344 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



OCTOBER 28, 19n. 



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giDricultural |^eiu!i 



Vol. X. SATURDAY. OCTOBER -28, I'Jll. No. 2-18. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the present number, the editoiirtl has for its 

 subject The Definite Pui pose in Agricultural Work. 

 it is treated particularly from the point of view of the 

 issue of agricultural publications and the work in 

 experinii'iu stations. 



Under the heading Sugar Industry, on page 3o9, 

 an interesting account is given of the way in which 

 sugar-cane is grown in Egypr. 



Note of a recent inveetigalion conducted in 

 Grenada concerning lime juice from different sources is 

 made on page 340. 



Page 341 contains an abstract of an account of 

 provisions that have been made recently for the endow- 

 ment and conduct of agricultural research in England 

 and Wales. 



The Production of Salt in the Congo. 



A recent report by H.M. Consul at Boma shows 

 that salt is made in the Congo from grasses growing by 

 the river-side. These are burned, .ind after the ashes 

 have been placed in a cone-shaped baske; that is used 

 ;is a filter, water is poured on them and is allowed to 

 (hip inii> an earthenware vessel. A very crude form of 

 salt is ilien obtained by boiling the water until crystal- 

 lizition take^~ place. 



One of the uses of sdc in the Congo arises from 

 its monetary \alue in th.-ii; State, and ir, is still indis- 

 poiisahle for travelling purposes. This value will be 

 lost eventually, with the increased use of money, but the 

 demand is likely to be maintained, as it will always be 

 readily bought by the natives. 



Calcium Cyanamide and Nitrate of Lime. 



Recent experiments with reference to the subject 

 of the value ot calcium cyanamide and nitrate of lime 

 as manures, as compared with such other forms as 

 nitrate of soda and sulphate of amuionia. receive atten- 

 tion in the E vperiment Station Rei-ord of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, for March 1911, 

 p. 220. The investigations were c irried out with oats, 

 wheat, potatoes and beets, in a deep h'-avy clay loam 

 containing much organic matter. 



With oats and wheat, sodium nitrate gave the best 

 yields of straw; but there was as high a yield of grain 

 with calcium cyanamide and nitrate of lime. Sulphate 

 of amiuonia gave the highest yield with potatoes, and 

 that from calcium cyanamide was ahnost as great as the 

 outturn when the other m.anures wci'e used. Calcium 

 cyanamide was foiuid to be much less effective than 

 sodium nitrate, in the case of beets. 



An account of a recent special meeting of the 

 Council of the British Cotton Growing Association, 

 held for the purpose of meeting the Imperial Com- 

 missioner of Agiiculture, i)r. Francis Watts, C.M.G.. 

 and the Director of Agriculture, Trinidad, Professor 

 P. Carmody, is jjresenteil on page 342. 



The Insect Notes, on page 34(>, give attention to 

 the measures that havo been adoj)ted in the United 

 States for the control of the Argentine Ant, and to 

 species of mosquito-destroying tieh that are described 

 from Africa. 



The Fungus Notes appear on page 3.50. They 

 contain the concluding part of two articles on wounds 

 in plants and their treatment, which were commenced 

 in the last number of the Agriculfund News. 



Manures and Nitrification in the Lighter Soils. 



In the last number of the AgrictdJ" ral Neics, on 

 page 239, a note was given on work with soils that is 

 described in Bulletin No. 37 of the Hawaiian Sugar 

 Planters' Association; this dealt more particularly with 

 the effect of lime on nitrification in wet soils. An 

 account of further w^ork is included in the Bulletin, 

 namely that in which investigations were made of the 

 effect of manures on nitrification, in a soil containing 

 a moderate amount of organic matter, rich in lime, 

 alkaline to litm^us and readily drained. 



Under the conditions, it was found that such 

 manures as double superphosphate, basic phosphate and 

 sulphate of potash increased nitrification, the best 

 rcstdts being obtained with the first two. 



Where nitrogen .is aninionium sidphate had been 

 added already,,, the emiiloyment of potash and phos- 

 phate caused a decrease in nitrification; the greatest 

 diminution took place in respect of double superphos- 

 phate. Further, the nitrification of sulphate of 

 ammonia was greatly decreased by additions of quick- 

 lime. 



Nitrogen was .added both as sodium nitrate .and 

 calcium nitrate, the amount being the same in the two 



