3G4 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November 11, 1911. 



At the present ilay there are 442 publications in the 

 I'nited States and Canada -which deal with agriculture, .sjivi- 

 culture, floriculture, live-stock and live-stock breeding, irri- 

 gation, poultry, bee culture and the dairy. Out of this 

 number, 228 are monthly publications, 57 bi-monthly, 140 

 weekly, 4 bi-weekly and 13 daily. It may be calculated 

 that these publications pass into the hands of from two to 

 three million farmers. [BidUlin of the Bureau of Economic 

 and Social Intelliyence, of the International Institute of 

 Agriculture, .June 30, 1911, p. 246.) 



GLEANINGS. 



The distribution of plants from the Dominica Botanic 

 Station during September last included the following: limes 

 4,.550, spineless limes 200, cacao 170, Para ruViber 100, 

 grafted mangoes -5, miscellaneous 110. The total distribution 

 was 5,13.5 plants. 



Great efforts are being made to increase the cotton out- 

 put in German East Africa. The harvest for 1911 is calcu- 

 lated at 3,800 liale.s— already twice the c^uantity produced in 

 1910, and similar efforts are being made under German 

 influence in Brazil. (The Textile Mercury, September 23, 

 1911.) 



An Ordinance (No. XVII of 1911) has been passed 

 recently in Papua, for the purpose of amending the enact- 

 ments relating to the prohibition and prevention of the intro- 

 duction of certain animals into the Territory, and the 

 checking of diseases in animals. This prohibits the importa- 

 tion into the Territory of rabbits, foxe.s, hares and monkeys, 

 under a penalty of £500; penalties of £100 are also enacted 

 for the possession of such animals, for allowing them to 

 escape, or for obstructing Officers of the Government in their 

 work of destroying the animals. The Ordinance further 

 regulates the introduction of all animals except domestic 

 animals, and, as has been indicated, provides for the preven- 

 tion of the importation of diseases of animals. 



References have been made from time to time in the 

 Agricultural Neivs to the National Dairy Show which was 

 held at Chicago from October 20 to November 4. In con- 

 nexion with thi.', further information has been received to 

 the effect that the President of the United States has offered 

 a silver cup, for competition in the Students' Judging Con- 

 test, at the show. 



A letter in the Field for August 26, 1911, draws atten- 

 tion to a preparation called Antinonnin, which is stated to 

 prevent effectively the growth of fungi, moulds and dry rot 

 in timber. It is made by Messrs. Bayer i^- Co., and one of 

 its chief advantages is that it is non-volatile, and does not 

 po.sses8 any odour. This cliaracteristic should make it 

 especially adapted for use in houses. 



The amounts of the principal products shipped from 

 Dominica, to the end of August of the present year, are as 

 follows; cacao, ■>,\Q\ cwt.; citrate of lime, 886 cwt.; concen- 

 trated lime juice, 23,390 gallons; raw lime juice, 103,143 

 gallons; lime juice cordial, 5,750 gallons; ecucllcd lime oil, 

 336 gallons; distilled lime oil, 1,672 gallons; limes, 30,320 

 barrels and 2,148 boxes; pickled limes, 20."! barrels; cocoa- 

 nuts, 281,182. 



The Board of Trade Journal for September 21, 1911, 

 draws attention to an article in the Nachrlclitni t'lir Handel 

 vnd induflrie (Berlin), for September 5, 1911, in which it is 

 stated that there has l)ecn a consideralilo increase, in late 

 years, in the prnductinn of cotton in .\fghanistan. This is 

 dealt with at I'e.-^hawar, and the quantity sold yearly is com- 

 paratively small, scarcely exceeding 3,000 liales of 400 D). 

 The cotton has recently l)een imported into India by way of 

 Ohaman; it is used chiefly for the manufacture of househeld 

 articles such as drapery, carpets, tablecloths and l)ed sheets. 



The Experiment Station Record of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture for June 1911, p. 645, gives 

 a note on tapping experiments that have been conducted with 

 young Fimtumia elastira trees at Amani, German East 

 Africa. It was found that the largest yields were obtained 

 when the quarter-section method of tapping was employed, 

 but it is considered that herring-bone tapping will give the 

 best results, as a general rule. Tapping operations conducted 

 with six-year-old trees were found to be profitable: there is, 

 apparently, an increase in the quantity of latex with the age 

 and diameter of the tree, although in some cases compara- 

 tively high yields were obtained from .slender trees. It was 

 concluded that it is l)est to select the seed from trees showing 

 a continuously high yield, as in many cases high returns are 

 given, but are not necessarily sustained. No conclusions are 

 available, so far, as to the damage which repeated tappings 

 cause to the trees. 



Attention is drawn to a description of a permanent 

 label for trees and shrubs, used exclusively for such plants at 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which is given in the 

 Handbook of Tropical Gardening and Planting, by H. F. 

 Macmillan (see Agricultural A'ews, Vol. IX, p. 379). The 

 label consists of a piece of sheet lead measuring about 3 by 

 2 inches, with about J, -inch of one of the longer sides turned 

 over to form a rim, below which two holes are pierced for 

 suspending by wire. The letters composing the name of the 

 plant are neatly punched in with punch type, the impres- 

 sions being filled in with white lead or zinc paint, and the 

 surface afterwards rubbed over with an oiled rag. Where 

 the atmosphere contains a large proportion of compounds of 

 sulphur, as in Montserrat and Dominica, zinc paint would be 

 used instead of white lead. Suitable punches may be 

 obtained from Messrs. Baird and Tatlock, 14, Cross Street, 

 Hatton Garden, E.G., at the price of £\ Is. per set, for 

 letters jj-inch high. 



