Vol. XVI. No. 392. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



135 



Section of Nigeria, and there is no reason to believe that the 

 cotton crop in the other sections has suffered from the 

 climatic conditions, and the reports as to the growiug crop 

 in Northern Nigeria have been vtry encouraging. 



The purchases of cotton in J,agos to February 28 

 amounted to 804 bales, as compared \vir,h l,oG5 bales for the 

 «ame period of last year, and 165 bales to February 1915. 



In Northern Nigeria, the purchase.s to February 24 

 amounted to 2,213 bales, as com [lared with 4,490 bales to 

 the end of February last year, acd 88 bales to Februarv 

 1915. It was reported that the crop this year is about 

 ■a month later than in the previou.s season. 



UGANDA There has recently been an improvement in 

 the shipping facilities from Mombasa, and all the As3ociatio»>'s 

 •cotton bought last season has now been shipped with the 

 exception of about 1,200 bales. ,,, 



SUDAN. Reports from the Sudan Plantations Syndicate 

 for December were read, stating that the crop has suffered 

 from the exceptionally cold weather which has been 

 ■experienced, and considerable damage has been done by 

 aphis. 



NYASALAND. Mr Percival, the Association's Manager in 

 Nyasaland, is now in this country on leave of absence, and 

 reports that notwithstanding the withdrawal of labour for 

 military oi)erations, the prospects for cotton during the 

 •comiDg season are quite good. Prior to last year, cotton had 

 gone out of favour among the European planters in Nyasa- 

 land owing to luw prices, but with the increased values in 

 1916 there came an improvement, and it is expected that 

 planters will incri_^ase their acreage for the coining season. 

 A considerable increase is also anticipated in the native cul- 

 tivation in the Chiromo, West Shire, and Port Herald districts. 

 The qualiij' of the cotton grown during the past season was 

 not so good, owing to unfavourable climatic conditions, and 

 the cotton had suffered from unusual pests, including the 

 ■cotton leaf beetle, and four kinds of boll worm. Generally 

 •speaking, the prospects for the coming season are equal to if 

 not better than in any previous year, and with the construc- 

 tion of additional railways, there are prospects of a substantial 

 increase in the native cotton crop. 



A .statement was submitted .showing that 1,708 bales of 

 cotton had been sold in the month. 



Agriculture in Queensland.— The total area of 



land in <^)ueensland under rultivation during 1915 was 

 1,059,431 acres, an excess of 78,183 acres over the 

 preceding year— an increase that was to a great extent due to 

 the iBcouragements given in 1915 by the Government to add 

 to the land under wheat sri as to, as far as possible, make 

 Queensland self-supporting and release a corresponding 



■quantity for the u.se of Great iiritain during the War. In 

 acreage and in production, bananas rose from 7,796 acres 

 to 8,166 acres; pine-apples from 3,423 acres to 3,709 

 acres; and apples from 2,020 acres to 2,170 acres. The 

 produce per acre from the bananas and pine-apples, 

 too, was greater upon an average than for the preceding 

 year, bananas producing 148 butiches to the acre, as 

 against 1 30 bunche?, and pine-apples 248 dozen as against 240 

 dozen. The average annual yield during the last decade of 

 wheat has been 12'36 bushels to the acre. For maize there 

 has been an average annual return of 21 '50 bushels for ten 

 years. The total value of crops in Queensland of all kinds 

 in 1915, upon figures supplied by the growers, stood at 

 ^5,023,304, and in 191 1 at i^5,679,783. The total area 

 under cultivation, newly broken up, fallow, or lying idle, 

 was 1,364,587 acres, an increase of 93,222 acres, of which 



' J29,588 acres wtre under oops of various kinds. 



SOIL EVOLUTION IN VOLCANIC 



DISTRICTS. 



The characteristics of the soil iii the area 

 deva-stated by the St. Vincent Soufriere in 1902-.3 have 

 been stu'^ied by Dr. H. A.Tempatiy, lately Governmenlj 

 Chemist and .Superintendent for the Leeward Islands, 

 and an account of this work appears in the recently- 

 issued number of the West Indian Bulletin (Vol. 

 XVI, Xo. 2). The folloyving is a summary of the 

 iv'itllts: — 



The areas from which the samples were taken hava 

 already undergone a fair degree of transformation into soU» 

 and are covered with a growth of vines and bush. The 

 deposits vary in thickness from 14 to 18 inches; the samples 

 taken represent the thicknessof the deposits, butdonot include 

 any of the original underlying soil. 



The samples were submitted to physical and* chemical 

 analyses, while the shrinkage, lime requirement, nitrogen- 

 fixing power, ammonifying power, and nitrifying power were 

 also investigated. 



Physically the soils were found to consist of coarse sandy 

 types: they showed .shrinkages ranging between 1 and 2 per 

 cent., thereby indicating the formation of a certain amount of 

 colloidal material. 



Chemically the soils showed small contents of organic 

 carbon and nitrogen; they were extremely deficient in calcium 

 carbonate; they showed the presence of moderate amounts of 

 available phosphoric acid and pota.sh. 



Characteristically the soils all possessed an appreciable 

 degree of acidity, as evidenced by the lime requirement for 

 neutralization. 



The biological activity of the soils was found to be as fol- 

 lows; the value for the figure for partial sterilization indicated 

 the existence of a moderate activity in respect of putrefactive 

 bacteria. Nitrogen-fixing organisms of the Azotobacter type 

 were found to be present, and the soils showed small buti 

 appreciable nitrogen-iixing power. The soils also possessed 

 appreciable ammonifying power, but were completely deficient 

 in nitrifying power. 



During the fourteen years which have intervened between 

 the eruption and the date on which the samples were taken, 

 considerable progress has been made in the conversion of the 

 sterile ash deposits then laid down, into fertile soil. 



The means by which this change has been accomplished 

 are briefly discussed, and the relationships indicated thereby 

 to the origin of the very rich soils characteristic of the forest; 

 lands of the West Indian islands, are considered. The acid 

 condition of the soil and the absence of nitrification are alludeil 

 to, and the possibility of such soils being built up without the 

 active intervention of nitrifying organisms is indicated. 



The Divining Rod in Queensland. —Ace .rding r* 



the London correspondent of the North fjueensln wi Register, 

 the Queensland Agrisultural 1 tepartment has undertaken lh» 

 work of locating sites for wells and bores for settlers, and m 

 August 1915 two officers were detailed for this purpose. 

 The divining rod and the Mansfield automatic water tinder 

 are both used, and from August to December 1915 as maoy 

 as 348 sites were selected, of which 60 were tested, 53 ■,viili 

 success. Since then llie divining rod has bi;^en employed, hy 

 both State and private settlers, and considerable su.-coss Uia. 

 ii.ttondetl its use. 



