332 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



October U, 1911. 



GLEANINGS. 



Information received from the Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent, St. Lucia, sliow.s that tbe cacao crop of the island 

 promises to be good, but will jirobably be somewhat late in 

 the Soufriere District. It has reached its best development 

 in the district of Fond St. Jacques. 



It is reported from H. M. Legation at Buenos Aires that 

 the first export of raw cotton, amounting to 200 tons, from 

 the Argentine liepublic, recently took place. Statistics show 

 that at present about 4,340 acres of land is in e.xperimental 

 cotton cultivation, in the Argentine. 



According to Dii^loraatic and Consular Rtport, No. 

 4639 Annual Series, the total production of sugar in lieunion 

 for 1910 was 39,000 tons., as compared with one of 39,500 

 tons in 1909. The amount of vanilla exported last year was 

 42 tons; in 1909, 190S and 1907, it was 39A, 70, and 48i 

 tons, re.si)ectively. 



Among tlie agricultural e.xports from Jlexico during the 

 year 1909-10, the following had the values stated: henequen 

 (sisal hemp),£2,2.55,6.57; coffee, £817,3(14; timlier, £254,428; 

 raw tobacco, £G7,G02; dyewoods, £43,620. These are all 

 decreases on the values for the previous year, except in the 

 case of timber and dyewoods. 



It is satisfactory to be able to report that good rains 

 fell in Nevis toward the end of last month, and that the pros- 

 pects for the coming season are probably better than those 

 recently formulated. The cotton crop had not yet been 

 established at the end of September, but many hundred acres 

 tiad been planted, chiefly during the last week of the month. 



In the Ayricuhiiral ^Vtw".^, Vol. X, p. 247, a de.scription 

 was given of a transplanting spade, based on information 

 contained in the issue of Tl/r Ft, Id for May 20, 1911. Since 

 this. The Field, in the number dated July 1, 1911, states 

 further that the address of the inventor and supplier of the 

 implement, the jiriee of which isabtmt 25.s,, is Forster Dostal, 

 Kollein, Oesterr-Midiren, Austria. 



The year 1910-11 was one of general prosperity for 

 feurma. Some depression resulted from unsucce.ssful specu- 

 lations in rice and in investments, but it need not be antici- 

 pated that this will have an enduring or widespread effect. 

 Tlie rice crop, always a ruling factor in the trade of r.urnia, 

 was a good one, and remunerative prices were (/btained. Well 

 Vstablislied industries, such as the oil, timber and hide trades, 

 continued to llourish, ami newer enterprises, notably mining 

 and rubber- planting, have made a sound beginning, which 

 augurs well for the future development of the country. {The 

 Hoard of Trade Journal, August 3, 1911.) 



In St. Kitts during September, the cane crop in the 

 Valley District was still suffering from drought, though in the 

 Northern District conditions were more favourable. Useful 

 rains had been received, but much more was needed for the 

 proper growth of the canes. Cotton was making good progress 

 generally, though a certain amount of loss had resulted from 

 attacks of the cotton worm. 



The distribution from the Botanic Station, Antigua, dur- 

 ing last month included 4,443 limes, 86 mahogany plants and 

 194 miscellaneous plants. The work included the supplying 

 of numerous shrubs and trees to take the place of those in 

 the Station as well as of some that had been planted on 

 Arbor Day, which had perished from the effects of the recent 

 drought. Advantage has been taken of the improved weather 

 conditions in Antigua to plant cotton, sweet potatoes and 

 other crops. 



A bulletin of the condition of crops in Egypt oa 

 September 1, received from the Departnieut of Agriculture, 

 .shows that in regard to cotton there has been an increase of 

 parasites, but that the strenuous Government operations have 

 resulted in making the third brood of cotton worms small 

 and distributed in widely scattered batches. The attacked 

 plants have now made a good recovery but the crop is at 

 least ten days late, and a continuance of warm weather was 

 desired for the control of the boll worm. Small patches 

 infected with plant lice have been reported. 



The Experiment Station Jiecord of the L'nited States 

 Department of Agriculture for June 1911, p. 609, contains 

 a reference to a method which has been devised by N. Caro 

 for determining the nitrogen in combination as cyanamide 

 and dicyandiamide. The method is based on the fact that 

 cyanamide may be precipitated as a compound of silver from 

 an ammoniacal solution; while dicj'andiamide is also precipi- 

 tated from tbe filtrate as a silver compound, by the addition 

 of potassium hydroxide. In both cases the determination of 

 the nitrogen in the precipitates is made by means of the 

 Kjeldahl method. 



At the recent meeting of the P.ritish Association, Sir 

 Daniel Morris, K.C.M G., brought to the notice of the 

 Botanical Section a branch of the Japanese Euonymus 

 (Euonytnuf. japonica) which was attacked by the disease 

 Oidium. This disease has been spreading steadily in England, 

 and Sir Daniel expressed it as his opinion that, unless pre- 

 cautionary measures are taken, the plant will cea.se to exist as 

 an ornamental shrub in the South of England, lie also 

 made reference to the measures for the control of ..iseases 

 of importwd plants that exist in the West Indies, pointing 

 out that similar measures might well be adopted by the 

 British Government. 



The Report on the I'roi/rexs of A'/rieulture in India for 

 1909-10, p. 42, refers to the fact that the cultivation of sugar- 

 cane in Malabar is practically unknown and that thi.s, as well 

 as the details of making jaggery, have had to be taught to 

 the people from the beginning. New varieties of cane liave 

 been introduced, and attention is drawn to the fact that the 

 increased p.-olits to the cultivators through the employment 

 of new canes are larger than the whole cost of the local 

 department of agriculture. Among the new canes reference 

 is made to the introduction of one of the Barbados seedlings, 

 which is stated to possess a very high sugar content and to 

 be a most valuable acquisition to India. 



