Vol. XVI. No. 389. 



THE AGRICULTURAL UTEWS. 



87 



latter part of July, that the expectations formed in the early 

 part of July will not be realized, and the crop is not likely to 

 exceed 800 tons. Xever in the whole history of Nyasaland 

 has frost been so severe, and in the South Nyasa and Ruo 

 districts cotton plants were killed outright and the leaves 

 were as brown as tobacco. The frost is estimated to be 

 responsible for the loss of at least 200 tons of seed- 

 cotton. 



The question of transport to all districts is cau.sing very 

 great trouble, but, by co operating with the military, the 

 Director of Agriculture hopes to be able to keep the industry 

 up to the standard of the last few years, and if the weather is 

 favourable, to show a little progress. 



GOVERNMENT WAK LOAN. It was decided that the 

 Association should subscribe for an amount of the new 

 Government -5 per cent. War Loan, and the total subscribed 

 by the As.sociation and the staff now amounts to jCl6,84.'5, of 

 which £14,49-5 is new. 



CHEMICAL CONTROL IN CANE SUGAR 

 FACTORIES. By Dr. H. C. Prinsen Geerligs. Revised 

 and enlarged edition. London: Norman Rodger, 1917. 

 Pp. 140. Price 10s. net. 



The original edition of this manual appeared under the 

 title of 'Methods of Chemical Control in Cane Sugar 

 Factories', in 190.5. Since then many advances have been 

 made in chemical control. Data regarding the sucrose and 

 the fibre contents of the cane are almost universally collected 

 by indirect methods from the proportional amounts and the 

 analysis of the juice and the megass, and not by the direct 

 analysis of samples of cane. Thus the percentage of fibre 

 is no longer determined by direct digestion or extraction, 

 but is calculated from the difference between the total dry 

 substance and that of the residual juice .still left in the 

 megass. 



The necessary analyses and determinations, and methods 

 of calculation for modern control are described in detail in this 

 book, and the arrangement is very systematic and clear. 

 The book may be regarded as a standard manual for central 

 factories. Dealing almost entirely with methods of analysis 

 and avoiding all theoretical discussion, it will be found 

 especially useful by assistant analysts concerned principally 

 with routine determinations. 



In a summary of items of departmental interest recently 

 received from St. Lucia, the Agricultural Superintendent 

 mentions that the extension of the Government Lime Juice 

 Factory has almost been completed. A new leaflet. No. 10, 

 entitled 'The Cultivation of Vegetables in St. Lucia', has been 

 prepared by the same officer and submitted for early 

 distribution. 



CONDITIONS IN THE BELGIAN CONGO. 



The German occupation of Belgium has not had any 

 material effect upon the administration of the Belgian colonies. 

 War conditions, however, have resulted in a decline of the 

 imports into the Belgian Congo: on the other hand, the exports 

 show a decided increase. The English /J'jarrf or" Trade Journal 

 for December 7, 1916, gives the quantities of the principal 

 commodities of domestic production exported from the 

 Belgian Congo in 1915, as compared with 1914, as 

 follows: — 



1914. 1915. 



Kilogs. 



619,819 

 4,265,653 



200,899 



11,023,903 



3,407,093 



1,139,901 



2,01.3,157 



234,372 



Kilog. = 2-2046 ft. 



The above-mentioned Journal states that in connexion 

 with the foregoing, the following summary of a speech recently 

 delivered by the Glovernor General of the Belgian Congo may 

 be of interest. The summary is taken from a report publish- 

 ed in the 'XXe Siecle' (Havre) of November 18, an 

 extract from which has been forwarded by H.M. Minister 

 accredited to the Belgian Government: — 



The Governor-General is reported as having said that in 

 spite of the financial strain imposed by the war, the Colony 

 continues to prosper, and the revenue is expected to show 

 a surplus of 8,000,000 frs. over the estimates in the current 

 Budget. 



MiNERAii INDUSTRY. — The working of the gold fields at 

 Kilo and Monto has progressed, and the yield has exceeded 

 expectations. Diamond prospecting in the bed of the Kasai 

 River has been profitable; during the last two years important 

 finds have been made. The copper mines and works have 

 been exploited intensively in order to profit by the favourable 

 market for this metal. During the second half of 1915 the 

 three furnaces in service praduced 6,914 tons of copper and 

 173 tons of matte. 



AGRICULTURE. — The rise in the price of rubber has revived 

 the interest of buyers in the Congo praduct, the value of 

 which had depreciated during 1914. The production of palm 

 oil in the Haut-Congo increased from 219 metric tons in 1914 

 to 1,425 tons in 1915, while the output of palm kernels 

 increased from 1,160 tons in the former year to 4,994 tons 

 in the latter. Rice cultivation is developing in the Colony, 

 the harvest in 1915 amounting to 5,000 tons, permitting of 

 the exportation of about 1,140 tons. Cotton is being planted, 

 and there are good prospects for the development of coffee, 

 cacao and manioc cultivation. 



Metric ton= 2,204*6 ft). 



