60 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



February IS, 1911. 



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Professfir Annett, of the University of Liverpool, has 

 recently elaborated a quick and certain method for the 

 diagnosis of anthrax, which does not rely entirely on the 

 microscopical examination of stained specimens, but involves 

 the use of an incubator, Petri dishes and agar tubes. 

 It is extremely simple, and furnishes, it is claimed, 

 absolutely certain diagnosis in three hours. The appar- 

 atus costs about £40. (The Colonial Office Journal, Vol. IV, 

 p. 246.) 



GLEANINGS. 



It is reported from St. Kitts that the prospects of the 

 sugar-cane crop that is being taken off at present are gener- 

 ally good. The young canes, too, are making good progress, 

 on account of the rain received during January. 



A report received from the Curator of the Botanic 

 Station, Montserrat, states that cotton-picking is completed 

 on the Leeward side, while it is being still continued at 

 Windward, where there is a prospect of a second crop being 

 obtained. On .some estates, the preparation of land for the 

 next cotton crop is well advanced. 



The Superintendent of Agriculture, Barbados, reports 

 that, on the whole, a good cotton crop will have been reaped 

 in that island. He states further, that the bacterial disease 

 of cotton known as black arm and angular leaf spot seems 

 at present to be stayed, as does also the attack of root borer 

 in the sugar-cane. 



I'he Field for November lli, 1910, states that the expend- 

 iture on the construction of the Canadian National Trans- 

 Continental Railway during the last fiscal year was 

 $20,000,000. The total expenditure .so far has been 

 $72|000,000, and for this 1,100 miles has been graded, and 

 800 miles of track laid. 



The Morning Post, for December 23, gives a telegram 

 from Jamaica which states that the Atlantic Fruit Company, 

 which has hitherto been connected with that island, has 

 acquired a concession of 100,000 acres of banana land in 

 Nicaragua, and will develop this with West Indians, thus 

 creating another rival to Jamaica. 



The amount of cotton exported from Peru, in 1909, was 

 47,641,776 ft)., valued at £1,284,590, while the area under 

 cultivation was 125,000 acres. It is estimated by the Direc- 

 tor of the Lima Experimental Station for Cotton, that the 

 exports from the present crop will be 55 million pounds, as 

 the conditions during the season have been very favourable. 



With regard to the list of examiners in the recent Inter- 

 mediate and Final Examinations, given in the Agricultural 

 News, Vol. X, p. 31, Mr. J. C. Moore, Agricultural Super- 

 intendent, St. Lucia, has pointed out that there was an error 

 in stating that the Hon. E. C Bennett officiated in that 

 capacity in this island. The actual examiner was Mr. G. 

 Barnard, who kindly as.sisted -Mr. Moore in the oral examina- 

 tions. 



from Messrs. H. C. 

 London, E.C., relating 

 Jlessrs. John Down- 

 This is known as the 

 Extractor, No. 1, and 



Particulars have been received, 

 Mc. Kinlay tC- Co., of 59, ilark Lane, 

 to a fibre-cleaning machine made by 

 ham it Co., Rurj", near Manchester. 

 Patent Double Drum Decorticator or 

 it is claimed that the machine will not only crush and unravel 

 the leaves, but will cleanse and wash the fibre, so that this 

 comes from the machine ready for drying and baling. 

 Information concerning this and other similar machines may 

 be obtained by applying to either of these firms. 



An account of a meeting of the Board of Management 

 of the Jamaica Agricultural Society held on December 17, 

 1910, contained in the Joirrnal of the Jamaica Agricultural 

 Societi/, Vol. XIV, p. 431, shows that at this meeting the 

 opinion of the Staple and Minor Products Committee in con- 

 nexion with legislation against the bud rot disease of cocoa- 

 nuts was suVimitted. In the end, it was agreed that the 

 Government should be informed that legislation was consid- 

 ered necessary by the Board, both to make it compulsory to 

 destroy trees aft'ected with the disease and to make it illegal 

 to allow debris from fruits to accumulate on the roadside. 



An improved cultivator, which has been patented by 

 Messrs. J. F. Alderman it Kerr, of Thorney, Cambridgeshire, 

 is described in the Farmer and Stock Breeder for December 26, 

 1910, where it is claimed to be the first combined cultivator 

 and digger brought into jjractical use. The machine is 

 preferably worked on cables from stationary engines, or it 

 may be operated by any other suitable mode of traction. It is 

 stated that by means of this machine 18 acres, and more, of 

 land can be broken up and prepared for sowing, per day. 



Ber Tropenpflanzer, Vol. XIV. p. 417, contains an 

 account of experiments that have been made recently in the 

 direction of shipping pine-apples in pulverized peat, from the 

 Cameroons to Hamburg. The fruit was found to be in fairly 

 good condition on arrival, and the opinion is expressed that 

 the use of pulverized peat may enable pine-apples to be ship- 

 ped in vessels that are not provided with cool storage. 

 These trials are of interest in view of similar work that has 

 been done with bananas; this was described recently in the 

 Agricultural News, Vol. X, p. 20. 



The Experiment Station Record for December 1910 

 (Vol. XXIII, p. 623) gives a short extract of a paper describ- 

 ing experiments, in which the effect of magnesium and 

 calcium carbonate on nitrifying bacteria in the soil was 

 investigated. It w'as found that, with a sandy loam soil 

 containing a rather high percentage of magnesia, the addition 

 of magnesium carbonate to the extent of more than 0'25 per 

 cent, stopped the action of the bacteria, while favourable 

 results were obtained with calcium carbonate up to 2 per cent. 

 It is indicated by these results that nitrifying bacteria are 

 affected by the lime-magnesia ratio in the soil (see Agricul- 

 tural KewK, Vol. IX, pp. 95 and 204) much in the same way 

 as some green plants are supposed to be influenced. 



