76 



THE AGEICULTUKAL NEWS. 



March 11, 1905. 



GLEANINGS. 



I)iuing tbe past ftu'tiiiglit 114 Uales of West Indian 

 cotton have been imported into (lieat liritain. {West India 

 Committee Cifc-ulav.) 



Tlie mean rainfall for the three districts of !Moiitsevrat 

 during 1904 was a.s follows : — Northern and Leeward, .5-5'24 

 inches: iSonth, 39'70 inches ; and Windward, 33'99 inches. 



According to the half-yearly report of the Secretarj- of 

 the Jamaica Agricultural iSociety, 4,672 lb. of cotton seed 

 were despatched from the office to 21-5 persons for planting 

 purposes. 



The West India Conanittee Circular of February 14 

 contains a portrait of the Hon. Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, 

 and al.so a reproduction of the photograph of the members of 

 the West Indian Agricultural Conference of 1905. 



At the recent Agricultural Show at Trinidad an exhibit 

 of cacao from liiver estate (under the control of the 

 Botanical Department) obtained the first place in open 

 competition. 



Mr. J. H. Hart writes from Trinidad that the applica- 

 tions for seed of the Para rubber tree (Ilevea Iirasiliensis) 

 diu'ing the past two years have represented ten times the 

 quantity produced in the gardens. 



The mncli-talked-of Agricultural Show which was held 

 at Brown's Town, -Jamaica, on February 9, exceeded by 

 a hundredfold in most directions the most sanguine 

 prognostications. [Gleana; February 20.) 



At the half-yearly meeting of the .Jamaica Agricultural 

 Society a member spoke as follows of the Journal of the 

 Society : ' He believed it had a great influence throughout 

 the country and he did not see how that influence could be 

 attained in any other wa}-.' 



In concluding liis report to the Jamaica Agricultural 

 Society on the West Indian Agricultural Conference, 

 ]Mr. J. 1!. Williams .said: 'I have returned with greatly 

 increased appreciation of the value of sudi a meeting and of 

 the value and importance of the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture." 



!Mr. J. C. Lewis, of San Fernando, is the possessor of an 

 orange tree from which was recently picked a most 

 remarkable looking fruit, certainly more like a cro.ss between 

 a lemon and a shaddock than the small onlinary orange that 

 was at the same time jducked from an adjoining twig. The 

 large fruit weighs 27 oz., is 14), inches in circumference, and 

 t*.', inches from stem to top. (I'ort-qf-iS/'ain Ga:etle.) 



Mr. Wm. Clark has been appointed Hon<.irary Corres- 

 jionding Secretary of the lioyal Colonial Institute for the 

 island of (Ircnada. 



It is desirable to announce that it will not be possible 

 to receive further orders for Teueriife onion seed after to-day, 

 the list having been definitely closed. 



The value of the exports of locally grown balata from 

 British Guiana increased from £40,630 in 1902-3 to £45,187 

 in 190.3-4, and of cacao from £2,319 to £3,078. {Anni;al 

 Eeport, 1903-4.) 



At a recent meeting of the Council of the Dominica 

 Agricultural Society, ^Mr. W. 1!. ]]uttenshaw, ;M.A., B.Sc, 

 Scientific As.sistant on the staff of the Imperial Department 

 of Agriculture, was elected an Honorary ]M ember of the Society. 



The London price of Trinidad cacao during 1903-4 

 varied from 58s. to 69i«. per cwt. The price in the previous 

 year was from 58^;. to 67s., while the average prices for the 

 last seven vears were from 66.';. to 72s. per cwt. (Anntial 

 Rei'ort on Trinidad for 1903-4.) 



At a meeting of the British Guiana Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society, the President (the Hon. B. Howell 

 Jones), who represented the colony at the recent Agricultural 

 Conference, exhiliited specimens of cacao, coffee, lime oil, 

 etc., obtained by him while in Trinidad. 



The average output of cotton from Carriacou for the 

 five years 1897-1901 was: raw cotton, 2,095 cwt.; cotton 

 seed, 4,537 cwt. In 1903 the output was 2,688 cwt. of raw 

 cotton and 6,757 cwt. of cotton seed. {Annual Report on 

 Grenada for 1903.) 



According to the Britisli F/iarinacopceia, ground nut oil 

 may be empltiyed in making the official liniments, ointments, 

 and plasters, for which olive oil is directed to be used, in 

 India, the African Colonies, Eastern Colonies, and Australasia. 

 The oil used is tliat obtained, without the aid of heat, from 

 the seeds of Araehis /ii/pot/aea. 



It is desireil to correct an error which appeared in the 

 note on the ' Strength of Hardbacks ' in the Agricultural 

 A'eu'f, Vol. lY, p. 58. It was stated : ' Physiologists 

 estimate that a man can draw -86 per cent, of his own weight 

 and a horse only '67 per cent, of its weight.' These figures 

 should be 8G per cent, and 67 per cent, respectively. 



Hermann Wilfarth, Director of the Agricultural Exiieri- 

 ment Station at Bernberg, Germany, died on November 27, 

 1904. He was associated with Profe.s.sor H. Hellriegel in 

 the classic investigations on the nitrogen feeding of Gramin- 

 eae and Leijuminosae in which the assimilation of the free 

 nitrogen of the air by leguminous plants in syniliiosis with 

 root-tubercle bacteria was first clearly demonstrated and 

 explained. {Experiment Station Record.) 



It is notified for general information that slips of 

 Columbian varieties of cassava will shortly be available for 

 distriliution in Barbados. An account of these cas.savas is 

 given in the Jl'cs/ Indian Bulletin, Yol. IV, pp. 74-8, in 

 which Mr. H. H. Cousins states : ' These Columbian varieties 

 are marked by a very high starch content and arc practically 

 free from j^russic acid.' Applications for cuttings shoidd be 

 made to Mr. J. 11. Bovelj, Agricultural Superintendent, 

 liarbadfjs. 



