance of the wool industry to Argentina is becoming steadily 

 greater year by year. 



The organization of a cotton-growing association is being 

 discussed by Moscow cotton mill owners, who propose culti- 

 vating a number of large plantations in the Caucasus. The 

 required working capital is said to be ready, and will be 

 invested gradually, as suitable cotton land is acquired. (The 

 Textile Mercuri/, February 17, 1912.) 



Attention i.s drawn to a Course of Practical Work in Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry for Senior Students, by T. B. Wood, M.A., 

 Drapers Professor of Agriculture in the I'niversity of Cam- 

 bridge, Fellow of Gonville and Caius College; this is issued 

 by the School of Agriculture, Cambridge. The price of the 

 work, which is suited to the needs of advanced pupils in agri- 

 culture, is 2s. Qd. ne\. 



One of the methods for the purification of water that have 

 been devised most recently consists in exposing it to the ultra- 

 violet rays, that is to say, to the invisible rays beyond the vio- 

 let end of the spectrum. Experiments with the method have 

 been conducted in Germany, which show that the eftect of the 

 rays is greatest when the water is well stirred, and that it 

 increases with the length of the time of treatment. Further, 

 the larger the germ content of the water, the longer is the 

 exposure required. The result of the trials has been to show 

 that the method has not yet been perfected sufficiently to be 

 of large practical use. 



A published letter from the Quebec Steamship Company, 

 Ltd., states that the company is placing large fans on board 

 their steamers ' Guiana", ' Parima', and ' Korona', for the 

 purpose of carrying limes in good condition. The company 

 has decided, besides, that whenever sugar is engaged for the 

 steamers at St. .Croix that would cause a delay of more than 

 two days for loading, the steamer will return to Dominica for 

 fruit, and then proceed to New York, calling at the Northern 

 Islands for mails and passengers only. The change will be 

 made on the understanding that there are at least 800 barrels 

 of limes awaiting shipment in Dominica. 



During the course of experiments conducted in Amani, it 

 was found that the addition of a 1-per cent, solution of cal- 

 cium chloride to the latex of the rubber tree Maiii/iot Glaz- 

 iofii resulted in a fairly good coagulation. A 1 i-per cent, 

 solution of calqium chloride is considered sufficient to bring 

 about complete! coagulation, at the end of the rainy period 

 when the latexfis especially fluid. The use of calcium chlor- 

 ide reduces the cost of the coagulant considerabi}', without 

 injuring the elasticity and nerve of the rubber. Barium 

 chloride, magnesium chloride, and magne.'ium sulphate all 

 proved to be rather strong coagulants, but were not as active 

 as calcium chloride. (From the E.ipeiiinent Stntmn Record, 

 February 1912, p. 141 ) 



In agreement with opinions that have received expres- 

 sion from time to time in the Agricultural Keivs, work that 

 has been conducted at the Pasteur Institute at Nha-Trang, 

 Cochin China, has shown recently that the employment of 

 a special virus for producing epidemics among rats is not to 

 be counted as a serious method of reducing the numbers of 

 these rodents. In presenting the results of the experiments, 

 the JIulletin Agrirole oi Mauritius, for January 1912, draws 

 attention to the fact that the disease produced by the virus 

 shows at first a great activity, but that the ultimate eftect 

 is to produce a race of rats that are immune to it and can 

 therefore, for a time, resist any further effects of the virus 

 when it is introduced among them. 



With reference to the information concerning the Gogo 

 vine (Entada jjcande)is) that was given in the Agri- 

 ndtiiral News, Vol. XI, p. 62, from the Kew Bulletin, the 

 Agricultural Bidletin of the Straits and Federated Malay 

 States for February 1912, mentions this as being a fairly 

 common plant throughout the Malay Peninsula, where it is 

 known under the native name of Akar Beluru. The note 

 goes on to say that the flowers are borne in spikes 6 to 

 10 inches long, but are not attractive, and that the pod, which 

 is said to be 1 to 3 feet long, is spirally curved into 

 a mass, in the Malay plants, and has the appearance of being 

 far too heavy for so slender a climber, which depends, how- 

 ever, on its tendrils for support. 



