Vol. X. No. 243. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



263 



UGANDA. Cotton is Still comini,' in freely from this 

 Protectorate, and there is every rea.son to believe that the 

 e.stimate of a 20,000-bale crop from T'ganda this year will be 

 realized. 



BRITISH EAST AFRICA. A report Las been received from 

 the Provincial Commissioner for the Kavirondo district stat- 

 ing that a further 10 tons of selected seed has been distribut- 

 ed and about 5,000 acres of land has already been cleared 

 and planted, and, if the season continues favourable, a fair 

 output may be looked for from the district, where practically 

 no cotton has been produced hitherto. 



INDIA. It was reported that, in accordance with the 

 request of the Association, the Federation of Master Cotton 

 Spinners had appointed a Sub-Committee who had decided to 

 recommend thac the Federation should appoint one or two of 

 their members to discuss with representatives of the Associa- 

 tion the question of the establishment of buying agencies 

 and ffinneries in certain districts in India. 



COTTON IN THE SUDAN. 



The monthly report of the Sudan Central Economic 

 Board, for March 1911, gives the following information con- 

 cerning cotton-growing in the Sudan in the last few years 

 The production in the several years 1906-10 has been as 

 follows: 1906, 2,300 tons value £.50.000; 1907, 4,400 value 

 £103,000: 1908, .5,400 value £89,000: 1909, 3,900 value 

 £65,000: 1910, 8,700 tons value £235,000. 



Information is given further to the effect that excellent 

 reports are being received of the past cotton crop in the 

 Tokar district, Red Sea Province. The e.\port of cotton 

 lint to Liverpool from this district, during March last, 

 amounted to about 115 tons, and this obtained a price of 

 9ld. per Ih. It is expected that the total Tokar crop will 

 amount to about 6,200 tons of unginne<l cotton. 



The Board of Trade Journal iov .May 25, 1911, from 

 which the above information is taken, states that the recent 

 report by Sir E. Gorst on the affairs of tha Sudan for the 

 year 1910 shows that the cotton crop was good and that 

 high prices were realized, so that it is likel)' that native 

 cultivators will turn their attention to the growing of 

 a higher class product. During last season, 51 per cent, of 

 the Sudan cotton was flood-grown, and about 40 per cent, 

 rain-grown; thus about 91 per cent, of the cotton is produced 

 by natives who are not in receipt of European assistance. 



A NEW TEST B'OR TUBERCULOSIS. 



The Report of the Board of Commies loners of 

 Agricvlinre and Forestry, of the Territory of Hawaii, 

 for 1910, gives the following account of a simplified 

 test for tuberculosis in animals. It is known as the 

 intra-denaal tuberculin test : — 



This comparatively new method requires only two visits 

 to each dairy (instead of eight); it does away entirel}- with 

 the thermometer and the taking of temperatures (the work 

 done so far has required the use of more than a gross of ther- 

 mometers, at ^rOO apiece); it can be applied to any animal 

 of whatsoever age, class or condition and under any or all cir- 

 cumstances, whether favourable or unfavourable: it is so 

 manifest in its af)pearance, and so simple in its application 

 that the veriest simpleton can translate it, and, at the same 

 time, it excels the subcutaneous tost in that its effectiveness 

 cannot be circumvented for illegal purposes in obscuring 

 thermal reactions liy the administration of febrifuges. 



The intradermal test was first reported on by two 

 French scientists, Moussu and Mantou.Y, at the Sixth Inter- 

 national Congress on Tuberculosis. It consists simply in the 

 injection of a few drops of a special concentrated kind of 

 tuberculin into one of the two folds of skin (sub-caudal folds) 

 which are found under the tail when it is lifted. The skin 

 at this place is very thin, soft and pliable, and what is most 

 important, denuded of hair. The authors claim that in 

 animals affected with tuberculosis the injection of a small 

 dose (approximately 3 drops) of strong tuberculin would 

 cause a more or less pronounced swelling of somewhat vary- 

 ing character of the injected fold, while the other one, which 

 is conveniently there for comparison, remains unchanged. 

 This test has, during the months of November and December, 

 been applied to nearly 200 animals, many of which had 

 previously been tested with the subcutaneous lest, and con- 

 sequently were known to be either sound or tuberculous. In 

 every instance the results obtained with the new test proved 

 identically the same as the previous ones, and when supported 

 by post mortem examinations the diagnosis was invariably 

 confirmed. 



'While this method of testing has been given but scant 

 attention by either official or private veterinarians, I believe 

 this is to be due in a large extent to the fact that a third 

 method, known as the cutaneous test, was introduced about 

 the same time and has been universally declared impractical 

 by those who have published their experiences with it. The 

 two methods resemble each other in several respects, but 

 principally in the fact that the diagnosis does not depend 

 upon a tbermal reaction, but upon the local changes vvhich 

 develop in the reacting animals at the place of application or 

 injection. Another fact which may have tended to obscure 

 the intra-dermal test is, that the article describing it in the 

 proceedings of the International Congress on Tuberculosis 

 appeared in French only, and it was not until Drs. Baker 

 and Ward of California called attention to it at the meeting 

 of the Veterinary Medical Association in San Francisco in 

 Septeuibsr last that it was decided to give it a trial here. 

 Undoubtedly many other veterinarians have by this time 

 experimented with ir, and even though the International 

 Commission on Bovine Tuberculosis discourages the use of 

 any but the subcutaneous method for the present, this is, as 

 stated, probably due to the fact that not enough attention 

 has been given to it and that the immense importance of its 

 superiorit}' as a convenient and economic diagnostic agent 

 for tuberculosis in animals has not been realized. The intra- 

 dermal method is equally well adapted for diagnosing tuber- 

 culosis in hogs, tubercuKn in this case being injected in the 

 lower lobe of the ear or just behind and below the ear where 

 the skin is thin. A typical swelling and discoloration of 

 the unpigraented skin takes place, and is generally so well 

 marked that the animal does not need to be confined or 

 restrained. for examination. 



The Semi-annual Report of Messrs. Schiramel & Co., 

 dated April 1911, gives a note on work in which the influ- 

 ence was investigated of certain volatile substances ujion the 

 development of germinating grains of corn. It was found 

 that the vapour of thyme, wild thyme, or eucalyptus oil, 

 quickly stopped germination. When the grains were exposed 

 to the vapour of turpentine, rosemary oil, or menthol, the 

 seedlings continued to grow for some time before death. 

 The development was impeded by citronella oil, lavender oil 

 and thymol, but the germs were not destroyed. Camphor, 

 clove and some other oils did not show any effect. 



