Vol. XI. No. 26?. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



24'. 



The Citrus Chamber of Sicily. 



It is stated in Diplomaiic ami Consular Reports 

 ^'o. 4S71 Annual Series, that at the lime of issue it 

 was not possible to review ihe Annual Report of the 

 Camoi'a Agrnniaria of Sicily, for the season ending 

 November 3(», 1911, as this was still in course of pre- 

 paration and not available for furnishing facts before 

 its publication. 



It is concluded, however, that the accumulated 

 stock of 5, .50-1 metric tons of citrate of lime existing on 

 November 30, 1910, must have been reduced, for the 

 exports of citrate of lime during 1911 amounted to 

 ■S,14S metric tons, or nearly 30 per cent, more than in 

 1910; wliile the published experts of lemon.s during 

 1911 were little more than those of the previous year. 

 It is considered that the pros])ects for the present year 

 are normally good. 



The Typhoid Bacillus and the House-fly. 



The Experiment Station Record, Vol. XXVI, 

 \) 2.51 (issued .March 20, 1912), quotes from a paper 

 fjhat appears in the Journal of Jlyyicne (Cambridge), 

 1911, p. '6-V-i, showing the results of experiments that 

 indicated that, although the larvae of the house- Hy were 

 led liberally with matter containing typhoi<l bacilli, 

 there were no signs of the presence of Bacillus 

 typhosus in the pupae or the perfect insect reared 

 from the larvae, as long as the original eggs were not 

 disinfected. If on the other hand, the ova were disin- 

 fected, pure growths of the typhoid bacillus could be 

 obtained from both larvae and pupae; so far, imagines 

 had not been e.Kamined in regard to the matter. 



The result of the investigation is expressed in the 

 paper as follows: 'From the practical point of view the 

 main conclusion to be drawn from the experiments 

 ■detailed in this communication is that the typhoid 

 bacillus can lead only a very precarious existence in 

 the interior of larvae or pupae which possess, at least 

 in so far as these investigations warrant, a well-defined 

 bacterial flora of their own. Even under the highly 

 .-irtificial conditions of the final -series of experiments, 

 it was not possible to decide whether the B. typhosus 

 though recoverable fiom the pii})a was really actively 

 ■suultiplying in the ]iupal interior or gradually dying 

 t)ut. There was some indication that the latter 

 •was the case, as the typhoid colonies recovered from 

 xhe pupa in the one successful instance were extremely 

 few in number, while the larvae which had been 

 .feeding on B. tijpliosus contained enormous numbers 

 a,s evidenced both by cultural and microscopical 

 • examination.' 



This note may be read in connexion with an article 

 entitled the House-fly and Man, in the Agricultural 

 J^eim of October 14, 1911, in which emphasis is laid 

 Jipon the importance of reducing as much as possible 

 the number of places in which the conditions exist that 

 are favourable for the breeding of the fly. With refer- 



ence to the' matter generally, it must be remembered th:i6 

 although many dangerous germs may not survive easilv 

 in the intestines of the Hy, they may be readily carried 

 in dirt on its 'feet'. 



^i^»-«-^ 



School Gardens in British Guiana. 



A review of ih^ present position regarding school 

 gardens in British ({uiana is contained in the Repurfc 

 of the Inspector of Schools for 1911-12. It is stated 

 that the besD success is obtained where the teacher 

 shows an active interest in the garden, and it is agreed 

 that every school would be the better for a garden, not 

 necessarily for obtaining a Government grant, but 

 a garden of flowers and shi-ubs possibly, kept in proper 

 order by the teachers and pupils theinselves. 



The statement is made that there are about 100 

 gardens attached to aided schools in British Guiana, 

 and it is thought that all of these are doing a certain 

 amount of good, at least during some parts of the year. 

 Much difiiculty has arisen, however, from the unusually 

 long dry season, especially where it was far from easy 

 to obtain watei-. 



It has not been found that the making of notes by 

 the children on their work has been successful, because 

 of the lack of proper knowledge of what should be 

 entered in the note-book, and of the usi> of anything 

 that may have been written. It is therefore suggesterl 

 that it may be sufficient, for many yeais to come, for 

 the teachers to employ, instead, the writing of simple 

 compositions on the work done in the garden, particu- 

 larly respecting operations that require careful manipu- 

 lation and close observation. 



Euphorbias Yielding Rubber. 



An abstract in the India-rubber Journal for 

 •June 15, 1912 mentions E. Tlrucalli, E. lactijlua, 

 E. fulca, E. elastica. E. antvjuoruni and E. Cotti- 

 mandoo as some of the chief Euphorbias which are 

 exploited or mentioned for their latices. Gf these 

 E. I'li-titlua, from C'hili, gives a latex with the highest 

 caoutchouc content, reckoned on the dry substance; 

 this was from 3 9 to 5 per cent. The caoutchouc con- 

 tent of the latex of E. Tlrucalli has been found to be 

 4 per cent., of that of E antiquorum o 5 per cent, and 

 of that of E. elastica 32 per cent ; it is probable how- 

 ever that the last mentioned plant may not be actually 

 a Euphorbia. Of these three species, the first comes 

 from East Africa, the second from India and other 

 Countries, and the third from Madagascar. 



Like that of E. elastica, the late.K of E. f'ul<u 

 contains much rubber as compared with the content in 

 Eu])horbia latices, in general, but it is to be noted that 

 the sjiecies has been renamed E n phorbodendron ful~ 

 vum. 



As is stated, the amount of resin in Euphorbia 

 rubber is always a high multiple of the amount of 

 rubber. This is so in the case of the latex from 

 E. Tlrucalli, which is used for varnishes. 



Information regarding these and other Euphorbias 

 was given in the Agricultural News, Vol. IX. pp. 41, 

 7(3, 109, 180, 232 and 39(3. 



