28 



THE AGKICULTUllAL NEWS. 



January 28, 1905. 



GLEANINGS. 



The Grenada (lovcrnnimt Gazette for .Jaiuuu'y 3 contains 

 a list of plants for sale at the Botanic Station dining the 

 j-ear 1905. These include fruit and economic [ilants, climbing 

 Iilant.s, foliage and flowering [ilant-s, aquatic plants, palms, etc. 



The Jourmtl tVAr/riculture Troplcale for December 

 190-1 gives an account of the artificial drying of cacao. The 

 article is based on the account given in the West Imlinn 

 Bitllctiix (Vol. II, p. 171) together with other note.s since 

 published in the A'jvirulfural Keics. 



In the Animal Eejiurt on Jamaica for 1903-4 it is 

 stated as a result of the hurricane of August 1903, there was 

 more forking and trenching done than there would otherwise 

 have been, whilst there was a larger planting for the ne.^t 

 spring's crop than in any jirevious year. 



The new buildings of tlie East Java E.xperiment Station 

 were opened on October 8, 190+, by Mr. V. C Coster van 

 Yoorhout, President of the directors of the E.\|itrinient 

 Station. A full account of the proceedings, together with 

 a photograph and plan of the new buildings, is given in 

 a recent i)ublication of the station. 



A recent issue of Indian Planting/ and (lardeninr/ 

 contains an article by ilr. H. Maxwell-Lefroy, Entomologist 

 to the Ciovcrnment of India, on the subject of the danger of 

 introducing insect pests. He suggests the fumigation of 

 living plants with hydrocyanic gas, and gives directions for 

 the use of benzine, carbon l)isul[)hide, etc., by tho.se who have 

 not facilities for using hydrocyanic gas. 



The stock of cotton at the ports of Great Britain to-day 

 amounts to 847,o.")0 bale.s, against 527,900 bales at the close 

 of 190.3, and consists of 765,080 American, 2,370 Brazilian, 

 44,010 Egyptian, 15,670 Peruvian, etc., and 20,420 East 

 Indian. (Liverpool Cotton A.ssociation 'Annual Circular,' 

 December 29, 1904.) 



In the annual report on the villages under the control 

 of the Central Board of Health, British Guiana, the Inspector 

 states : ' Complaints about priedial larceny still continue as 

 bitter as ever. I know of cases where industrious farmers 

 have abandoned some of their lands rather than jilant them 

 for the benefit of thieves.' 



Specimens have been received from the Secretary of the 

 West India Connnittee of .six sets of the picture post-cards 

 alreadj' referred to in \.]ie Arjricultural Neirs {\o\. Ill, p. 364). 

 The sets are as follows: (1) West Indian Yiew.s, (2) West 

 Indi-Tn Life, (3) Barbados, (4) Briti.sh Guiana, (5) Jamaica, 

 and (6) Trinidad. These are sold, in packets of si.v, price M. 



The highest pnint of the market for American cotton 

 during the year was on February 2, when middling American 

 was cjuoted 8'96'/. per lb., and the lowest jioint on 

 December 29, when it was quoted at 3-63</. per It). The 

 average value for middling American for the year is 6-6(/. 

 per K). (Liverpool Cotton Association 'Aniuial Circular.') 



Mr. C. A. Barber, Government Botanist, Madra.s, has 

 recently proved to sugar-cane giowers in Godavery that 

 lis. 80 an acre can be saved in the cost of cultivation by 

 adopting the West Indian practice of tying the canes 

 them-seives together, with only an outer support of bamboos, 

 instead of bamboo supports all through. (Indian Planting 

 and Gardening.) 



The movement for the extermination of niosquitos at 

 Antigua, started by the Governor, is progressing. The 

 object is jirimarily to di.s.seminate knowledge concerning the 

 relation of mosquitos to tropical diseaseis and to induce 

 people to take active steps towanls destroying moscpiitos. 

 Lectures, with magi<: lantern views, bearing on the .T-ubject 

 are to be given. ( ir^/ Indii Conaaittec Circular.) 



His Majesty's Consul at Batoum has recently addressed 

 a letter to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs relating 

 to the position of some 30,000 families of Turkish Armenian 

 tobacco planters who have been ordered to leave the country. 

 It is suggested that as these people are familiar with all 

 labour connected with tobacco growing, they might be 

 a desirable acquisition in colonies rc(piiring skilled labour for 

 agricultural iiurposes. 



In answer to the question : ' What are the advantages of 

 the shook swarm V Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, a i)rominent bee 

 keeper in America, stated at the recent Chicago-Xorthwestern 

 Bee Keepers' Convention that there was no advantage, except 

 that it put the swarming at a time when the bee keeper 

 could take care of it. He urged that the colonies be shaken 

 only when the bees were making preparations to swarm. 

 (Gleanings in. Bee Culture, December 15, 1904.) 



The progress and present prospect of Para and Castilloa 

 rubber should justify the establishment of large Government 

 plantations in suitable centres, which, in course of time,, 

 would be a valuable source of seed for general distribution 

 throughout the protectorate. This would make a provision 

 for L'ganda in the future as a rubber-producing country^ 

 (Report of Director, Scientific and Forestry l)epartment,. 

 Uganda.) 



Jamaica products occupy an important position in the 

 Chri.stmas fruit trade this season. The famous thin-skinned 

 oranges from that colony sold for from 10s. to 15s. per case. 

 .Jamaica mandarins arc also excellent. In cases of sixty 

 fruits they have sold for from lO.s. to Us. a case. These 

 prices are a good gauge of the estimate placed upon their 

 quality by trade buyers. It is a pity that more of them are 

 not to l)e had for the festive sea.son. No daintier fruit enters- 

 our [lorts. (Tin- Times, December 23, 1904.) 



The exports of sugar from British Guiana to America 

 and Canada for the year 1904 were 787,259 bags ; and for 

 the same period to Europe 161,098 bags, 2,289 hogshead.s, 

 11,031 puncheons of molasse.s, and 1,357 barrels of rum. 

 The crop for the year 1904 is about 24,000 tons short of 

 that of the previous year, but the better i)rices obtained, as- 

 the sugar sca,son advanced, have more than outweighed this 

 deficiency. (Messrs. Wieting A- Bichter's ' ^[arket Iteport,'' 

 January 12, 1905.) 



