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THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



February 4, 1911. 



GLEANINGS. 



The distribution of plants from the Dominica Botanic 

 Station for l)ecember 1910 was as follows: limes 4,350, 

 spineless limes 750, cacao 415, grafted cacao 145, Para 

 rubber 1,000. The total for the month was (i,sr)9 plants. 



A report received from the Agricultural Superintendent, 

 St. Kitts, shows that the plants distributed from the Botanic 

 and Experiment Statiens during December 1910 were 17,000 

 cane cuttings and 300 lime plants. 



The planting of seedling canes, in connexion with the 

 trials that are being made there, has been conducted recently 

 at the Experiment Station, Tortola when the varieties put in, 

 were D.95, B.6450 B.1753, B.6388, B.109, B.147, B.30g| 

 B.208, Sealy Seedling and two local kinds. 



Official returns issued by the ( iovernment of Ceylon show 

 that the exports of rubber during the month of September and 

 the three months ended September, 1910, were 3,131, cwt. 

 8,936 cwt, respectively. The similar figures for 1909 were 

 1,249 cwt. and 3,529 cwt. 



The Acting British Consul at Bangkok, Siam, reports 

 that an Exhibition of Agriculture and Commerce will be held 

 there this year, commencing on April 3. At this, there will 

 be sections for the agricultural, forest, mineral, and industrial 

 produce of Siam, as well as an international section for agri- 

 cultural and industrial machinery. 



The Proceedings of the A<j)kultural Society of Trinidad 

 and Tohayo for December 1910, shows that the amount of 

 cacao shipped from Trinidad during that month was 

 4,154,1751b. The total quantity fortheyear was 57,839,074 lb., 

 as compared with 51,575,109 lb. and 47,632,438 &. for 1909 

 and 1908, respectively. 



In regard to the International Rubber and Allied Trades 

 Exhibition (see Agricultural News, p. 396), it is announced 

 that the proprietors of Greuier's Ruhlier Neu's, Kuala Lum- 

 pur, Federated Malay States, are offering a troi)hy valued at 

 25 guineas for the best sample of rubber sent to the exhibi- 

 tion from Ceylon, the Malay States, or Java. 



Dry weather was experienced in Barbados at the end of 

 the year, when the rainfall for December, as measured at the 

 Meteorological Station was 2 54 inches, which was 4 29 inches 

 less than the average of the month in the past ten years. 

 The number of days on which rain fell was twelve, and the 

 heaviest fall took place on December 4, when 1-20 inches 

 was registered. 



A note appeared in the Agricultural JS'ews, Vol. IX, p. 281, 

 on the manufacture of cloth from banana fibre, in' China! 

 Since this, the Board of I'rade Journal for October 13, 1910, 

 states that the Commercial Intelligence Branch has been 

 informed by the Colonial Office that, as a result of an exam- 

 ination of a sample of the cloth at the Imperial Institute, the 

 weft only has been found to be composed of banana fibre; 

 while the warp consisted of ramie fibre. 



A report received from .Montserrat states that, while 

 the general average of the cotton crop is good, few or none 

 of the estates are producing large crops. A scarcity of 

 labourers for cotton-picking exists on the windward side 

 because of the possession by a large number of peasants of 

 cotton grounds in New Windward and Blakes districts. The 

 statement is made, further, that the area of cotton in Mont 

 serrat is likely to be increased this year. 



Information has been received from the Agricultural 

 Superintendent, St. Vincent, that three thoroughbred mares 

 have been imported recently, under the bonus scheme of the 

 Government. In addition to these, the Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent has obtained a pure-bred Ayrshire liuU and a three- 

 quarter bred Zebu, for a local stock raiser, from Canada and 

 Trinidad, respectively. All the animals are stated to belong 

 to very fine types of the breeds represented by them. 



The ISidtetin Agricole, Mauritius, No. 11, p 142, notes 

 that experiments made at the Central Institute for Agri- 

 cultural Experiments, Sweden, lead to the conclusion, in the 

 same way as similar trials in Germany, that the milk of cows 

 fed on the soy bean tends to become lowered in its content of 

 fatty matters. No changes in the appearance or taste of the 

 milk have been observed, but it has been found that the butter 

 from the milk of cow.s fed on large quantities of this bean, in 

 summer, possesses a pronounced taste of the food. 



A copy of Plants Indigenous to Victoria, \o\. II, by 

 A. J. Ewart, D.Sc, Ph. D., F.L.S., Government Botanist and 

 Professor of Botany and Plant Physiology in the Melbourne 

 University, has been received for the use of the Department. 

 The issue of the work, which continues Baron von Midler's 

 Phntts Indigenous to Victoria, [lubli-shed in 1862, is a small 

 one of 484 copies. It may be obtained from the Department 

 of Agriculture, Public Offices, Melbourne, for 10.<, with post- 

 age 9'/. Application should be made to the Secretary for 

 Agriculture, \felbourne. 



The Board of Trade Journal for December 8, 1910, 

 announces that the Ninth International Agricultural (.'on- 

 gress will be held at iladrid from May 1 to 6, 1911, under 

 the patronage of H.M. the King of Spain. The Congress 

 will be divided into eight sections, and the sub.jects for 

 discussion include the organization of co-operation and agri- 

 cultural credit, reatfcirestation, diseases of fruit trees, animal 

 nutrition, and the application of green manures. The sub- 

 scription for societies or private persons who wish to partici- 

 pate in the Congress is 20 pesetas (about 15s.). Application 

 for admission must be sent, before March 15, to the Secretary 

 of the Organizing Committee of the Congress, Society of 

 Spanish Agriculturists, 12, Campoamor, Madrid. 



