186 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 17, 1905. 



INSECT NOTES. 



The Auto-spray. 



In the Agricultural Ntirg, \ol. Ill, ji. 2.50, there apiieareil 

 a brief note on the auto-spray. The accoiui>anying illustra- 

 tion (fig. l;^) .should serve to give a clearer idea of this 

 useful machine. 



The auto-spray is an automatic, compressed-air siiraying 

 machine, the essential features of which are the cylindrical 



brass tank, an air pump, 

 a discharge hose and nozzle, 

 and a sling for carrying 

 the whole. 



In this machine the 

 pumping is all for the 

 pnrpo.se of comiiressing the 

 air in tlie tank containing 

 the spray material, and the 

 expansion of the com- 

 pressed air forces the spray 

 through the liose and 

 nozzle. In using the auto- 

 spray not more than 

 4 gallons of the wash 

 shouW be put in, and care 

 must be taken not to 

 subject tlie tank to too 

 great an air pressure. 



The nozzle sold with 

 this machine is a special 

 feature, as it combines the 

 Vermorel principle with an 

 automatic cut-oti' with which 

 also the needle for clearing 

 the nozzle is combined. The cost of the auto-.spray complete 

 with hose and nozzle, in Barbados, is i^lO'OO. 



Fici. i:;. The Auto-si'i;.vv 



taken apart. For ordinary purpo.ses it will not be necessary 



to take the top to pieces, 

 legs is clearly indicated in 

 the accompanying illustration 

 (fig. 14). The cover is made 

 of 8 oz. duck and treated 

 with two coats of boiled linseed 

 oil. The ends and sides are 

 provided with Haps at the bottom 

 which are to be weighted down 

 with stones or soil to prevent 

 the escape of the gas. Hydro- 

 cyanic gas will be used for 

 fumigating. This will be 

 generated from potassium 

 cyanide in a mixture of 

 sulphuric acid and water. 

 Kxpcriments wdl be needed, 

 however, to decide the exact 

 amount of materials and the 

 best length of time, as the 

 conditions in the nursery rows 

 will be somewhat different 

 from conditions in the fumi- 

 gating hou.se, and the same 

 strength of gas may have 

 a tendency to injure the foliage. 



Furuigating Tent for Dominica. 



As stated in the A;/r/cultiiral iVtios (Vol. Ill, p. 138), 

 fumigating chambers were erected last year at the Dominica 

 Botanic Station for use in fumigating imported jdants. 

 These have recently been supiilemented by a fumigating 

 tent to be used in fumigating plants in the nursery beds. 

 The Curator of tlie Botanic Station states that the tent has 

 arrived and appears quite suitable. He finds that it can 

 be fixed and taken down without any difliculty. 



This should prove to be very useful as it will now be 

 possible to fumigate citrus and or.her plants when they are 

 attacked by insect pests instead of spraying them, and as 

 fumigation is more thorough than spraying, the scale insects 

 and other pests that attack young [ilants ought to be more 

 easily kept in check. Also plants to be .shijiped or planted 

 in orchards may I)e fumigated before being lifted from the 

 beds, and the time and labour of taking them to the fumi- 

 gating house will thus be saved, and the plants will not be 

 the means of distributing insect pests. 



Tlie tent is 10 feet long by ~J feet wide and .'M feet 

 liigh. The frame is of gas-pipe so made that it may lie 



The mode of fixing the 



Fig. 14. 



Legs 



Attachment of 

 TO Fkame. 



log ; 6, coupling ; c, nipjjle ; 

 d, elbow ; c, side. 



AGRICULTURAL BANKS. 



In an article on ' Agricultural Credit Bank.s ' in 

 the Journal of the Board of Agriculture (London, 

 May I!>05) the following references are made to the 

 ' RaifTeisen ' system : — • 



The Labour Gazette for April last contains a note on 

 this subject, in which it is stated that, with few exceptions, 

 the societies at present in existence (in Ireland chieHy) are 

 organized uiion what is known as the 'IlaiffeLsen ' principle, 

 the main features of wliich are that no shares are issued, 

 the capital lieing raised by entrance fees, subscriptions, and 

 deposits and loans bearing a fixed rate of interest : that the 

 liability of the members is unlimited, every member being 

 jointly and severally responsible for any losses that may be 

 incurred by the society ; that the loans advanced by the 

 societies are for reiu-oductive purposes only, the borrower 

 being required to satisfy the managing committee that the 

 object for which the loan is required is one that affords 

 a reasonable security for his being able to repay the loan at 

 the date fixed ; and that the operations of a society are 

 confined to a small area in order that the per.soiial character 

 and needs of applicants for loans may be known to the 

 members and committee. 



The principles on which the agrarian banks know}i as 

 the 'Itaitreiscn' Credit Associations, which date from about the 

 middle of the last century, are based have been mentioned 

 above, aiul it is claimed that they have effectually delivered 

 the Oerman agriculturists out of the hands of the usurers. 

 Their number has increased very greatly, especially during 

 the past ten years, and similar institutions exist in Austria, 

 Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Italy. In Belgium the 

 number of these societies has increased from thirty-three 

 ill 180.") to M'i in 1902 with over 1.5,000 members. 



( 'o-o|ierative banks have also taken a prominent place in 

 Italy. The lUiral Loan Societies, which were considerable 

 in number in 1892, have since increased rapidly, and 

 at the end of 190:'. amounted to 1,240. Itaiffeisen Banks 

 also exist to the number of 7."!0, but no marked progress in 

 their uumbur appears to have taken place recently. 



I 



