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TIM 



AGRICULTURAL NEWfe. 



June 22, 1912 



EDITORIAL NO'llCES 



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 specimens for naming, should be addret-spd to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agi'iculture, 

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giflriciiltiiral ^leii! 



Publications of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture. 



The issue of the Annua! Reports on the Botanic 

 Stations, etc.. in the Wmdward and Leeward Islands 

 has iiow been completed, atid these are available as 

 follows: for Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, 

 Montserraf, Antigua, St. Kitts-Nevis and the Virgin 

 Island?. 



Among the reports, as issued, those for Grenada 

 and Dominica are illustrated, on heavy art paper, by 

 means of halftone blocks showing various jjarts of the 

 respective Botanic Gardens. 



These reports may be obtained from the agents 

 for the publications of the Imperial Dejiartment of 

 Agriculture, price 6(/., post free 7k?.; except in the 

 case of the reports for St. Lucia, Montserrat and the 

 Virgin Islands, the cost of which is Sd., post free id. 



Vol. XL SATURDAY, jrXH 22, 1912 No. 26-5. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this issue reviews the po.'ition of 

 the Reading Courses and Examinations in Practical 

 Agriculture organized by this Department, and makes 

 suggestions in connexion with future work in those 

 courses. 



M'Q'pgc AND COMMENTS The Grenada Land settlement scheme. 



The report of the Land OfHcer appointed in con- 

 nexion with this scheme, for April 1912, shows that 

 applications for the allotment of land to small holders 

 continued to be received. 



Mention was made in the Agricultural News, 

 Vol. X, p. 381, of the intention to erect a small 

 factory for the production of muscovado sugar at Morne 

 Rouge. Subsequently, work in connexion with this 

 was commenced, and it was expected that the factory 

 would be completed during last month. 



During the month under report, the reconstruction 

 of the roads at Westerhall was begun. 



Details of progress of work on the holdings show 

 that these contained no crops at the time of reporting, 

 except (or a small quantity of sweet potatoes and sugar- 

 cane. The settlers at Morne Rouge North and Morne 

 Rouge South were staled to be busily engaged in pre- 

 paring their lots for the coming planting season. 



No work was done during the month on the 

 experiment plot constituted under the Scheme. 



Page 196 contains a short article on the plant 

 known as coco-de-mer or the double coco-nut palm. 

 It is illustrated on the next page by a picture showing 

 a young specimen of the plant that may be seen in the 

 Dominica Botanic Garden. 



On page 199 there will be found an article pre- 

 senting useful information regarding the Manihots, 

 particularly M. dichotoma and 31. piauhyensis. 



The Insect Notes are contained on page 202. 

 They consist of two short articles dealing with the 

 yellow fever mosquito and with silk fish lines. It is of 

 interest that the latter are made in South China from 

 the silk glands of the caterpillars of a moth that has 

 been identified as Saturnia pyretorwm. 



An interesting article will be found on page 20.3, 

 dealing with the sugar 3'ields that were obtained in 

 twenty-two factories in the island of Reunion, in 1910. 



The Fungus Notes of this issue are presented on 

 page 206. They consist of a summary of information 

 concerning the physiological condition of citrus and 

 prunus plants known as gummosis. 



A second article describing experiments regarding 

 the vitality of Para rubber seeds will be found on page 

 207. The former of these articles appeared on page 

 165 of this volume of the Agricultural News. 



A Method of Obtaining Pure Drinking Water. 



The use of chloride of lime for rendering water free 

 from infection, and tit for drinking is thus described in 

 the Journal of the Royal Army Mecliccd Corps, 1911, 

 p. 50. 



'(1) Take a spoonful of chloride of lime, containing 

 about one-third available chlorine, and remove the 

 excess of powder by rolling a pencil or other round 

 object along the toj) of the spoon, or by flattening it 

 with a jienknife blade, so that the excess will be 

 squeezed off. 



'(2) Dissolve the teaspoonful of chloride of lime in 

 a cupful of water, making sure that all lumps are 



