312 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 30, 191 L 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for. naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for Copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the Agents, and not to 

 the Department. 



Local Agents: Messrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. London Agents: Messrs. Dulau & 

 Co,, 37, Soho Square, W. A complete list of Agents 

 will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural News : Price IcZ. per number, 

 post free 2d. Annual subscription paj-able to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, 4s. 4rf. 



giflrtcultural Jleiuii 



Vol. X. SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER .30, 1911. No. 246. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In this number, the editorial gives a review of 

 a recent Report on the St. Vincent Land Settlement 

 Scheme. The general matters in the report alone 

 receive treatment; reference is made to the original for 

 many interesting details. 



On page 308 will be found a short account of 

 a scheme for cacao-spraying experiments in Grenada. 



A summary of a recent investigation in regard to the 

 water requirements of crops is presented on page 30&. 



On the same page, an abstract of an account is 

 given of a method that has been devised recently for 

 hastening the coagulation of the late.x of Ficus elastica. 

 In the original article, the suggestion is made that the 

 method might be tried for Castilloa latex. 



An article on page 312 consists of an abstract of 

 a recent paper detailing investigations of much impor- 

 tance that have been carried out recently, in relation to 

 the quality of plantation rubber. 



The Insect Notes in this issue, on page 314, present 

 information concerning ticks, and include a note on 

 a new sugar-cane pest that has been discovered recently 

 in Mauritius. 



The Fungus Notes will be found on page 318. 

 They deal chieHy with the disease known as the black 

 ro.t ot' Natal citrus fruits. 



Publications of the Imperial Department of 



Agriculture. 



The Pamphlet Series of the Department is about 

 to receive additions by the publication of Numbers 09 

 and 70, which are shortly to be issued respectively 

 undi-r the titles Hints to Settlers in St. Lucia and 

 Coco-nut Cultivation in the West Indies. 



The former of these has been prepared by His 

 Honour Edward .J. Cameron, C.M.G., Administrator 

 of St. Lucia, wiih assistance fi'(>m ihe Officers of the 

 Local I )ppfirimont of Agriculture. Ic contains twenty- 

 seven pages of letter press, atfording concise informa- 

 tion concerning the island, and is made attractive by 

 the inclusion of useful illustrations. Pamphlet 70 is 

 also illu.strated. 



These will both be shortly obt.ainable from the 

 agents for the puclications of the Department, price ikl., 

 post free lid. 



^ 



The Increasing Use for Lace. 



A note of some interest in relation to cotton pro- 

 duction appears in the Dra2)ers' Record for September 

 9, 1911. This states that the vogue for lace is returning 

 to favour, and : 'there is no longer any doubt that 

 lace will play a very important part in the fashions of 

 the immediate futtire.' This is to a large extent due 

 to the example that has been set by <^)ueen Mary, who, 

 as is well known, possesses an admiration for the best 

 kinds of lace. The demand is also increasing on the 

 European Continent, and lace is coming into use to 

 a constantly greater extent for the adorning of after- 

 noon and evening gowns. The information is all the 

 more welcome to those in the cotton and lace industries, 

 as some time has passed since lace has been in fashion 

 to the extent desired by the producers. 



It is stated that there is every indication that 

 a return is to be made, with the modifications natural 

 in such a matter, to the fashions of 18.50-t)0 — ' fashions 

 which lend themselves admirably to the dexterous use 

 of lace.' At the present time there is considerable 

 ingenuity in forming unique combinations of laces, par- 

 ticularly for Hounces, blouses, and restaurant coats. 



The note concludes with the following statement: 

 ' Those in the know confidently predict a lace season in 

 1912, and with the coming of spring, lace will undoubt- 

 edly have arrived, and will assert it.self upon garments 

 of every sort and kind with remarkable pertinacity.' 



The Quality of Plantation Rubber. 



Attention is given in the India-Rubber Journal 

 for July 22, 1911, to the circumstance that, at the 

 recent Conference held during the International 

 Rubber Exhibition, doubts were cast by one authority 

 on the quality of the Para rubber seed that was 

 obtained hy Mr. H. A. W'ickham for i)lanting in the 

 East, the contention being made that in the district 

 from which the seeds were collected the trees are all 

 yicldcrs of what is called weak rubber. It will be 

 understood that this suggestion is serious in nature, 

 as it would infer that the large area of land in the J\Iid 

 .East which has been acquired for rubber planting aft 



