Vol. XI. No. 275. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



361 



Cotton-buying in Grenada. 



The assent of the Acting Governor of the Wind- 

 ward Islands has just been given to an Ordinance to 

 amend the Cocoa, Nutmegs and Cotton Ordinance, 

 Grenada; it is No. 13 of 1912, dated September 16, 1912. 



By this Ordinance, notwithstanding anything in 

 the Principal Ordinance, it shall be lawful for any per- 

 son to sell, offer for sale or deliver to a licensed dealer, 

 and for any licensed dealer to purchase or take delivery 

 of, cotton at any ginnery, the expression Ginnery mean- 

 ing a building where cotton is ginned, whether it is 

 Government or private property. 



Provision is made for the keejnng of books giving 

 particulars of transactions in cotton, at ginneries, the 

 inspection of such books and the production of the 

 books for inspection. 



According to the Ordinance also, notwithstanding 

 anything in the Principal Ordinance, it shall be lawful 

 to issue half-yearly licenses for the purchase of cotton 

 only, the licenses to expire at the end of the half year 

 and at the end of the year, the price for each being £1. 

 A form is prescribed for such licenses. 



The Ordinance may be cited as the Cocoa, Nutmegs 

 and Cotton Ordinance, 1912, and is to be construed as 

 one with the Principal Ordinance. It may be cited 

 with this as the Cocoa, Nutmegs and Cotton Ordinances, 

 1911 and 1912. 



Growing Vanilla under Mango Trees. 



The Queensland Agricultural Journal for Sep- 

 tember 1912 makes the suggestion that vanilla vines 

 may be cultivated on the trunk and over the lower 

 branches of mango trees. The practical nature of 

 the suggestion is illustrated by reference to a case in 

 which vanilla is raised under some nine large mango 

 trees, planted about 80 feet apart and occupying 

 about xV-acre, the number of vines being about forty 

 In this case the vanilla is growing on rows of posts and 

 rails between the trees, as well as on the trees 

 themselves. 



In such a cultivation, protection from stock must 

 of course be provided. There must not be too much 

 shade, so that this must be lightened in the case of 

 older trees by cutting away some of the middle branches 

 in the centre of the tree, from the inside. It is claimed 

 that this does not necessarily make the tree unsightly. 

 Generally speaking, the proportion o.*' the tree opened 

 up in this way is about one-quarter of the diameter. 



Four vines may be planted at the base of large 

 trees; two or three are sufficient in ordinary cases. 

 Where horizontal branches are available the vines 

 should be trained along them, and later merely draped 

 over them; in their absence rails may be laid from fork 

 to fork or supported on posts. The rails need not be 

 more than about 4 inches, and should not be less 

 than 2 inches, in diameter. 



The opinion is expressed in the article that no 

 weeding, no pruning and no watering -are ordinarily 

 necessary, 'the work of culture consisting of watching 



the vines to prevent their growing out of reach, ijoUia- 

 ating the flowers in season, and harvesting and curing 

 (drying) the beans as they ripen.' 



It should be stated that the article is not intended 

 to suggest that mango trees are the best for growing 

 vanilla, nor is it implied that other trees are not suit- 

 able for the purpose. 



The Direct Assimilation of Nitrogen by Green 

 Plants. 



The Journal of the Chemical Society for October 

 1911 contained an abstract of a paper describing the 

 continuation of work by Messrs. H. B. Hutchinson and 

 N. H. J. Miller, having for its object the investigation 

 of the direct assimilation of inorganic and organic forms 

 of nitrogen by other plants. 



In the work, the plants are grown in water cul- 

 tures, under sterilized conditions which exclude nitrifi- 

 cation, while the nitrogen is supplied in many various 

 forms. 



The greatest assimilation was shown for urea, and 

 several less well-known organic nitrogen compounds 

 were also readily assimilated. Doubtful results w«re 

 obtained with some of the other compounds; others still 

 were not absorbed at all, while one of them proved to 

 be actually poisonous. 



The matter of chief interest is that soluble hwmus 

 was readily assimilated and produced considerable 

 growbh. Peptone was also taken up, but the increase 

 in dry weight of the plants was a good deal less than 

 that with humus. 



The Japan 'Culture' Pearl Industry. 



Part of the report by H.M. Commercial Attache at 

 Yokohama shows that there is a considerable export 

 from Japan to Europe and America of what are called 

 Japanese 'culture' pearls. These have the same appear- 

 ance and nature as the natural oyster pearl, but are 

 obtained by a special process. In the first stage, the 

 oysters are carefully watched and tended until they are 

 three years old, when they are taken out of the sea and 

 opened, and a foreign substance introduced. They are 

 then replaced in the sea and allowed to remain for 

 about four years; after this time the finished pearl is 

 taken from the shell. 



Apart from its origin, the chief difference between 

 the culture pearl and the natural pearl is that it has to 

 be cut from the shell, instead of being found free in the 

 oyster. The consequence is that one part of the 

 culture pearl is inferior in appearance, and this causes 

 the value to be much lower than that of the natural 

 product. 



This information appeared in the Board of Trade 

 Journal for September 26, 1912, where it is stated 

 that some further particulars regarding the industry 

 may be seen by British firms at the Commercial Intel- 

 ligence Branch of the Board of Trade, 73 Basinghall 

 Street, London, E,C. 



