31G 



THE AGRICULTURAL KEWS 



September 28, 1912. 



GLEANINGS. 



A report by H. M. Consul-General at Ispahan, Persia, 

 shows that the cotton crop of that district is expected to be 

 about 50,000 cwt. At the time of reporting about 11,600 cwt. 

 remainert over from the previous crop. 



A note in the Journal of the Royal Hwiety of Arts for 

 August 16, 1912, states that, according to an Italian 

 Consular Report from Katavia, the production of rice in 

 Java, in 1910, was 4,932,554 long tons. 



The Biivfeii Xntii'iifi, Berlin, dated August 7, 1912, 



htates that the prospects are good for the present season's 



ootton crop in Togoland. In 1911 the yield was 1,137,400 lb.; 



,in the previous year it wa.s 1,027,400 lb. It is expected that 



the former return will be exceeded. 



It is announced by the Superintendent of Agriculture, 

 Grenada, that several thou.sand lime seedlings are ready at 

 the Botanic Station, for sale locally. Cane plants (of B. 147) 

 to the number of 50,000 have also been imported by the Agri- 

 fultiiral Department from Antigua, for .sale in the island. 



By the end of August, most of the cotton lands in Nevis- 

 had been planted, and the young crop was making good 

 progress. It w^as expected that about 2,500 acres of land in 

 the island would be planted this year, about 280 acres oi 

 which had been cleared specially for the purpose. Cotton - 

 picking had begun during that month, and fairly goo"i 

 returns were being received, on estates where the seed was^ 

 sown early. 



In order to save them from the torment of Hies, a writer 

 ill the July number of Tin Animals' Friend suggests that 

 when horses are 'summered' in pastures they should be 

 turned out only at night, and kept in their stables during the 

 daytime, or at any rate durinu the hotter hours. {Nature, 

 August 22, 1912). 



The Agricultural Superintendent, St. Kitts, reported iit.^ 

 August last that the young cotton in the island was growing 

 well, and appeared to be healthy, in spite of the dry- 

 weather. Although there had been only moderate showers, 

 there was every prospect for a good return from the crop:, 

 picking had begun in some of the earlier planted fields. 

 The cotton worm had appeared on some of the estates, but 

 had done little damage, because the usual repres.sive means- 

 had immediately been taken. 



The plant distribution from the l»ominica Botanic- 

 Station during last month included the following: linieg;- 

 8,781, cacao 300, vanilla 50, Para rubber 12, nutmegs 6, 

 grafted mangoes 2, miscellaneous 37, the total being 9,18f>- 

 plants: a large number of papaw seedlings, as well as severaE 

 pounds of seed of this plant, were also sent out. The rain- 

 fall for the month was abnormally low, the precipitatiorc ■ 

 being only 488 inches, while the average rainfall for August^ 

 for eighteen years, is 10 12 inches. 



The announcement is made that the Cambridge I'niver- 

 sity Press intends to publish a series of Cambridge Agri- 

 cultural Monographs, dealing with agricultural subjects in 

 a critical and impartial manner, and sutticiently detailed tf^ 

 be of use to all readers, but especially to tho.se who have 

 not access to a well-equipped reference library. The subjects 

 that are proposed so far for treatment are: the strength of 

 wheat Hour, the constitution of the soil, disease resistance, 

 inorganic plant poisons and stimulants, the chemical composi- 

 tion of cows' milk, nitrogen fixation by .symbiotic processes,,. 

 and poisonous plants. It is hoped to publish the first 

 volume in the autumn of 1913. 



It was reported by the Agricultural Superintendent, 

 !St. Vincent, in August, that the cotton crop although in 



■ ■A backward state was making fair progress, and that the 

 same may be said of other staiile crops. Coconut planting 

 was being continued on a large scale, but trouble was still 



'l>eing experienced from the white fly, in certain districts. 



The plant distribution from the St. Lucia Botanic 

 iSUtion during last month included the following: limes 

 1 1,500, Liberian coffee i04, cacao 50, mangoes 9, nutmegs 

 T, decorative plants 41, various other plants 31, vegetable 

 . eeds, 107 packets, horse beans Z\ gallons, papaw .seeds 2 ft). 

 Tlie total distribution from this station reached 11,742 

 p'.;\nt,s. 



An abstract in the Experimeni ^Station Record for 

 June 1912, p. 723, summarizes the results of experiments- 

 which were conducted in Utah with .soils containing a higlt 

 percentage of magnesium compounds. The investigation in- 

 stated to have shown quite clearly that the high proportion 

 of magnesia is not poisonous to plants, either because the 

 ratio of magnesia to lime is within 1 : 3, which in accord- 

 ance with Loews suggestion is favourable to growth, or- 

 because the calcium and magnesium are present in the form 

 of a double carbonate, so that there is actually little 

 magnesium carbonate free as such in the soil. The latter 

 suggestion lead.s to the proposal to use magnesian limestone 

 for correcting soil acidity. With further reference to the 

 subject, the A(iri<idlural News may be consulted as follows^ 

 Vol's. IX, pp. 95 and 204; X, pp. 60 and 328: XI, p. 184. 



