Vol. XVI. Xo. 387. 



THE AGRICULTURAL \EWS. 



57 



and Dramatic Jcurvnl will appreciate the happy 

 combination of ingenuity and regard for personal 

 comfort on the part of the lady who is pictured 

 towing a mowing machine and man operator acros.« 

 a hay-tield in her NO h.p. iJaiuiler. The car is run- 

 ning on bottom gear, and in spite of the strain on the 

 engines, the experiment is reported to have been sucess- 

 full Pieces of rope were tied eqnidistancly around the 

 back t} res in order to make the wheels grip the some- 

 what slippery surface of the field. While acknowledg- 

 ing the novelty of this form of traction, one is inclined to 

 question its economy, as well as its necessity, unless, 

 as seems unlikely on the farm, a horse was noD 

 available. 



in the following table, in which the areas occupied by 

 the varied industries are given in British acres: — 



The Resources of the French and Foreign 



Colonies in the Tropics. 



A copy has been received of the Annalcs dw 

 Mush. Coloniale des Marseitles (3rd series, Vol IV, 

 1916) consisting of a general account of recent investi- 

 gations into the resources of the French and foreign 

 colonies in the tropics. Algeria is the first country 

 dealt with, then Tunis, Morocco, and French Kast and 

 West Africa. Considerable attention is given to the 

 resources of Madagascar, and a large amount of space is 

 devoted to similar matters in French Indo- China. 

 Of interest in the West Indies will be that section 

 dealing with recent work in ^Martinique and Guadeloupe, 

 as vvell as in the British islands and in British Guiana. 

 An account of work in the American and Dutch tropics 

 is included. The whole publication forms a very 

 useful compilation, and although the information which 

 it records does not appear to be more up-to-date than 

 the year 1915, it will nevertheless serve as a useful 

 source of reference for information concerning agricul- 

 tural work in foreij^n tropical countries. The author is 

 M. Henri Jumelle, Professor at the Faculty of 

 Sciences and Director of the (-olonial Museum of 

 Marseilles. 



The Production of Rice and Provision Crops 



in British Guiana. 



The development of rice growing in British Guiana 

 has been one of the most striking features of the 

 colony's progress. We learn from the Report on the 

 Department of Science and Agriculture that from 1903 

 to 1914 the area under cultivation in rice increased 

 from 17,503 British acres to 47,037. During the year 

 under review the acreage was 50 737 acres, an increase 

 of 3,700 acres on the acreage reported for 1914; 13,600 

 acres eijual to 2(i-8 per cent, of the area under rice are 

 situated within the empoldeicd areas of sugar planta- 

 tions 



The relation of the rice-gp'wing industry to the 

 sugar-cane and other agricultural industries of the 

 colony during the period 1903 t'> 1915 is summarized 



In regard to pro\ision crops, the Demerara Daily 

 Argosy says: — 



The total acreage under these was 19,820 acres, or 

 1,243 acres less than in the previous year. It is much 

 to be regretted that under existing war conditions the 

 farmers of the colony have not realized the necessity, 

 from the point of view of the prime importance of 

 abundance of colony-produced foodstuffs for the benefit 

 of the poorer sections of the community, of continuing 

 the policy inaugurated in August 1914, of steadily 

 increasing the area under such products. In that year the 

 farmers increased the area under foodstuffs by 2,604 

 acres over that planted for 1913; that increase "is now 

 lessened to, in round figures, l,3(i0 acres. The area 

 under fbodstufis is, however, still higher than it has 

 been since these records were commenced. 



The Resistance of Budded Cottons to 

 Disease. 



Mr. Harland states in the report of the Agricultural 

 Department, for St. Vincent 1915-16, that during the 

 year a study was made of the resistance of budded 

 cottons. The budding of cottons is a simple operation. 

 A young plant about 2 feet high can be used as stock, 

 the bud being inserted about 1 foot from the ground. 

 Provided that the sap is flowing freely in both stock 

 and scion, it is immaterial whether petioled or non- 

 petioled budwood is u=od, or whether the stock and the 

 branch from which the bud is taken are approximately 

 of the same diameter or not. 



The following conclusions are arrived at from 

 a study of the behaviour of budded cottons: — 



(1) If the stock is susceptible and the scion 

 immune, the scion retains its immunity couipletelj-. 



(2) If the stock is immune and the scion suscep- 

 tible, budding apparently confers on the scion a certain 

 degree of resistance. 



(3) If the stock is fairly resistant and the scion 

 susceptible, the scion remains susceptible, though per- 

 haps not so su.sceptible as when on its own roots. 



(t) If the st<wk is susceptible and the scion 

 fairly resistant, the same degree of resistance is retained 

 bv the latter. 



