Vol. X. No. 232. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



89 



Interaction of Stock and Scion. 



A note on this subject appeared in the A;/rl- 

 cidtaral News, Vol. VIII, p. 818. Further informa- 

 tion is contained in an abstract of a paper in the 

 Botanical Gazette, 1910, p. 78 This describes experi- 

 ments in whi'jh tobacco {Nicotiana Tahacum) was 

 grafted on N. atfinis, and the Irish potato {Solanum 

 tuherosum); and Datura Stramoniinn (known as 

 David's bush or wildfire bush in the West Indies), on 

 the tomato {Solawmn lycopersicinn) and the potato. 

 The results showed that there was a .slow movement of 

 the particular alkaloid in the case of each of the scions 

 to the stocks. It was also shown, in the case of tobacco 

 on N. affinis, that the amount nf .ilkaloid in the former 

 decreased, with an increase of this in the latter. A 

 similar result occurred in the case of tobacco on the 

 potato, the nicotine being mostly stored in the latter, 

 with the circumstance, however, that little or none was 

 found in the tubers. 



Oil from Para Rubber Seed. 



The Planters' Chronicle for December 81, 1910, 

 draws attention to a statement in the Clientist and 

 Druggist to the effect that several journals are again 

 referring particularly to oil front Para rubber seed, on 

 account of its ability to make, up for part of the present 

 shortage of linseed oil. Large quantities of the seed 

 are now practically wasted, when it niighc form a useful 

 addition to the profits of the rubber industry, particu- 

 larly on clean weeded estates where the seed could be 

 gathered or swept up comparatively cheaply, and sent 

 to oil mills for the production of oil and seed cake. 



This is of much interest, as the scarcity of linseed 

 oil is such that it is quoted higher than has been the 

 case for the past twenty years, and prices have doubled 

 during last year. The rise in price seems to have been 

 brought about through failure of the linseed crop and 

 the employment of many of the mills for crushing soy 

 beans. 



A Machine for Picking Cotton. 



There is being shown in Liverpool a new machine 

 for picking cotton, which has been invented in the 

 United States, and demonstrations with it have actually 

 been made. According to the Tc.rfile Mercurjj for 

 January 21, 1911, it is driven by petrol at walking 

 speed, and it is said to remove the cotton from the 

 bolls with fair ease and regularit}-. For the purpose, 

 an arrangement exists by means of which teeth, acting 

 as fingers, come into contact with the cotton hanging 

 out of the boll, so that the lint is caught by them, and 

 then detached automatically into a bag at the rear of 

 the machine. The claim is made that the plant i.s not 

 damaged by its use, and that no destruction of Htiwers 

 takes place. 



It is evident that the emplo\ ment of such a ma- 

 chine is much more feasible for iqiland than for Sea 

 Island cotton, in view of the larger power to bear of the 

 former kind, and the consequent extent to which the 

 lint hangs out of the boll. 



Science Teaching at the St. Vincent Grammar 

 School. 



In a memorandum drawn up in relation to 

 the suggestion that .science teaching shall be given in 

 connexion with the classes at the Grammar School, 

 St. Vincent, for the information of His Honour the 

 Administrator, several proposals are made for adding 

 to the feasibilit}' of such a scheme. 



It is suggested that the classes should be held in 

 the Agricultural School, which posse.sses facilities for the 

 purpose, while these do not yet exist at the Grammar 

 School. It is further advised that the les.sons should be 

 held in general elementary science, botany, chemistry, 

 agriculture and physics, and that the classes should 

 work from 7.80 to 9 a.m. It is the intention to 

 follow the plan adopted at the Antigua Grammar 

 School, where general elementary science is taken by 

 all pupils up to Form IV — a plan which insures that 

 some knowledge of chemistrj- is gained by every boy 

 before Form IV is reached, so that the work with this 

 form is much simplified. It is at this stage that 

 specialization commences, all the science subjects being 

 taken by the agricultural students, only. 



It is not intended, at present, to substitute any of 

 these subjects for those ordinarily taught in the schools; 

 although as time goes on, those who intend to specialize 

 ill agricultural subjects may possibly be allowed to let 

 these replace partly some of the others. 



Hints for Transporting Paddy Seedlings. 



The Quarterly Journal of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Bengal, for October 1910, contains details 

 of an experiment which was devised for the purpose of 

 finding out how long paddy seedlings will last, and 

 what condition they would show at the end of the 

 time, if they were kept under certain circumstances 

 made to imitate those which exist during transporta- 

 tion. In the trials, the seedlings were placed in a cart, 

 in the open, for one day, in a closed railway truck for 

 three days, and again in a cart for one day. 



The results of the experiments showed that, before 

 the seedlings are first put into the carts, they should be 

 freely sprinkled with water without, however, washing 

 the soil from the roots; only freshly plucked seedlings 

 should be chosen. Before removal to the railway trucks, 

 they should be watered once more, but not to excess; 

 the employment of watering cans has been found useful 

 for the purpose. 



Another result obtained was that the best way to 

 pack the seedlings in the trucks is in an upright 

 position, with the roots downward, and it is suggested 

 that a useful method Ui adopt would be to pack the 

 small bundles loosely to form large ones, which should 

 be tied with stems and not with rope.s. 



Before the seedlings are placed on the carts for the 

 third stage of the journey, they should be watered again. 

 The adoption of all these precautions made it possible 

 to obtain seedlings for transplanting, in good condition, 

 five, or even six, days after they had been picked. 



