Vol. X. No. 236. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



159 



appear. It is claimed in Hawaii that affected plants can be 

 cured at an early stage, liy pulling them up, cutting back 

 their leaves, retrimming their butt ends and replanting. 

 Stirring the soil is also claimed as an etKcient reraedj-. 



T.\XGLE ROOT. This di.sease is characterized by the fact 

 that the lateral roots wind themselves round the plant instead 

 of growing into the soil, while the basal roots appear to 

 be killed by fungi or unsuitable soil conditions. The leaves 

 of diseased plants turn yellow at the tips and gradually dry up. 

 It has been suggested from the Virgin Islands that tangle 

 root may arise through the careless planting of suckers. The 

 remedies usually recommended are good cultivation and strip- 

 ping the plants of their basal leaves. 



Preliminary experiments indicated that Thielaviopsis 

 paradoxa could act as a wound parasite of roots, destroy- 

 ing the tissue in a very short time. A species of Fusarium 

 also produced a brown discoloration of wounded roots, and 

 appeared to cause injury that might be of some importance. 

 Another fungus, IVichoderma li(jnorinn, caused a similar dis- 

 coloration, but spread very slowly, and appeared to be only 

 a saprophyte. Galls due to nematode worms {Heterodera 

 radicola = H. radicicola) are often met with on the roots of 

 pine-apples. 



Finally, it may be mentioned that pine apples grown on 

 certain black soils in Hawaii often show a peculiar yellow 

 discoloration of the leaves. This is not accompanied by 

 a loss of turgidity, though in some cases the leaves, and 

 eventually the plants, die. Tlie trouble, known as manganese 

 yellows, is due to the high manganese content of the black 

 soil, which produces a poisoning effect on the plant 



This concludes the account of the diseases of pine-apples 

 as found in Hawaii; while the work done undoubtedly throws 

 much light on similar diseases in the West Indies. 



MOTOR TRACTION IN RELATION TO 



AGRICULTURE. 



A paper on this subject was read at a meeting of the 

 Antigua Agricultural and Commercial Society, on April 7, 

 1011, by Mr. H. A. Tempany, B.Sc, Superintendent of Agri- 

 culture for the Leeward Islands, who has furnished an account 

 from which the following note has been prepared. 



Mr. Tempany commenced by drawing attention to the 

 e.xtent to which motor traction for agricultural purposes has 

 been taken up in Canada and, the United States, mainly on 

 account of labour difficulties. He also pointed out that the 

 matter is receiving increasing consideration in relation to 

 intensive cultivation, particularly in Europe. 



He then proceeded to give a short sketch of trials 

 of motor traction that he had witnessed at Bygrave in 

 Hertfordshire, in August last, conducted under the auspices 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society, England. In these trials, 

 machines employing both steam and gasolene engines were 

 included, the nature of the work being the hauling of agri- 

 cultural implements and of ordinary loads along a road or on 

 the land, and the driving of agricultural machinery, such as 

 a threshing machine or harvester. Si.Y dilt'erent firms made 

 eleven entries, and, in the result, the gold medal of the Royal 

 Agricidtural Society of England, was awarded to .Messrs. 

 J. & H. McLaren, of Leeds, in respect of a 5ton compound 

 engine. Other firms in competition were the Cyclone Agri- 

 cultural Tractor Co., Ltd., the Ivel Agricultural Motor Co., 

 Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co , H. P. Saunder- 

 son i& Co., and Wallls, Stevens & Co., Ltd. Catalogues 

 publi-shed by these firms were produced at the meeting by 

 Mr. Tempany, for the information of members of the society. 



In regard to agricultural motor traction for the West 



Indies, Mr. Tempany stated that the main difficulties, as far 

 as Antigua was concerned, were caused by the existence of 

 the open drains which form an essential feature of cultivation 

 in that island, and by the frequent turns that are necessitated 

 by the relatively small size of most of the fields. He pointed 

 out, however, that the subject is worthy of interested atten- 

 tion by planters, and likely to present important develop- 

 ments in the near future. 



In the di,scussion which followed, the difficulty was 

 mentioned of using motor tractors on clay soils after heavy 

 rains — an objection which applies, however, to a large extent 

 in cattle ploughing. An opinion was given to the effect that 

 light oil-driven stationary engines, for the cable haulage of 

 implements, appeared to be best suited to conditions in 

 Antigua. Attention was also drawn to the importance of the 

 consideration of the supply of pen manure when any matters 

 were receiving attention in regard to the substitution of cattle 

 by motors, for hauling implements on estates. 



At the end of the discussion, a vote of thanks was 

 accorded to Mr. Tempany for his paper. 



TRADE AND AGRICULTURE OF 

 BARBADOS, 190910. 



Particulars of the trade and agriculture of Barbados 

 for this period are contained in Colonial Reports — Annual, 

 No. 660, and reference is made here to .several of the matters, 

 for the purposes of record. 



The information regarding the exports shows that the 

 shipments of muscovado and dry sugar in 1909 were 16,968 

 and 827 hogsheads, respectively, the total value being 

 £152,911; the .similar figures for 1908 were 34,942, 870 

 and £288,436. These figures show that the .shipments of 

 sugar in 1909 were smaller than those of 1908 by 18,017* 

 hogsheads, while the value of the crop of the former year was 

 less by £135,525. There was an increase, however, in the 

 output of molasses; in 1909 this was 69,036 puncheons, value 

 £345,180, against 54,428 puncheons worth £217,712 in 

 1908. The distribution of the sugar exported, among different 

 countries, is shown as follows: Canada, 12,420 hogsheads, 

 value £107,222; Great Britain,3,013, value £25,610; Holland, 

 843, value £7,165; United States, 762, value £6,477; other 

 countries, 757 hogsheads, value, £6,436. The molasses was 

 taken as follows: Canada, 48,265 puncheons, value £241,325; 

 Newfoundland, 14,312, value £71,560; United States, 4,934, 

 value £24,670; LTnited Kingdom, 545, value £2,725; other 

 countries, 980 puncheons, value £4,900. 



The area planted in cotton during 1909 was 4,121 

 acres, from which, in the season 190S-9, 838,748 lb., of the 

 estimated value of £41,937, was exported; these quantities 

 show a decrease from those of the previous year, which were 

 5,768 acres, 988,443 ft),, and £66,617. 



The shipments of bananas to the United Kingdom in 

 1909 were 9,272 bunches, of which 307 bunches were export- 

 ed by the Local Department of Agriculture, and the rest by 

 a firm interested in the matter. 



The following paragraph from the report is of special 

 concern at present; 'In the exports from- the island it is 

 observed that out of a total of £576,330 in produce and 

 manufactures of the Colony, Canada has taken £348,707, as 

 compared with £237,916 in 1908, and £318,671 in 1907. 

 Newfoundland coming second with £72,002, the United 

 Kingdom third with £70,487, and the United States fourth 

 with £37,218. It will be seen that exports to Canada have 

 increased 79'8 per cent, between the two years, and exports 

 to the United States have decreased.' . ,■ - , 



* Given as 18,037 in the Report.— Ed., 4..iV.. 



