124 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Ai'KiL 15, 1911. 



GLEANINGS. 



According to a report by Messrs. Czarnikow, the forth- 

 coming sugar crop of .Java is promising well. It is stated by 

 the same authority that during the middle of the present year 

 there will probably be a surplus of sugar, in the East, 

 amounting to about 300,000 tons. 



An article in the Citha lievieii; for January 1911, draws 

 attention to the need for agricultural and engineering 

 colleges in that island, for the special purpose of providing 

 those who will be employed later in assisting in the develop- 

 ment of the llepublic and carrying on its agriculture. 



As a coagulant for the latex of Finis dastica, Dr. O. von 

 Faber, Director of the Sugar Laboratory at Soerabaya, Java, 

 recommends the following mixture; cream of tartar, 3 per 

 per cent.; formaldehyde, as formalin, 0'5 percent.; carbolic 

 acid, "-5 percent.; water, 96 per cent. {The India JivMfr 

 Wm-ld, yinTch 1, 1911.) 



Attention is drawn to the is.sue of Anu/i/tical Notes, 

 1910, by Me.ssrs, Evans, Sons, Lescher & Webb, Ltd., Drug- 

 gists and Manufacturing Chemists, 60, Bartholomew Close, 

 London, E.G. The usefulness of this number is increased by 

 the inclusion of an index which has reference to all the num- 

 bers that have been published so far. 



The publication of Timehri, the Journal of the Royal 

 Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana, has 

 been resumed by the issue of a number for January 1911, 

 ■which contains several interesting articles. It is edited by 

 Mr. J. J. Nunan, B.A., LL.B., President, and IMr. J. Rod- 

 way, F.L.S., A.ssistant Secretary, of the Society, and publish- 

 ed by the Argosy Company, Ltd. 



A copy of the latest prospectus relating to Avenarius 

 Carbolineuni, made by 1!. Avenarius it Co., Stuttgart, has 

 been received. This gives particulars of some of the most 

 recent trials of the preserving material. These appear to show 

 that success has been obtained in such trials, and indicate 

 that the prei>aration is undoubtedly useful in connexion with 

 tlie purpose for which it is intended 



At a meeting of the Legislative Council, Dominica, 

 held on January 4, 1911, the report of the Select Committee 

 appointed to consider the question of reciprocal trade rela- 

 tions with the Dominion of Canada was presented, and the 

 following resolution of the Committer was adopted by the 

 Council : ' That this Committee is of Opinion that it would 

 be to the interest of Dominica to enter into reciprocal ttade 

 relations with the Dominion (?f Canada as recommeiided by 

 the Royal Comtiii.s.sion.' 



The coffee crop in Mexico for 1910-11 is stated by 

 H.M. Consul-General at Mexico City to be estimated at 

 18,496 tons. The amount in the preceding season was 

 20,187 tons. 



An indication of the progress that is being made in 

 relation to the sugar industry in the Philippine Islands is con- 

 tained in a note in the Louisiana Planter for February 25, 1 9 11, 

 which states that the British steamer 'Beachy' has been char- 

 tered by the Mindoro Development Company to bring a large 

 sugar-cane mill, as well as lumber, to Manila from Seattle, 

 for use in the construction of a sugar factory. The weight 

 of the mill is stated to be 1,680 ton.s, the rollers alone weigh- 

 ing 18 tons each. 



A publication entitled Hoil and Plant Sanitation on 

 Cacao and Rubber Estates, by Harold Hamel Smith, editor of 

 Tropical ^Afe, is about to be issued. This contains an 

 introduction by Professor Wyndham Dunstan, Director of 

 the Imperial Institute, as well as special articles and supple- 

 mentary notes by several authorities. The volume is com- 

 prised of 730 pages and 108 illustrations, and is obtainable 

 at the price of 10.s., from Messrs. John Bale, Sons it Daniels- 

 son, Ltd., 83-91, Great Titchfield St., London, W. 



Reports on the cotton crop by the Economic Board of 

 the Government of the Sudan indicate that a good yield may 

 be expected, and that there will be an improvement in 

 quality, as all the seed sown has been that of one kind of 

 Egyptian, only. The particulars received from various districts 

 show that fair progress is being made, and a matter of impor- 

 tance in connexion with the cotton industry in the Sudan is 

 that there are indications that Egyptian cotton can be grown 

 successfully as a flood crop. 



An account of a machine for stripjiing Manila hemp is 

 contained in the Textile Jferciir// fov February 1911. It is 

 stated to wors on the principle of the hand method of hemp 

 stripping employed in the Philippine Islands, and that with 

 twelve men it will do the work of forty hand strippers. The 

 only question as to the success of the machine appears to 

 arise in connexion with the quality of the product obtained 

 from it, and experiments are being made for the purpose of 

 gaining definite information in regard to this matter. 



The .Journal of the Board of Agriculture for February 

 1911, p. 911, gives an account of experiments which were 

 undertaken at the Midland xVuricultural and Dairy College, 

 for the purpose of ascertaining the eflect of the administration 

 of large quantities of water to cows on the quality of the milk 

 given by them. The trials showed that common salt, even in 

 large doses, does not .necessarily cause cows to consume an 

 excessive amount of water; and that the amount of water 

 drunk by cows has no direct beaiing on the composition of 

 the milk yielded by them. 



A not(^ in the Board of Trade Journal for February 23, 

 1911, states that H.M. Trade Commissioner for Canada 

 reports that a company called The Intcrnations Contracting 

 Company, Ltd., has been formed at \V'innipug with an 

 a.uthorized capital of about £10,270,000 for the purchase and 

 exploitation of a patent process for extracting oils, to be used 

 in preserving timber, from coal-tar without distillation. The 

 oil obtained in this way is said to have exceptional preserva- 

 tive qualities, particularly in relation to the protection of 

 wood from insects in tropital countries. 



