Vol. IV. No. 82. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



169 



Agriculture in Colombia. 



According to a recent Consular Report on the 

 trade and agriculture of the Santa Maria district of 

 Colombia, progress is being made in the district in 

 agriculture, but its full extension is being prevented 

 by a great scarcity of labour. Some attempt at 

 immigration from the West Indies has been made. 



Scarcity of labour is solely responsible for the 

 non-extension of the coffee industry, excellent lands 

 being available for the cultivation of this crop. The 

 cultivation of bananas is steadily increasing. In 1902, 

 when the prices for molasses and muscovado sugar for 

 local consumption were high, the cultivation of sugar- 

 cane was more than doubled; since then, however, with 

 lower prices, the cost of cultivation remaining the 

 same, many estates have been cither abandoned or 

 converted into banana cultivations. 



The United Fruit Co. is conducting an experi- 

 mental farm of cotton on a small scale. Excellent 

 growth has been made, but the scarcity and high 

 price of suitable labour will probably prevent the 

 establishment of the industry on a large scale. 



Cacao and tobacco are also grown, and attention 

 is paid to the breeding and fattening of cattle. 

 Irrigation being necessary in the cultivation of bananas, 

 sugar-cane, and cacao, six rivers are utilized for this 

 purpose. Some 10,000 aci'es of land are under irrigation 

 in this way, and the acreage is being gradually 

 extended. 



The Supply of Nitrogenous Fertilizers. 



The Agricultural World of May 6, 190.5, deals 

 with the subject of the predicted exhaustion of the 

 supplies of artificial manures. At the present rate of 

 consumption, which amounts to something like 

 a million and a half tons a year, the vast deposits of 

 nitrate of soda will probably be worked out in another 

 twenty years. The problem of finding a way of 

 replacing this from another source has been exercising 

 scientists for some time. Five years ago Sir William 

 Crookes predicted that a dearth of nitrogen for 

 fertilizing purposes would be prevented by the 

 extraction of this element from the atmosphere. 



As has already been mentioned in the Agri- 

 cultural N'c'ws (Vol. Ill, pp. 279 and 343), the process 

 indicated by him has taken definite shape, and a new 

 fertilizer — calcium cyanamide — is now available. 



According to recent information, it appears that 

 m addition to the existing plant for the manufacture of 

 cyanamide near Berlin, a large factory is to be erected 

 near Turin, capable of turning out each year 40,000 

 tons of another fertilizer prepared from the atmospheric 

 nitrogen, viz., nitrate of lime. Other factories are being 

 arranged for in South Germany where there are cheap 

 supplies of water, power. In France a material known 

 as 'nitrated lime,' containing 1.5 to 20 per cent, of 

 nitrogen, is being manufactured from the atmosphere. 

 When applied to the soil it is said to be transformed 

 into ammonia and to have a high fertilizing value 

 closely approaching that of nitrate of soda or sulphate 

 of ammonia. 



Exports of St. Vincent 



According to the Annual Report on St. Vincent 

 for 1903-4, from which extracts are given elsewhere in 

 this issue of the Agricultural News, the general 

 condition of the island during the year has been one 

 of slow but gradual recovery after the experience of 

 the previous ten months. The total value of the 

 exports was £38,174 as against £44,094 in the previous 



Taking the principle exports individually, however, 

 it is seen that in nearly every case the value shows 

 some increase over that of the previous year's export. 

 The exceptions are sugar, the value of which fell from 

 £6,034 to £2,819; rum, £1,1.50 to £28: and live stock, 

 £4,353 to £2,682. On the other hand, satisfactory 

 improvement is shown in connexion with several of 

 the minor industries. For example, cacao shows an 

 .increase from £1,558 to £2,155; vegetables, £1,292 to 

 £1,329; whale oil, £1,107 to £1,150; cotton, £561 to 

 £900; cassava starch, £485 to £921. 



The exports of arrowroot, which is the principal 

 article of export, were of the value of £21,686 as 

 against £21,817 in 1902. 



Experiments with Rat Virus. 



In a previous issue of the Agricultural News 

 (Vol. IV, p. 53) mention was made of the ' Liverpool ' 

 virus for the destruction of rats and mice. It was 

 stated then that a suppl}' of these cultures was being 

 obtained by the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 for trial in the West Indies. A small supply of tubes 

 containing the cultures was received in April last and 

 distributed for experiment in Antigua, Dominica, and 

 Barbados. 



In Antigua bread and corn were infected : part 

 of this was used at the Government Laboratory, part 

 at the Royal Mail Office, and part was sent to 

 Mr. H. Goodwin, M.R.C.V.S. 



At the laboratory a dazed and lethargic rat was 

 observed, and in a few weeks it was noted that rats 

 were less numerous. At the Royal Mail Office, also, 

 rats have been less troublesome and appear to be less 

 numerous. 



Mr. Goodwin has sent in a very complete report. 

 He distributed part of the inoculated material to three 

 estates : in each case it was reported that in a few 

 weeks rats appeared less numerous and that the 

 destruction due to them was greatly reduced. 

 Mr. Goodwin also experimented with rats in cap- 

 tivity. These experiments show clearly the strength 

 of the virus and the infectious nature of the 

 disease communicated by it. A mungoose and 

 chickens, fed on the flesh of rats killed by the disease, 

 showed no effects. Mr. Goodwin recommends that the 

 infected material be placed in different parts of an 

 estate or property, in order to reach the different 

 colonies of rats. 



In Barbados the results also appear to be 

 favourable to the virus. Few dead rats are seen, but 

 their depredations are noticeably reduced. 



A fresh supply of the virus has recently been 

 received and distributed for further experiment. 



