Vol. XI. No. 264. 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



18b 



the observation was made that the lime content of grain 

 is much smaller than that of straw: there is more mag- 

 nesia than lime in the former, while the opposite 

 condition obtains in regard to straw. Further, the 

 composition of straw is more susceptible to changes in 

 the amounts of lime and magnesia than is that of grain. 



When the manures applied were rich in magnesia 

 and poor in lime, the lime content df the crop was 

 lowered, while there was an increase in its content of 

 magnesia and phosphoric acid. In determining the 

 exact relation of lime and magnesia in the soil, the 

 varying solubility and absorption of the manures sup- 

 plying them must be considered. 



A last matter of more general interest is that, as 

 with the higher plants, no distinct proportion of lime to 

 magnesia, which was particularly favourable to develop- 

 ment in the case of bacteria, was found. 



Removal of Cattle from St Vincent to the 

 Grenadines. 



The St. Vincent Goivrri'inent Gazette for April 18, 

 1912, publishes a Regulation, made by the Governor-in- 

 Couucil on April 16, 1912, in the place of Regulation 

 No. 10 of the Regulations made by the Governor-in- 

 Council on August 26, 1909 (see St. Vincent Govem- 

 vient Gazette, September 9, 1909), under the authority 

 of the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act, 1869. By the 

 new Regulation the old one is revoked, and the former 

 substituted for it as follows: — 



'No animal shall after the date of these Regu- 

 lations be removed to any of the Grenadines Islands 

 within the Government of this Colony from the Island 

 of Saint Vincent unless the same shall have been 

 vaccinated by a Government Vaccinating Officer as 

 a precaution against Anthrax not less than fourteen 

 days and not more than twelve months prior to such 

 removal, or unless it is accompanied by a certificate 

 signed by the Government Veterinary Surgeon to the 

 effect: (a) that such animal has been taken from an 

 area in which there has been no case of anthrax for 

 fourteen days immediately prior to shipment; (b) that 

 such animal was not taken through an area infected 

 with anthrax while being conveyed to the vessel for 

 shipment, and (c) that the fodder put on board for the 

 use of such animal has not come from an area infected 

 with anthrax.' 



Plant Protection in Papua. 



A Plant Diseases Ordinance was put into effect in 

 Papua during last year, and according to the Territory 

 of Papua Government Gazette for February 7, 1912, 

 a Proclamation has been made by the Lieutenant- 

 Governor declaring that certain diseases and insects 

 shall be regarded as diseases and insects within the 

 meaning of the Ordinance. 



The diseases mentioned are as follows: of coco-nuts — 

 leaf disease, root disease, bleeding disease and bud rot; 



of rubber — root rot; of sugar-cane — leaf disease and red 

 rust. 



The insects that are mentioned are the following: 

 affecting coco-nuts — the Solomon Islands stag beetle 

 {Eurytraclielun pilosipes), Solomon Islands elephant 

 heet]e{X ylotrupes nimrod), Solomon Islands rhinoceros 

 beetle (Tric]iogoraphus scniilinki), Ceylon rhinoceros 

 beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), red beetle or Asiatic palm 

 weevil (Rhynchophctrus ferrugineus), cane beetle 

 (S'phenophorus ohscurus), small palm weevil (Calan- 

 dra taitensis), cabbage beetle or leaf hispa (Brontispa 

 froggattii), copra bug {Necroli% rufipes), the longi- 

 corns Xi.imthrus costatus and Olethrius tyrannus, 

 phasma or leaf insect (Graeffer [Lopaphus] cocophagus), 

 stink bugs (Pentatomidae). 



Proceeding, the proclamation refers in the same 

 way to the following insects: affecting rubber — 

 white ants {Termes sp.); affecting sugar-cane — cane 

 beetle (Sphenophorus ohscurus), leaf hoppers includ- 

 ing Perkinsiella vastntrix. P. lalokensis, P. rattlei, 

 P. cariegata, P. bicoloris, P. papuensis. 



In regard to the diseases, the proclamation men- 

 tions thf following under the heading Fungi: of coco- 

 nuts — Pestalozzia palmarum, and Pythium palmivo- 

 ru'in; and of rubber — Fowies semitostus. 



A Handsome Flowering Plant. 



Tht-Te may be seen in the Dominica Botanic 

 Garden a specimen of Baikiaea insignis, which is 

 a plant belonging to the family of pod- bearing plants 

 (Leguminosae), and is noted for the size of its flowers. 

 Information concerning this plant may be found in the 

 Reports on the Dominica Botanic Station for 1907-8, 

 1908-9, and 1909-10, and in the Agricidtitral News, 

 Vol. VIII, p. 405. 



The following interesting details regarding Baik- 

 iaea insignis are also given in Einige Nutzhtilzer 

 Kameruns, published as appendixes to Notizhlatt des 

 Koniglischen Butanischen Gartens and Museums zv, 

 Dahlem (Appendix XXI, No. 2). The tree reaches 

 a height of about 60 feet; it is provided with short 

 pinnate leaves which bear very stiff, naked, large, 

 elongated leaflets which are often alternate: there may 

 be two or three pairs, or only one. The white flowers 

 are in short racemes, and are among the largest and 

 most splendid flowers of the Leguminosae. The thick 

 calyx is provided with velvety hairs, and is more than 

 3 inches long; the petals are broadly oblanceolate or 

 inverted egg-shaped spatulate, and reach the consider- 

 able length of over 6 inches. 



The account goes on to say that this beautiful 

 flowering tree was discovered originally in Fernando Po 

 (in the Gulf of Guinea), and among much additional 

 information, states that it has also been collected near 

 Loiodorf (in Kamerun), where it was found as a bushy 

 tree 36 to 60 feet high, with a brownish -grey bark, 

 glassy, bright-green leaves, and a not very hard wood. 

 A very similar plant to B. insignis is B. minor, which 

 only differs in the possession of smaller flowers and 

 more pairs of leaflets. 



