140 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



May 5, 1917. 



GLEANINGS. 



The onion industry of Barbados is referred to in tlie 

 Keport of the Barbados Department of Agriculture for the 

 year 191-5-16. The amount of onions grown is remarkably 

 small compared with the production of this vegetable in the 

 Leeward Islands, and taking into account the big local 

 demand in Barbados. It might be possible to establish an 

 association in Barbados provided a sufficient number of 

 growers living near enough together could be persuaded to 

 take up the industry seriously. Onions might be grown as 

 a catch crop with sugar-cane in Barbados as they are in 

 Antigua. 



Previous to the outbreak of war, .Japan imported large 

 quantities of wheat and wheat flour from the United >States, 

 but now, according to Tlie Board of Trade Journal, the 

 position is reversed, and Japan ships large quantities of home- 

 grown wheat and South Manchurian wheat to the United 

 States This has created a boom in the .Japanese wheat 

 market. 



An Order issued by the Government of the Philippine 

 Islands contains regulations and instructions for enforcing an 

 Act providing for the granting of ten-year concessions for the 

 fishing for, collecting or gathering of sponges. The new order, 

 according to Tlw Boaril oj Trade Journal, deals with the 

 making of applications for sponging concessions, sorting of 

 sponges, collection and payment of fees. 



According to Nature for M arch 29, the Departments of 

 Geography and Anthropology at Oxford have published their 

 arrangements for next term In geography, lectures will be 

 given on map projections, the historical geography of Europe, 

 the West Indies, and British lands around the Indian 

 Ocean. This may be of interest to readers concerned with 

 education. 



Persons requiring information regarding broom corn 

 should refer to Farmers Bulletin. 76S, I'ureau of Plant 

 Industry, United States Department of Agriculture. Broom 

 corn, as its name implies, gives tbe fibre used in making 

 brushes, and is a very profitable crop under some circum- 

 stances. The requirements of broom corn differ little from 

 other sorghums, making growth best in a warm, sunny climate. 

 It is both drought-resistant and drought-evasive. 



In the European news letter to the Louisiami I'lanter 

 for March 3, Dr. Prinsen Geerligs refers to the statements 

 made in the Agricultural N'ttvs regarding the extension of the 

 area under sugarcane in the West Indies. It is mentioned 

 that the West Indian sugar industry is not likely to be 

 benefited as a whole unless properly equipped factories are 

 constructed to deal with the cane produced. It is likely, 

 however, that for some time even the muscovado manufac- 

 turer will derive good profits from the production of even 

 that grade of sugar. 



The Port-oJ-Spoin Gazette refers to activities on tlie part 

 of the Trinidad Department of Agriculture to get more 

 agricultural banks formed in the Colony. A meeting has 

 recently been held at Canra with the object of explaining 

 how these institutions benefit the peasantry and the pre jcedure 

 to be followed in e.stablishing a bank in accordance with the 

 provi-sions of the Agricultural Credit Society's Ordinance. 

 Readers will be aware that agricultural banks established on 

 the Raiffeisen principle are now to be found working succe.s.s- 

 fully in St. Vincent. -St. J,ii< la and Trinida^l. 



Coincident with the introduction of alfalfa into the 

 various sections of the l.Tnited States, there developed an 

 interest in varieties or strains for special conditions. Accord- 

 ing to a note in the English Board of Trade Journal, this 

 has resulted in the recognition of at least nine distinct com- 

 mercial varieties showing great diversity in their adaptations 

 to climatic conditions. It may be possible that strains adapted 

 for growing in hot dry regions may now exist and be found 

 suitable for cultivation in certain parts of the West Indies. 

 Previous trials with alfalfa, even Arabian seed, have not been 

 successful in the West Indies. 



(-)f considerable interest in the West Indies are the Blue 

 Books of the Canadian Department of Trade and Commerce 

 for the ye-ir 191G. One of these just received deals with 

 Canadian trade with France, the United Kingdom, the 

 United States and Germany The publication contains 

 a summary also of Canada's trade with the world. Since 

 the war this has increased to a very great extent. The 

 total exports in 1913, for example, were valued at 

 •§377,068,3.55, and this rose steadily up t.i .?779,300,070 in 

 1916. Whereas the trade with Germany has dwindled down to 

 nothing, that with the United Kingdom and France has 

 shown an extraordinary increase. 



The Experiment Station Record {\o\. \WY, No. 9) 

 refers to Books 2 and 3, of Practical Lessons in Tropical 

 Agriculture, by R. L. Clute, of the Philippine Islands. Book 

 2 discu.sses the importance of agriculture, the farm as a place 

 of business and as a home, farm implements and their use, 

 and preventing losses on the farm; it continues the study of 

 the principles of agriculture begun in Book 1 (E.S.R. X.XXIII, 

 p. 390, 8^nd considers the application of these principles in 

 the growing of fifld crops important in the Philippines, 

 including rice, coco-nuts, hemp, suijar-cine. corn, tobacco 

 and other crops. Each chapter includes practical exercises. 

 In Book 3 the author discusses some of the more important 

 fodder crops and deals largely with the management of live 

 stock Directions for organizing farming clubs are appended 

 and suggestions to the teacher are included. 



The question of determining the specific gravities of fixed 

 oils in the tropics is dealt with in a note in Erpei iment 

 Station liecord (YeA. XXXV, No. 9). It is stated that owing 

 to the fact that the dew point of the air is usually about 

 1.55° C. (59'9° F.) it is a difficult matter to determine the 

 specific gravity at this temperature in the tropics, since 

 moisture condenses on the outside of the apparatus used. 

 A Westphal balance can be used if the oil is coole<l to \'y5', 

 but the procedure is not convenient on account of moisture 

 condensation on the surface of the oil and the platinum wire 

 attached to the plummet. A convenient and rapid method 

 in which the specific gravity is determined at the temper- 

 ature of thf :ir and then calculated for specific gravity at 

 1.5'5° is outlined in detail, and the calculations of the same 

 explained. 



