?1« 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 6, 1912. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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jriciilturiil fjiviufj 



A New Artificial Manure. 



On page lo3 of this volurne of the Agricultural 

 News, the announcement was made ths^t a new artifi- 

 cial manure called Biphosphate was being produced ati 

 the Notodden Nitrate Works, Norwa}'. 



In the Board of Trade Journal for May 2, 1912, 

 further information is given concerning the iiianure. 

 iV sample of this has been forwarded lo England by 

 the British Acting Cm.sul at Christiaiiia, and it is 

 stated that the product contains 20 per cent, of phos- 

 phoric acid and 28'8 per cent, of nitrate of lime. Of 

 the phosphoric acid, 92 per cent, is in the citrate-solu- 

 ble form, which means that this proportion will dissolve 

 in a standard solution of ammonium citrate. 



The further statement is made that the manure 

 will be placed on the market, in future, with consider- 

 ably higher percentages of both phosphoric acid and 

 nitrogen. 



Ifoh. XI. SATURDAY. JULY 6. 1912. No. 266. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



•Contents of Present Issue. 



In this number the editorial commences a review 

 of certain Theories Concerning Soil Fertility. The 

 subject will be concluded in a second editorial article, 

 in the next issue of the Agricultural News. 



On page 212, an account is presented of recent 

 -work concerning, and theories in connexion with the 

 embryony of the seeds of the mango. 



Among other matter.*, page 213 contains an illus- 

 "trated article dealing with Phoenix canariensis and 

 some allied species of Phoenix. The plant illustrated 

 is at present growing in the Dominica Botanic (iardens. 



The same page presents an account of the stages 

 ■of development of the chicken in the e^g. Although 

 the times that are given for the stages described are 

 not invariably followed under differing conditions, the 

 imatter forms an interesting short description of the 

 J)rocess of growth before the chicken is hatched. 



The Annual Report of the British Cotton Growing 

 Association for 1911 is reviewed at some length on 

 pages 214 and 21-5. The omission of certain interesting 

 matters was necessary for want ol' space, but these may 

 receive attention at some future time. 



The Insect Notes, on page 21.S, are concerned with 

 an illustrated article describing recent entomological 

 work in Fiji. 



On page 222, the Fungus Notes give an account of 

 work connected with exanthema and squainosis of Cit- 

 rus plants. It may be considered as a continuation of 

 the article on gummosis of Prunns and Citrus, in the 

 last number of the Agricultural News. 



The Vitality of Farm Seeds. 



The last number of the Agricultural News con- 

 tained an article dealing in a general way with the 

 vitality of seeds. The information given there may be 

 supplemented by details that are contained in an ab- 

 stract describing work in connexion with the same sub- 

 ject, which ajipears in the Journal of the Board, of 

 Agriculture for May 1912, the seeds in this case being 

 those usually in emiiloyment on an English farm. 



The experiments that are described were designed 

 for the purpose of finding: (1) the time that certain 

 seeds live when stored under ordinary conditions; (2) the 

 annual loss of vitality; (3) the real value of seeds kepb 

 for one or two years; and (4) the rapidity of germination 

 of the seeds that were chosen. 



Among cereals, the vitality of barley and wheab 

 seeds changed little during the first five years, but there 

 w.as a rapid total loss of vitality during the next five 

 years. The similar periods in the case of white oats 

 were nine and five years: while for black oats they were 

 nine and seven years. The greater vitality of oats is 

 attributed to the fact that the glumes do not fall away 

 as chaff, so that the seeds are protected. 



Allseeds of grasses died between the eighth and 

 thirteenth year, though there was much variation 

 among the different kinds in the way in which the loss 

 cjf vitality took place. 



Seeds of different sorts of clover, generally speak- 

 ing, lose little vitality during the first three or four 

 years; there is then a rapid loss for another three or 

 four years, and it takes an additional similar time 

 for the last 10 per cent. i>f the seeds to die. 



There was a remarkable drop in the germination 

 of seeds of turnips and allied plants during the tenth 

 year; and practically all the seeds were dead by the 

 thirteenth year. 



With reference to the rapidity of germination, the 

 detailed results are of little interest in this place. An 

 observation of a general nature was made, however, to 

 the effect that seeds specially slow in germinating all 

 showed more rapid germination in the second year 

 than in the first. 



