THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 2, 1917. 



GLEANINGS. 



The E.'peri merit Station Record (Vol. XXXV, No. 8), 

 makes reference to a paper dealing with the branching and 

 flowering habits of cacao and patashte, by O. F. Cook. The 

 results are given of field studies of the characters and habits 

 of the cacao tree (Tlieohroma Cocao) together with the related 

 food tree Trihonm hicolor. 



The advertisement in Nature of intensive electro- 

 horticulture for rapid food production is a sign of the times, 

 tion of crops has not made much headway. Those who are 

 I'ntil recently the use of radium and electricity in the cultiva- 

 interested in electro-horticulture may obtain full particulars 

 by writing to H. W. Cox .<: Co, Ltd., I.i9, Great Portland 

 Street, London, W. 



In Rhodesia the Management of the Salisbury bacon 

 factory has decided to revert to the original prices formerly 

 offered for bacon pigs. In the Rhodesia Ac/ricullural 

 Journal, for February 1917, it is stated that the prices are 

 jiow as foll'^ws; first cla.ss bacon pigs ii^d. per lb. live weight, 

 .second class bacon pigs Ad. per B). live weight, delivered at 

 the factory Salisbury. 



The need for further experimental work with palin kernel 

 cake and meal as foodstuffs is referred to in the Colonial 

 ■ Journal, for April 1917, but it is also pointed out that the 

 import of this produce from West Africa has been disappoint- 

 ing owing to the difficulty of obtaining tonnage to Hull, the 

 great oil crushing centre. It is added, however, that a con- 

 siderable quaniity has been railed to Hull from Liverpool. 



A note appeurs in the I'roceedmgs of the. Agricultural 

 Socitly o1 Tiinidad and Tobmio, for February 19(7, to the 

 effect that members of that Society in common with 

 agriculturists throughout the West Indies have greeted 

 with sincere pleasure the news ot the new honour conferred 

 by His Majesty upon the Imperial Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture, and heartily congraiukte him upon this well-merited 

 distini'tion. 



Notwithstanding the disea.M' which has been causing loss 

 amongst cacao in Ecuador, the crop for 1916, says the Pro- 

 ceedings of tlie Agricultural S'-cieU/ of Trinidad and Tobago, 

 exceeds that of the previous year, being. 98.054,892 ijuintales 

 against 71,.'578.-503 i|uintales in 1915. It will be remembered 

 that Guayaquil cacao fetches the highest price on the London 

 market, possessing certain special properties in regard to 

 ."ireiigth and aroma which put it more or less in a class by 



f ntil recently it would appear that no experiments have 

 ever been carried out regarding the action of purgatives on 

 the camel. A recent pamphlet issued by the Government 

 of the Punjab contains an account of recent experiments con- 

 ducted in that Province, and the results show that of all the 

 purgatives tried, the best for the camel is magnesium sulphate; 

 the others come in ord^r as follows: kamala, croton oil, aloes, 

 (jamboge, and linseed oil. To produce purgation in the 

 camel as much as 1} to 2 B). of magnesium sulphate has to 

 be given. 



Yields from the -destructive distillation of certain 

 hardwoods is the subject of Bulletin No. -"iOS, contributed 

 from the Forest Service, United States Department of 

 Agiculture. The average yields of pyroligneous acid, tar, 

 and charcoal expressed in pounds per cord are given, and it 

 is noticed that Eucalyptus is particularly rich as regards its 

 yield of these substances. As well as Eucalyptus, California 

 black oak .showed high yields of crude liquor per cord, and 

 alsj gave high yields of acetic acid and alcohol. 



A very instructive paper was recently read before the 

 Royal Society of .\rt> by Sir C. Pardie Lukis, Director-Gen- 

 eral, Indian Medical Service, on Opportunities for Original 

 Research in Medicine in India. In the discussion loUowing 

 the reading of the paper, Sir Patrick Manson suggested that 

 more use should be made of native lodians in the matter of 

 the prosecution of medical research. It will be remembered 

 that some of the most important work on malaria was carried 

 on in India, in connexion with which the name of Sir Ronald 

 Ross is closely associate'!. 



Published in the St. Lucia Government Gazette for 

 March 7, 1917, is a draft amendment of the Agricultural 

 Credit Societies Ordinance. 191-5. It is suggested that section 

 8 of the principal Ordinance should read: 'The number of 

 members of a -Sosiety may, however, in special cases, be 

 increased to such number as the Governor-in-C 'Uncil may 

 deem advisable.' It is also propjoscd to give the Governor 

 power in Council to regulate co-operative operations, and other 

 matters incidental to agriculture such as co-operative purchase 

 and distribution of implements and manures 



A Committee consisting of Piofes.sor .1. B. Harri- 

 son, C.M.G., the lion. ■S. E. Brassington, and .Messrs. A. A. 

 Thorne, F. 1!. and C -J. Maygs, has been appointed to 

 consider and report to the Demerara Government with 

 respect to a recomiuendation made by the Flour Substitute 

 Committee that a sum of $1.5,000 be provided annually for 

 the erection and carrying on of a factory or factories for 

 converting raw vegetable products into non-perishable and 

 marketable products and placing them in the market. (The 

 'Ra.ihs.d.Qi Agricidtiiral Reporter, May 25, 1917.) 



During the nine months ended December 31, 1915, the 

 pests proclaimed during the year in Trinidad were: locusts, 

 rhinoceros beetle {Slralegus aloeus, L ), and gru gru beetle 

 (Rhynchophorus palmamm, L.). Seventeen notices relating 

 to parasol ants {Att<i ci-p/ialotes) were served during the year, 

 and 393 large nests destroyed on Crown lands. Several 

 of the very badly infested areas have received careful 

 attention. In some places collections of very large nests 

 were found within a small area, indicating that for some 

 years no efficient steps had been aken to destroy them. (The 

 Renew of AppU-d Entomology, Series A, March 1917.) 



