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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Febeuaey 4, 1911. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 Barbados. 



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gigricultiiral ^tm 



Vol. X. SATURDAY, FEBliUARY 4, 1911. No. 229. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the ]iresent number, the editorial deals with 

 Plants and Heavy Manuring. It contains a description 

 of e,xpenments that have been conducted in relation to 

 the high manuring of plants, and discusses briefly the 

 possible effect of the application of manure in large 

 quantities. 



Page 36 contains an article in which a description 

 is given of the propagation of the mango bv shield 

 budding, as well as by other methods. 



A sumniaiv of information relating to Canadian 

 trade with the We.st Indies, contained in some of the 

 recent Weekly Repoi-ts of the Department of Trade 

 and I'ommerce, Canada, is presented on page 37. The 

 reports from which the information has been obtained 

 are as foUow.s: No. 3-51 (Barbados), No. .3,54 (Grenada), 

 No. .3.5.5 (Montserrat), Nos. 344, 34(5 and 347 (Trinidad), 

 No. 360 (British Guiana). 



An article on i)age 39 contains a short account of 

 work that has been conducted recently by the Agri- 

 cultural ])epaituR'nt in Grenada. 



The Insect Notes, <>n page 42, dcsil chiefly with 

 a summary of entomological information contained in 

 the Agricultural News and West Indian Bulletin 

 during last year. 



The Students' ("orncr (page 4.5) gi\es an account 

 of the recent I'^inal E.xaniinati'in held in conne.xion with 

 the Courses of Ri-ading of the Di-partment. It should 

 be read with the papers set at that examination. 



Practical Agriculture and Hygiene in Grenada 

 Schools. 



The lines on which the teaching of these subjects 

 is to be conducted in the future in Grenada were 

 indicated in the last number of the Agricultural 

 A^eivs. The following matters in connexion with them, 

 which are taken from the Report on the Primary 

 Schools, Grenada, for the year 1909-10, given in the 

 (irenada Government Gazette for December 1.5, 1910, 

 are therefore of interest. 



During the year, theoretical work in connexion 

 with agriculture was conducted by most of the teachers 

 with success; the fact that no grants were made, how- 

 ever, for this subject has caused the school gardens to 

 fall practically into disuse. It is pointed out that, never- 

 theless,thero is no reason why instruction based on experi- 

 ments in boxes and pots should not be carried out. 

 A matter of some significance, in the latter connexion, is 

 that the papers sent up in the pupil teacher.-^" examina- 

 tion in this subject were often excellent, and showed 

 more accurate work than that in ordinary subjects of 

 instruction. 



The teaching of sanitation and hygiene is meeting 

 with encouraging results, and in many schools it is not 

 confined to those standards, only, in respect of which 

 a grant is made. The ojiinion is given that the subject 

 is poj)ular among the pupils, and that the teaching of 

 it is becoming of practical use. 



The Behaviour of Superphosphates in Soils. 



An abstract is given, in the E.rperi mcnt Station 

 Record, Vol. XXIII, p. 24, of a paper describing experi- 

 ments that were carried out in two series for determin- 

 ing what happens to superphosphates in the soil. The 

 object of the first of these was to find the rate and 

 extent of the fixation of soluble phosphoric acid in the 

 soil, while that of the second was the ascertaining 

 of the extent to which the roots of plants can assimilate 

 the phosphoric acid fixed in the deeper layers of the soil. 



The trials showed that, when soluble jihosphates 

 are applied to soil, whether this is calcareous or poor 

 in lime, they become fixed in a form which is insoluble 

 in water, but nevertheless readily available to plants; the 

 solubility of such phosphoric acid graiiually decreases, 

 and then- is no danger that when it is applied in the 

 usual way, it will be washe(l out of the soil. 



For the purpose of obtaining the best results, the 

 condition of su])erphosphate for manure should be as 

 fine as possible, and ihe effect is increased by deep 

 harrowing or ploughing. 



The second set of experiments was conducted in 

 pots; it showed that, even where there was no increase 

 of yield from applications of superphos]ihate, more 

 phosphoric .icid was taken up by the pl.vnt than where 

 the manure had not been apjilieil. it was found that, 

 as regards basic phos])hate, the amount in the 

 drainage water was lower than that indicated by its 

 solubility, being about 3 parts in one million in calca- 

 reous .soils, and 2 ii.uts in a million in soils dei-ived 



from granite rocks. 



