252 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



August 5, 1911. 



GLEANINGS. 



The exports of sugar from .Java during .January last, 

 which were mostly to India and China, reached tlie amount 

 of 53,481 tons, as compared with -54, 36.5 tons during 1910. 



The exports of balata from Dutch Guiana are increasing, 

 the amount for the past three years being as follows: 1908, 

 998,800 lb ; 1909, 1,-500,400 ft.; 1910, l.iXU.GOO ft. During 

 last year about 2, .500,000 acres were leased as balata conces- 

 sions. (From the India-Bu/jher World, Ju\y 1, 1911.) 



The Progress Report on the Peradeniya Ivxperiment 

 Station, Ceylon, from .January 12 to March lU, contains 

 the results of an experiment to determine the amount of oil 

 obtainable from Para rubber seeds by expression in a mill. 

 The percentage of oil obtained was 17-75; ibis left a residue 

 in the form of an oily poonac which would not bind. 



A letter appears in yature for .June :.'9, 1911, p. 584, 

 ■which suggests a new use, in Australia, for Eucalyptus oils 

 that are rejected as not coming up to the requirements of the 

 British Pharmacopoeia. This ccmsists in their employment 

 in mining, for the extraction of the very finely divided par- 

 ticles of minerals in ' tailings '. 



A report received from the Curator of the liotanic 

 Station, Montserrat, states that all the plots for experiments 

 are occupied with crops, except that reserved for Egyptian 

 cotton. The details are as follows: ground nuts, 9 plots; 

 sweel potatoes, 40 varieties; yams, 8 varieties; sugar-cane, 

 17 varieties; a plot for corn breeding, and plots containing 

 six kinds of green dressings. 



The .hiiiriial of the Rayal llorlindlnfd Swiety for May 

 1911, p. 796 (Vol. XXXVl, Part 3), contains" a short 

 abstract of a paper in which is considered the possible influence 

 of the scion on the stock in grafting In this, it would 

 appear that authentic cases exist where the stock has 

 produced shoots showing unmistakable traces of the influence 

 of the scion. Examples are given of new varieties of fruit 

 plants that were i.roduced on stocks after the removal of old 

 scions. 



The New Zealand flax industry of St. Helena sullered 

 a serious setback during 1910 on account; of the shortness of 

 the supply of Phormium leaves. According to Colonial 

 .ffejRo)7.s — Annual, No. 675, it ap[)ears that, owing to the poor- 

 ness of the soil in St. Helena, the plants take a longer time to 

 attain maturity than in New Zealand, and it was this unex- 

 pectedly slow growth that has led to an insutticient supply of 

 he plants. 



Work has been recently carried out for the purpose of 

 determining the use of the mucilage which is found on 

 various seeds, and an account of this is given in the E.iperi- 

 'imml Station Record, of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Vol. .\XIV, p. 534. .As a restilt of the investi 

 gallons, it is claimed that the mucilage, in addition to having 

 any other u.se, serves as a reserve food for the developing 

 seedling, during germination. 



At a meeting of the Legislative Council at St. Vincent, 

 held on February 28, 1911, an Ordinance to jjrovide for the 

 destruction of old cotton plants entitled The Cotton Diseases 

 Prevention Ordinance, 1911, was passed. At a subsequent 

 meeting of the Council, held on March 7, amendments to the 

 Ordinance were made, in consequence of the discovery in it of 

 a few mistakes aftei its passage. Particulars of the Ordin- 

 ance are contained in the St. Vincent Oonernvtent Gazette for 

 May IS, 1911. 



The Bidlctin of the Bureau of AijrienitHral I nteliiijence 

 and of Plant Diseases, of the International Institute of 

 Agriculture, contains an abstract of a i)aper by Dr. P. .J. 

 Cramer, which deals with the variability of tropical plants in 

 a wild condition, particularly of species of Cutfea. With 

 reference to selection, generally. Dr. Cramer recommends the 

 careful examination of all the available wild species of 

 a plant, us the first step, and suggests the founding of 

 a special Institr.te, directed by a botanist, for plant breeding 

 and selection in the tropics. 



A report on a recent teachers' certificate e.xaiuination 

 held in the Colony is contained in ihe Trinidad Royal Gazette 

 for .June 16, 1911. This rejiort indicates ihal creditable re- 

 sults were obtained in agriculture by most of the candidates, 

 though many of the papers show a lack of power of observa- 

 tion on their part, and there was a want of knowledge con- 

 cerning the s|jecial methods of disper.sal of weed.s, as well as 

 in other directions. In regard to hj-giene, the papers on the 

 whole indicated that the candidates posses-sed a very credit- 

 able grasp of the sulject. 



According to Diplomatic and Consular Report No.4676— 

 Annual Series, the rice harvest of Corea in 1909 was 

 37,285,000 bushels, and it is stated that, with the proper 

 use of manure and belter irrigation, the crop should reach 

 50,000,000 bushels. The industry is likely to be assisted 

 by the granting of permission for Corean rice to enter Japan 

 free of duty. It is stated, further, that considerable eft'orts 

 are being made in Corea to foster the cotton growing 

 industry. An official Cotton Cultivation Association produced 

 about 400,000 lb. of lint from 1,000 acres in 1909, and it is 

 expected that 000,000 acres will be replanted with Upland 

 cotton by 1917. 



The St. Lucia Gazette for July f<, 1911, contains particu- 

 lars of an Ordinance called The Turtb and Fish Protection 

 Ordinance, 1911. This provides for a close season for turtle 

 and turtle eggs from .^lay 1 to August 31 inclusive, in 

 every year; though this time may be altered by the Governor, 

 by notice in the Ga.ette. Further, provision is made for the 

 I)unisliment of persons who are in possession of turtles, parts 

 of turtles or the eggs during the clo.se sea.son: of those who 

 are in posse.ssion at any time of turtle weighing less than 15 ft. ; 

 and for the setting of turtle nets within 10(J yards of the shore. 

 In regard to ti.sli, the use of explosives is forbidden in inland 

 waters, and in the .sea, within 1 mile of the shore. 



