"Vol. IV. No. 77. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



89 



Agriculture in British Guiana. 



According to the Annual Report on British 

 ■Guiana for 1903-4, the .sugar crop entered for export 

 .•imoimted to 125,949 tons, as against 120,127 tons for 

 the previous year ; the larger shipment is in great part 

 due to extension of cultivation, the extension being 

 -almost entirely occupied by new varieties of sugar-cane. 

 The acreage in cultivation by cane farmers may be 

 -estimated at 2,500 acres. It is mentioned that the 

 cultivation of new varieties of cane on the estates of 

 the colony continued to attract much attention on the 

 part of the planters generally. 



Prospects of the Onion Crop. 



From the reports of local officers of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture, it would appear that the 

 -results of experiments in growing onions in those islands 

 during the present season are not as satisfactory as 

 they have been in previous sea.sons. The yield has 

 been rather poor and the bulbs of small size. In all 

 cases this result is attributed to the abnormally dry 

 weather since the onions were planted. In most cases 

 the seed germinated well. 



The seed was distributed in small quantities, so 

 that it is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of the 

 acreage planted or of the yield of onions. Generally 

 speaking, it is not considered likely that the quality 

 reaped will exceed the local demand in each island. 

 It may be mentioned that in Trinidad, where onions 

 failed entirely last year, the experiments have been 

 very successful, the weather being quite favourable, viz., 

 showers during growth and dry weather for ripening. 



Department Pubhcations. 



The concluding part of Volume V of the \V<:!<t 

 Indian Bulletin is issued to-day. This number 

 contains a report of the proceedings at the Agricultural 

 Conference and an instalment of the papers read. 

 These deal with the ' Results of recent Experiments 

 with Seedling Canes and Manurial Experiments in 

 the West Indies.' The papers are those prepared 

 by Professor Harrison (British Guiana), Professor 

 ■d'Albuquerque (Barbados), Dr. Francis Watts (Leeward 

 Islands), and Dr. Urich (Trinidad). As the papers 

 ■cover the work done during three years, interesting 

 results are recorded. This publication is obtainable 

 •of all agents for the sale of the Department's publica- 

 tions, price (kl., post free 8(?. 



The iirst part of the large official report of the 

 Sugar-cane Experiments in the Leeward Islands during 

 the season 1903-4 is also issued to-day. Part I deals 

 with experiments with varieties of the sugar-cane, and 

 also contains appendices on the chemical selection 

 experiments, the experiments in raising seedling canes, 

 and the experimental treatment of cane tops and cut- 

 tings with germicides before planting. The price of this 

 report (part I) is l-s. Part II, which is devoted to the 

 experiments with nianures, will be issued shortly. 



It is expected that the title page and index to the 

 third volume of the Agricultural NeuK will be issued 

 as a supplement to the next issue. 



Black Boll of Cotton. 



As was briefly mentioned in a former issue of the 

 Agricultural News (Vol. IV, p. 43), Mr. L. Lewton- 

 Brain, B.A., F.L.S., recently visited Antigua and 

 Montserrat for the purpose of investigating the ' Black 

 Boll ' disease in cotton. 



In reporting on his investigation, Mr. Lewton- 

 Brain states that this is undoubtedly a distinct disease, 

 though sometimes confused with anthracnose and 

 physiological drying up of the bolls. The boll becomes 

 curiously deformed, while internally it is rotten and 

 the lint discoloured. In time the lint becomes a dark 

 slimy mass. But even up to this time there is little 

 external sign of unhealthiness, yet the bolls drop off 

 instead of opening in the usual way. 



The disease does not seem to be due to climatic 

 conditions, nor to any particular soil formation, since 

 it occurs in wet and dry seasons, in clay soils as 

 well as limestone ; nor is it possible to connect it with 

 any insect attack. Until the point is definitely settled 

 by inoculation experiments, a short, rod-shaped, non- 

 motile bacillus, winch is present in diseased bolls, must 

 be regarded as the f)rimary cause of ' black boll.' 



It would appear that the spread of the disease is 

 favoured by rich virgin soil and by the excessive use of 

 nitrogenous manures. When the bolls are drying up, 

 the plant should be cut back and the diseased material 

 destroyed : also, after picking the plant remains should 

 be destroyed, while badly infested fields should not be 

 i-eplanted in cotton the following season. 



Soil Inoculation. 



,Se\eral references have recently been made in the 

 Agricultural N'ews to the work of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in connexion with soil inoculation 

 for leguminous crops. The Se^itember issue of the 

 Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Great Britain, 

 contains an account of investigations in the same direc- 

 tion that have been made by Dr. Hiltner, of Munich. 

 The results of some 400 experiments carried out in 

 different parts of Germany appear to have been, on the 

 whole, exceedingly favourable. Earl}' in last year the 

 new nitragin was offered free of cost to members of the 

 German Agricultural Society on the condition that it 

 was used according to the directions. The demand 

 was so great that the free offer had to be withdrawn, 

 and arrangements were made to sell the substance in 

 quantities sufficient to treat the seed of i acre for \s. 



The February issue of the same journal notifies 

 British farmers that they can obtain this new inoculat- 

 ing material from Dr. Hiltner at the price of i-f. per 

 tube (sufficient for 5 to A acre). The principal crops 

 for which cultures are available are peas, horse-beans, 

 clovers, lucerne, and vetche.s. 



The cultures prepared at Munich differ from those 

 sent out by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in that 

 the bacteria are not i)ut up in the dry form. Each 

 tube is accompanied by a nutrient substance in the 

 form of a powder consisting of a mixture of pepton and 

 grape sugar which must be dissolved in the water or 

 'milk, into which the contents of the tube is turned out, 

 about half an hour before the bacilli are introduced. 



