184 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 16, 1917. 



EDITORIAL 



Head Office 



NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



Dominica Exports, 1916. 



We have been favoured by the Treasurer of 

 Dominica with a statement of the imports and exports 

 of the Presidency for the year 1916. The following 

 items of export will be of interest to readers of this 

 .Journal: — 



Letters and matter fur publication, as well as all 

 specimens tor 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 

 Eiddressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents, and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page .S of 

 the cover. 



Imperial Commissioner of Sir Francis Watts, K.C.M.G., 



Agriculture for the West Indies. D.Sc, F.I.C., F.C.S. 



SCIENTIFIC STAFF. 



Scientific Aisistanl imii 

 Assistant Efiifor 



\V. R. Dunlop. 



I H. A. Ballou, M.Sc. 



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



\V. Nowell, D.I.C. 



Bnioiniilijriixt^i 

 Mycologist 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



A. G. Howell. 



(L. A. Corbin. 



- P. Taylor. 



I.K. R. C. Foster. 

 Typist Miss B. Robinson. 



Asiisto'id Tijpift Miss W. Ellis. 



Assistant for Ptibtications A. B. Price, Fell. Juurn. Inst. 



Chief (:U>k 

 ileriral Assisfantu 



^^igricuttiiral J^eiuH 



Vol. XVI. SATURDAY, JUNK 16, 1917. Xo. 39.5. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in this issue discusses the practical 

 value of electrical discharges, radium, humogen, and 

 dynamite in regard to thi- stimulation of plant growth. 



Bay leaves 

 Cacao 

 Fresh limes 

 Lime juice, 

 concentrated 



An interesting note on solid- and li(|uid-camphor 

 trees appears on page 17!l. 



(.)n page IX'A will be found an important article on 

 the present position regarding the supply of cotton. 



£3.59 

 £17,1.51 



£47,S52 



£44,379 



Citrate of lime £9,244 

 Coco-nutiS £1,27.5 



Lime juice, raw £.50,4.52 



Vanilla 



£4?S 



Essential oils £20,662 

 'I'here was also a considerable quantity of oranges 

 and mangoes shipped, while the animal products, 

 chieriy cattle and hides and skins exported, were worth 

 something in the neighbourhood of .£650. The total 

 value of the imports into the island for the year was 

 .t20.S.l!)7; the total value of the exports was £212,301. 



-^ 



Fruit-growing m the Nile Valley. 



The Traders and ( irowers Cnion of Cairo have owing 

 to a recent extension in their nurseries published an 

 enlarged issue of their catalogue in English, French, and 

 Arabic, of fruit and ornamental trees for sale. It 

 has been found necessary for the Union to do away 

 with small retail sales and todevote their whole time and 

 attention to the wholesale supply of large plantations. 

 The catalogue contains useful hints as to packing 

 and transport of plants and trees, and also on the time 

 for planting trees, protection against wind, and spacing. 



Fruit growing has received of late years a marked 

 impetus in I'^gypt, and it maybe asserted that orchards 

 are destined to occupy an important area of the Nile 

 Valley, and will within a short time claim second 

 place after cotton in the resources of the country. 

 .Supporters of fruit cultivation contend that orchai'ls 

 yield a higher revenue than cotton. 



It will be of interest to West Indian readers that 

 the lime is grown extensively and, although its fruit is 

 sold at a very low price, lime plantations in Egypt 

 show substantial returns. Seedlings, and grafts on 

 sour orange stocks are sold by the Union. 



The banan.i is a plant which is likely to be largely 

 cultivated in the Nile Valley, for no country offering, as 

 Egypt does, a rich soil, a warm climate and an abundant 

 supply of water, affords more fa\ ourable conditions for 

 Its cultivation. The two varieties grown are the 

 Hindi and Sudani, and it is claimed that the former 

 possesses a more exquisite flavour than either the 

 .Jamaica or the ( 'anary banana. 



Among other tropical fruits to be found in Egypt 

 are the cheriinoya, custard apple, grape-fruit, gnava, 

 mango, papaw, and prickly pear, so that in the course 

 of time the tropics may meet in this country a formid- 

 able competitor in its fruit trade in the European 

 markets. 



Insect Notes in this issue deal witli weevils of 

 the genus Diaprepes, and with West Indian .soil grubs. 

 Under Plant Diseases will be found two notes on the 

 <lissemination of angular leaf spot of cotton, and the 

 source of the citrus canker infection in South Africa, 

 respectively. 



Exports from British Honduras. 



In the Annual Report for 1915 on British Hondu- 

 ras which has recently been published, it appears that 

 the gross value of the trade of that Colony ainounred to 

 only f 4,384, Sol m that year as against ?*5,.s99.]M in 



