•268 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Aui:usT 17, 1912. 



GLEANINGS. 



A report from Nevis shows that welcome rains fell 

 rluring the early part of last month, and that there has been 

 much improvement in the condition of the crops. Cotton- 

 planting had been carried on vigorously, and good stands 

 liad been obtained, but want of rain was indicated at the 

 piid of the month. 



Statistics supjplied by the Malay States Information 

 Agency show that the export of plantation rubber from the 

 Federated Malay States tor last June was 2,30r>,915 lb. The 

 total shipments for the first six months of this year amount 

 to 15,382,265 D).; in the corresponding period of last year 

 they were 8,349,397 ft). 



A note in the Jovrnul d'A;/ri<'iitlin-r 7'ropicale for 

 IVlarch 1912 mentions a wax that is obtained from a kind of 

 banana plant growing in Java. In preparing this the leaves 

 are scraped, and the scrapings are thrown into boiling water. 

 The wax has a melting point of 79' to 80' C'.:its specific 

 gravity varies from 0963 to0970. It is insoluble in alcohol, 

 but dissolves in boiling turpentine. 



A total of 10,885 plants was distributed from the 

 .St. Lucia Botanic Station during July. These included 

 limes 10,350, cacao 350, oranges 20 and mangoes 12, and 

 there were in addition 41 packets of miscellaneous seeds and 

 li fi). of papaw seed.s, the distribution of the last being in 

 connexion with the late increase of interest in the production 

 rif papain, in the West Indies. 



Information receivad from St. Kitts shows that the 

 reaping of the sugar-cane crop of last season is almost com- 

 plete on the estates sending cane to the Basseterre sugar 

 factory; an output of about 3,800 tons was e.v[iected. In the 

 northern districts the reaping was not as advanced, but 

 better returns were being obtained. There had been no 

 increase in the incidence of rind fungus. 



Among laws of agricultural interest that have been 

 enacted in Jamaica during the present year, there are included 

 Laws 6, 11, and 17. These are entitled, in order, A Law 

 for the Encouragement of Agricultural Loan Societie.s, 

 A Law to prescribe a Measure to be used in the purchase of 

 Citrus Fruits by Licensed Produce Dea ers and A Law to 

 prevent the Introduction and Spread of Plant Disease. 



The Philipjiii>'S Free }-'ress of March 30 presents aa 

 account of a modern sugar factory giving a daily output of 

 about 14,000 lb. of 96° crystals that has been erected 

 recently at Talisay, Xegros I.sland. It is proposed to 

 erect one three times as large at Bago. There has also been 

 built a modern mill at San Jose, in the i.sland of Mindorc>. 

 It may he mentioned that an account of the sugar industry 

 of Negros was given in the We^f Indian BuUetin, Vol. XI, 

 p. 207. 



According to Diplomatic and Considar Iiejioit», 

 No. 4875 Annual Series, the crop of Tonka beans (Dipteryx 

 odorata) in Venezuela for 1911 was relatively small, and it 

 is expected that the return for the present year will b& 

 somewhat low. as well. Prices are therefore verj- high, the 

 ijuotation being about £1 5.<. per %. It is expected, 

 however, that next year will be productive, for by that time 

 the trees will have had an opportunity to have recovered, 

 from the e.\hau5ti\e crop of 1909. which was very large. 



I)uring last month, the Agricultural Superintendent, 

 St. Vincent, paid a visit to Amos A'ale estate in that island 

 in company with the flovernment Veterinary Surgeon, in an 

 endeavour to determine the plant or plants that had appar- 

 ently caused recently the poisoning of horses and donkeys on 

 the estate. It is of interest, in relation to articles and notes- 

 that have appeared in the A'jricnltural Keu's, Vols. VIII, pp. 

 222, 261, 363 and 415, and IX, p. 124, that no plant was. 

 found to which suspicion may be attached, except the wild 

 ipecacuanha {Asclep'ias curassavica). 



It is believed that, in the neighbourhood of Quilimane, 

 Portuguese Kast Africa, no less than 2 million coco-nut palms- 

 are possessed by three large agricultural associations, and 

 one-fifth of these are now coming into bearing. According: 

 to l'/<e Hoard of Trade Journal for May 23, l912, it i& 

 expected that the export of copra from the Port of Quilimane 

 should reach an annual value of at least £100,000 in the- 

 next few years. It seems that, as regards East Africa, ths- 

 latitude of the mouth of the Zambesi is the most southerly- 

 limit for productive coconut growing. 



A note on the first meeting of the British Imperial 

 Council of Commerce was given on page 296 of the last 

 volume of the Aaricidtvral Neivs. At the Eighth Congress- 

 of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, held recently, th& 

 following resolution was adopted: That this Congress 

 welcomes the establishment cf the British Imperial Councit 

 of Commerce representing the Chambers of Commerce and 

 Boards of Trade of the Empire as being a permanent link 

 between such bodies, and as a means of giving greater effect 

 to the resolutions of successive Congresses.' 



As was stated in the A (iri cultural News, Vol XI,. 

 p 183, the chanipak tree {Michelia Champaca) is growing: 

 in the St. Vincent Botanic Garden. With regard to this 

 interesting plant, the Bidletin oj the Impierial Institute, 

 Vol. X, p 14S, presents a note on work that has shown the 

 necessity, when it is intended to obtain the oil, of distilling: 

 the flowers immediately after gathering: on standing, they 

 rapidly became dark coloured, possibly owing to the actioa 

 of an oxidase, and less fragrant. The original paper forming 

 the subject of this note appeared in the Philippine Journal 

 of Science, 1911, A, p. 332, and this contained particular? 

 of the cultivation, growth and dimensions of the champak. 



