'268 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



August 19, 1911. 



GLEANINGS. 



The exports of rubber from Ceylon during March 1911 

 were 5,393 cwt., as compared with 2,065 cwt., in 1910. For 

 the nine months ending March 1911, they were 37,511 cwt.; 

 whereas during the similar period in 1909-10, they amounted 

 to 16,498 cwt. 



The Bulletin of Ayricidttiral Siatistics of the Inter- 

 national Institute of Agriculture, Rome, Vol. II, p. 59, gives 

 revised figures of cotton-planting and production in India for 

 the season 1910-11. The area planted was "22,364,143 acres, 

 and the production 4,102,000 bales of 400 lb. each. 



In the St. Vincent Government Gazettelor May 11, 1911, 

 the particulars are given of an Ordinance to amend the Land 

 Settlement Ordinance, 1899, No. 7 of 1911. This Ordinance 

 passed the Legislative Council on April 25, 1911, and may 

 be cited as the Land Settlement (Amending) Ordinance, 1911. 



The quantity of desiccated cocoa-nuts exported from 

 Ceylon in 1910 was 28 million pounds. In the previous year 

 the exportation was 27 million pounds. The average exporta- 

 tion for the last ten years is 18,500,000 B)., so that the 

 shipments for 1910 were more than half as great again as 

 this. 



A report furnished by the Agricultural Instructor, 

 Tortola, states that a much increased area of cotton was 

 planted in the \'irgin Islands during last month, and that 

 there is still a demand for seed. An increasing interest is 

 being taken in regard to lime growing, and the same is true 

 of sugar production. 



It is estimated that, at the end of last year there were in 

 East Sumatra thirty-six British companies raising plantation 

 rubber, and it is supposed that these represent a capital of 

 about £4,000,000. Estimates for the area of land lea.sed to 

 these companies give this as about 445,000 acres; nearly one- 

 ninth of this has been planted in rubber. 



In the Grenada Government Gazette for July 13, 1911, 

 there is published an Ordinance to amend the Agricultural 

 Products Protection Ordinances, 1906 and 1909; this passed 

 the Legislative Council on .Tune 10, 1911. Its purpose is to 

 regulate the sale and possession of cotton, and it may be cited 

 as the Agricultural Products Protection Ordinance, 1911. 



The distribution from the Antigua Botanic Station dur- 

 ing July included the following plants and seeds: cocoa- 

 nuts 70, mahogany 55. miscellaneous 122, cotton .seed 43 tt)., 

 sweet potato cuttings 700. In the nursery, seeds of Eucalyptus, 

 Casuarina and other plants were sown, and plants of Manihot 

 flic/ioforna, as well as of other economic kinds, were potted. 



Among the exports from the Philippine Islands, hemp 

 takes the largest place, and the amount shipped in 1910 was 

 worth £1,432,358. This is a decline from the export of last 

 year, which was valued at £1,520,000. The decrease has 

 taken place notwithstanding the fact that the average price 

 for the product has practically maintained the same value 

 during the two years. 



It is reported from Nevis that, to the end of last 

 month, about 500 acres of cotton had been planted. The dry 

 weather has, however, interfered seriously with the establish- 

 ment of the crop, up to the present, so that it is doubtful that 

 the expected increase of the area in cotton-growing in Nevis 

 will take place in the present season. It is estimated that the 

 output of lint for last season is at least 335,000 Db. 



H. M. Minister at Panama reports the publication of 

 a Law No. 5 of 1911, ordering the National and Mortgage 

 and Loan Bank to set apart 8100,000 (about £20,500) of its 

 capital for loans that will increase the sugar indu.stry in the 

 Republic. Another Law, No. 42 of 1911, authorizes the 

 Government to enter into contracts calculated to stimulate 

 the sugar industry. (The Board of Trade Journal, June 22, 

 1911.) 



According to the St. Croix Avis [or July 5, 1911, an 

 Ordinance for St. Croix, prescribing measures against diseases 

 of the cotton plant, was passed unanimously by the Colonial 

 Council at an Ordmary Meeting held on May 15, 1911. The 

 draft of the Ordinance, which was sent to the Government 

 for approval, provides among other matters, for the pulling 

 up and burning of old cotton plants by a certain date, to be 

 fixed in each vear. 



Tcysmannia, Vol. XXI. p. 47, contains an account of 

 an experiment in which teosinte {Eitrhlaena mexicana) was 

 crossed with maize, in Java, for the purpose of obtaining 

 a hybrid which would show greater fertility and resistance 

 to chlorosis, the latter being a disease commonly attacking 

 maize in Java. The experiment wfis a failure, as, although 

 hybrids were obtained from it, these did not give any 

 greater yields, and possessed no increased resistance to 

 chlorosis. 



The Egyptian cotton worm cani|)aign is now in progress, 

 and will last until the end of August, the oflicial date of the 

 closure. If by that time the i)lague is not definitely destroyed 

 in certain provinces, the mudirs and governors will advise the 

 Ministry of the Interior, and the campaign will be continued 

 until September 30. Four European Inspectors have I>een 

 engaged from the staff of the Khedivial Agricultural Society, 

 to aid in the surveillance of the work against the cotton worm. 

 (The Textile Mercmn, July 8, 1911.) 



The Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry 

 will be held at Washington and New York in September 1912, 

 from the 4th to the 13th of the month. In selecting papers 

 for reading and discussion, preference will be given to those 

 which are mainly of inlernntional interest; all papers must 

 reach the Secretary not later than July 1, 1912. Information 

 concerning the Congress may be obtained from the Honorary 

 Secretary to the British Organising Committee for the Inter- 

 national Congress of Applied Chemistry, Society of Chemical 

 Industry, Palace Chambers, Westminster, S.W. 



