31G 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Septembek 30, 19n. 



GLEANINGS. 



The distribution of plants from the Dominica Botanic 

 Station during last month amounted to a total of 16,065. 

 This included limes 7,887, vanilla 7,740, cacao 318, grafted 

 mangoes 28, budded citrus 23, and miscellaneous 69. 



In connexion with the onion-growing industry of Antigua, 

 St. Kitts and Montserrat, it i.s of interest that 242J B). of seed 

 has been distributed in these islands from the Antigua 

 Agricultural Department for the planting of the coming crop. 



Tli.e Board of Trade Journal for August 17, 1911, states 

 that the cotton crop of Turkey for the last season amounted 

 to 32,000 bales. The coming crop is estimated at 35,000 

 bales. So far, the quality of the cotton from Turkey has 

 .shown little variation. 



According to the Journal of the Royal Socirti/ of Art. < 

 lor August 25, 1911, an industry of recent growth in Italy 

 is the extraction of an oil from tomato seed. This was form- 

 erly thrown away, but the oil is now iieginning to be in steady 

 demand for soap-making. In its properties, tomato-.'^eed oil 

 re.sembles somewhat that from cotton seed. 



A report received from Montserrat shows that cotton is 

 by thi.s time well established throughout the island, although 

 at the time of writing rain was becoming necessary, i)articu- 

 larly in the windward and northern districts. The effect of 

 the want of rain is to cause premature ripening of the earlier 

 cotton. Picking of this was commenced at the end of last 

 month. It is of interest that pests are not particularly in 

 evidence, although leaf-blister mite is met with in a few places 

 and cotton stainers are probably more prevalent than usual. 



Reference has been made in the Aitricultural N'ews from 

 time to time to the Xational Dairy Show at Chicago. Inform- 

 ation is now received from the National Dairy Show Asso- 

 ciation that the United States Agricultural Department 

 intends to make an exhibit at the Show. This will take the 

 form of enlarged photographs, prepared by ofKcers of the 

 Department during their inspection trips in dairy districts, 

 and will include illustrations of the interior and exterior of 

 buildings used in the production and marketing of milk and 

 milk products. 



The area planted in sugarcane in Java in 1910 was 

 312,000 acres, as compared with 301,134 in 1909 and 

 289,744 acres in 1908. From these areas there were oro- 

 dueed, respectively, 1,280,300, 1,241,726 and 1,241,885 tons 

 of sugar. The number of factories working in each of the 

 three years mentioned was 182, 181 and 177. 



A copy of a Special Colonial Hardware, Dairy Machin- 

 ery, and Agricultural Implements catalogue of the Swedish 

 Chamber of Commerce in London, 5, Lloyds Avenue, E.C., 

 ha* been received. This ccm tains matters of interest to 

 agriculturists, and will be Supplied free to applicants who 

 mention the A'jricidtwral News wlien requesting it to be 

 forwarded. 



A note appears in Bulletin No. 208 of the Bureau of 

 I'lant Indu.stry of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture, on a sample of Sea Island cotton grown from seed 

 planted in Trujillo, Honduras, in the latter part of August 

 1909. The plant which produced the seed is stated to have 

 measured 101 feet in height and to have been bearing 78 

 bolls and six blo.-ssoms. 



An account, based on informatiim in the T^ganda Opifial 

 (,'(t:ette, of tapping experiments with Ceara rubber in 

 Uganda was supplied in the A(/riciilliiral News, Vol. .\, p. 265. 

 Since that time the useful information has l)een given in the 

 issue of that paper for July 15, 1911, to the effect that 

 the trees with which the trials were, made had an average 

 age of two and a half years, and an average girth, ^ feet 

 from the ground, of 13 inches. 



The imports and exports of the Turks and Caicos Islands 

 for 1910 were valued at £24,202 and £24,461, 'as against 

 £25,262 and £18,936 in 1909, respectively. The exports in 

 salt fell from £15,732 to £14,889, in spite of favourable 

 price.s, the small .shipments being due to the disastrous floods 

 in November 1909, which did more damage to the industry 

 than the hurricane of the preceding year. The exports of 

 sisal rose in value from £608 to £7,351, while those of sponges 

 increased from £953 to £1,316. (From Colonial Reports— 

 Annual, No. 681.) 



The Bulletin of the Imperial Institute for 1911, p. 105, 

 contains an article dealing with the nuts of the dum palm 

 {llyphaene thehaica) which shows that these have been tried 

 for making buttons, in the place of the vegetable ivory, from 

 Phi/telephas macrovarpa. The buttons made were of an 

 inferior quality and their manufacture would not appear to 

 be profitable. The suggestion also exists that the nuts may 

 be turned to make small balls, suitable for bagatelle and 

 other games, but their shape and the large cavity in them 

 render them unfit for the purpose. * 



With reference to the percentage of oil in ground nuts, 

 it is stated in the Rtport on the Rroijress of Aijriirultnre in 

 India for 1909 10 that invcstigation.s have shown that there 

 is no relation between this and the variety. The percentage 

 appears to be determined by the conditions under which 

 a given variety has been grown, rather than by the nature of 

 the variety itself. Further investigations are being made in 

 order to determine if there is any connexion between the oil 

 content of the ground nut and the amount of cultivation that 

 is given to the plant during its growth. 



It is reported by the Agricultural Superintendent, 

 St. Lucia, that the alterations made at the station in con- 

 nexion with the new .scheme of agricultural training have 

 been completed. The old ottice building is now to be used 

 as a cla.ssroom for agricultural pupils, while an extension has 

 been made to this to form a new otbce for the Agricultural 

 Superintendent. These change.'*, together with improvements 

 that have been carried out in the grounds have added to the 

 picture.sciueness of the station and have made it more fitted 

 for the work that i" conducted there. 



