Vol. XI. No. 26.5 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



203 



on the west, to Formosa, Australia, and Xew Guinea on the 

 east. Myrniecophilism (sj-mbiosis with ants), Beccari states, 

 is far more accentuated in I)aemonoro[is than in Calamus, 

 and is particularly easy of verification in D. rerticiUaris. 

 D. miia'jilis, and D. formicaria. The uses of the stems of 

 Daemonorops are nearly equal to those of Calamus, but precise 

 information is wanting, and the real origin of trade produce 

 is often unknown. Dragon's FJlood, 'djernang', of the Malays, 

 is the most important product of Daemonorops. It is 

 furnished in abundance and of the best quality by D. Draco, 

 D. Draroncellus and D. projjiiif/uus With regiird to dimen- 

 sions. Dr. Beccari states in his Monoyrapli of Calavnis that 

 none of the stems he measured exceeded 150 feet; yet Rox 

 burg describes his C ertensiis as having stems 200 yards to 

 3C0 yards long. Certain of the mountain species of 

 Daemonorops are of dawrf, erect habit, and suitable for 

 cultivation in a house of moderate size. For example, 

 D. microthammis. D. monticolns and D. tabacinus scarcely 

 exceeil a yard in height. (The Gardeners' Chronicle, April 27, 

 1912.) 



AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES OF 1 HE 



PANAMA CANAL ZONE. 



There bus been issued recently, t'roni the Office of 

 the Secretary, United .States Department of Agri- 

 culture, Kej)ort No. 95, dealing with the outlook for 

 agriculture in the F'anaraa Canal Zme. In this the 

 following conclusions are reached:— 



Large farming operations are impracticable in the Canal 

 Zone on account of the broken toi)ography. Small farms, 

 operated by the proprietors or under a central directive man- 

 agement, through which crop rotations and handling could 

 be systematized and controlled, constitute the probable 

 course of test agricultural development, especially where 

 valuable perishable products destined for shipment outside 

 the Zone are concerned, such as choice mangoes, avocado.s, 

 pine-apples, mangosteens, chayotes [the ^Mexican star cucum- 

 ber], and other tropical fruits and vegetables which are 

 apijarently well adapted to conditions in the Zone. 



The stap)le crops best adapted to the conditions appear 

 to be corn, cassava (known as 'yuca'), yams of several species, 

 sugar-cane, plantains, bananas, and upland rice, with a large 

 number of other tropical and sub-tropical crops of lesser 

 importance in the Zone, including cacao, coffee, and rubber. 



The methods practised are most primitive and transient. 

 and little effort appears to have been devoted to selecting 

 and developing desirable types, which alone can create an 

 efficient and profitable agriculture. The total crop produc- 

 tion of the Zone at present is in conseijuence very small, and 

 the products in general aie of low quality and incapable of 

 maintaining other than very primitive standards of living. 

 The occurrence of occasional choice .strains and individual 

 trees and plants of superior excellence indicates that great 

 improvement in productiveness and quality of most of the 

 products could be promptly secured by well-directed, sys- 

 tematic plant introduction and plant improvement work. 



The most promising line of attack upon the agricultural 

 problem of the Canal Zone will apparently be to develop 

 a permanent mixed tropical agriculture with a distinct horti- 

 cultural trend, in which hand labour of tropical origin will be 

 the main dependence for tillage. In this way the existing 

 and prospective conditions would favour the production of 



high-priced products requiring regular and frequent transpor- 

 tation service, such as will doubtless be available promptly 

 after the opening of the canal for use. 



One important feature will be the early working out of 

 a method of mixed crojiping, in which soil maintaining and 

 improving leguminous intercrops can be continuously used 

 to replace the wild and intractable native vegetation of the 

 present shack- farm agriculture. 



To quickly and effectively develop such a method will 

 doubtless require some intelligently directed experimental 

 work, as it involves careful study of the whole question of 

 plant relationships and antagonisms — one of the most impor- 

 tant and far reaching problems in tropical agriculture, as 

 well as the control of injurious insects and plant diseases. To 

 meet the obvious needs the following lines of work are sug- 

 gested: — 



(1 ) A careful study of the existing cultivated types of 

 crop plants of the Canal Zone and the adjacent territory of 

 the Republic of Panama, with a view to locating and per- 

 petuating the better strains of such staple crops as have 

 already demonstrated their adaptability to the conditions. 



(2) Systematic introduction of promising types and 

 varieties from other tropical countries, with a view to 

 securing the best and most valuable varieties and strains that 

 have been developed under similar conditions elsewhere. 

 This feature is of special importance in the Canal Zone 

 because of the backwardness of the agricultural industry at 

 the present time. 



(.3) The adjustment of some northern types of vege- 

 tables and other perishable crops to tropical conditions by 

 selection and breeding This will probably be a slow and 

 tedious undertaking, but the fact that the maintenance of 

 the canal will probably necessitate the continuous presence 

 of a considerable i>opulation of northern birth and tastes, 

 which is not likely to be quickly or easily reconciled to 

 tropical vegetable products, renders it well worth while to 

 undertake it. 



(4) The development of more economical, effective and 

 permanent methods of farming, including contouring, tillage, 

 crop rotation, and other points essential to the conservation 

 of soil and the maintenance of soil fertility. Special atten- 

 tion should be given to the introduction and establishment 

 of crops needed for maintaining and encouraging of dairying 

 and the poultry industry, and to the establishment of these 

 industries on a stable economic basis. 



(5) The production of useful timbers on lands not suita- 

 ble or valuable for general agriculture, including such trees 

 as the various spjecies of Eucalyptus, teak, etc. 



The report concludes with recommendations con- 

 cerning the means to be adopted for carrying out the 

 suggestions made, with economy and despatch. These 

 comprise the appointments of agricultural officers tinder 

 the Isthmian Canal Commission or the United Stites 

 Department of Agriculture, the provision of i-xpen- 

 ment stations and plant nurseries, arrangements for 

 co-operative experiments with planters, and the system- 

 atic development of school gardens. 



The next meeting of the British Association for the 

 Advancement of Science will be held at Dundee from Sep- 

 tember 4 to 11. Up to the present, eighty-one meetings of 

 the British Association have been held, one of which took 

 place in Dundee in 1867, 



