r 



40 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



Febeuaey 10, 1917. 



EDITORIAL 



5ead Office 



NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for naming, should be addressed to the 

 Commissioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



All applications for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' and other Departmental publications, should be 

 •addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents, and the subscription 

 »nd advertisement rates, will be found on page 3 of 

 i;he cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of 

 A(friculture for the West Indies 



Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, 

 F.LC, F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



jiicietdi/ic Assistant and 

 Assistant Editor 



JEntoidologisls ' ' 



Jtycologist 



W. R. Dunlop. 



(H. A. Ballon, M.Sc. 



I J. C. Hutson. B.A., Ph.D. 



W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



4Jkief Clerl: . ,, ; 



Olericid Assistants 



Typist 



Astist rat T}tpi.4 



Assistant for Publications 



A. G. Howell. 

 fL. A. Corbin. 

 - P. Taylor. 

 [K. R. C. Foster. 

 Miss B. Robinson. 

 Miss W. Ellis. 

 A. B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



J^griciiltiinil ^xm 



Vol. XVI. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1917. No. 386. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this number discusses the advaii- 

 lage;^ of cultivating, draining and manuring orchard 

 .soils 



The uew edition of Spencer's Handbook for Sugar 

 Chemists is reviewed on page 3(5. 



. An interostiug article dealing with agricultural 

 education will Ije found on page 4.5. 



Insect Note*^, on page 42, deal with the velvet 

 ii(;an carerpillar. 



The possible importance of soil fungi in connexion 

 with soil fertility in the tropics is dealt with under 

 Fungus Notes, on page 46. 



Department Publications. 



The annual reports on the Agricultural Departments 

 of the Windward ,and Leeward Islands for the year 

 ended March 31, 1916, have now all been issued. From 

 the reviews that have appeared in this Journal, it will be 

 readily apparent that I9I.5-16 was a period of increased 

 activit}' and progress in the case of every Depart- 

 ment. It is felt that these reports will bear favourable 

 comparison with those issued by bigger colonies pos- 

 sessing larger and more elaborately equipped estab- 

 lishments. The e.xtent to which progress has been 

 made, however, can best be gauged by comparing the 

 present reports with some of the earlier ones. In 

 a subsequent issue of this Journal it is intended to do 

 this editorially. 



Now passing through the press is the report on 

 Sugar-cane Experiments in the Leeward Islands, and the 

 West I-ndian Bulletin, Vol. XVI, No. •_'. The Bulletin 

 will be a strong number containing original papers on 

 some very interesting West Indian aspects of soil 

 fertility: also papers dealing with cotton, sugar-factories, 

 the manuring of cacao and limes, poisonous fishes and 

 other miscellaneous subjects. The price of the Bulletin 

 is 6d., to be obtained from the Department's Agents. 



The Index and Title page of Vol. XV of the 

 Afirieultural Xews, is passing through the press and 

 will be issued shortly. 



Home-Curing Hams and Bacon. 



The l^tiiecnuland Agricullural Journalfov October 

 HiUi publishes a recipe for curing hams and bacon, 

 which might usefully be reproduced in this Journal. 

 'The cause of hardness in bacon referred to is due 

 to the excessive u.se of saltpetre, especially through 

 using it during the first stages of curing. For home 

 curing a suitable recipe is as follows: weigh out for 

 each 100 lb. of meat Sib. of salt, 21b. of brown sugar, 

 and 2oz. of saltpetre. When the carcass is thoroughly 

 set, cut up and salt lightly: then lay it overnight upon 

 a clean concrete tloor or table. By salting lightly is 

 meant that as muelisalt as will cover the meat comfort- 

 ably without undue waste be used. Next morning 

 brush the salt (jff thoroughly; then dry-salt the 

 meat with dry salt and brown sugar, rubbed 

 well in daily for three days. On the fourth and 

 fifth days a little saltpetre should be added to the 

 salt and sugar, which should be well rubbed in, 

 especially on the skin. Leave the bacon and hams in 

 the mixture (dry salt and brown sugar) for about three 

 weeks; but they should be turned every day or second 

 day: at the s;ime time continue rubbing during this 

 period. Then waslrclean, when the bacon and haras 

 will be ready for smoking, the duration of which 

 depends upon the taste of the manufacturer. After 

 the first week or ten days, it is advisable to brush the 

 salt and sugar off the inner side of the thin parts of 

 the bacon (flaps). Dry salting should only be under- 

 t.aken in a cool place.' 



