THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



I>ECEMB£r. 1" 



1917. 



It is interesting to note that a series of esperiLoents as- 

 to the merits of planting sugarcane on the flat compared 

 with planting it in furrows, especially with the view of facili- 

 tating the introduction of mechanical cultivators, is beic-' ' 

 undertaken at Slob estate in the island of St. Croix. This 

 estate is owned by the West Indian Sugar Factory Compauy, 

 and the experiments are conducted by Mr. Edward Gedde. 

 Only one year's results have been reported on; the outcome of ■ 

 several years' experiments will be looked for with interest. 



GLEANINGS. 



The cane crop forecast for the 1917-18 season in India, 

 ■which is based on official reports covering about 9.5 per cent. 

 of the total area under sugar-cane, shows that some "200,000 

 more acres in India are under cane than in the previous 

 season, the total being 2,442,000 acres (The International 

 Suffar Journal, October 1917.) 



According to the Perfumery and Essential Oil Record, 

 October 1917, the producers in the West Indies of bay and 

 lime oils ought to be satisfied with the prices obtainable for 

 tliese products. Bay oil is quoted at from 12s. firf. to 13s. 

 per %., while lime oil, distilled, fetches d'S. 6tf. per ft)., and 

 hand pressed from 17s. 6rf. to 18s. 6rf. 



Professor O Beccari, in a paper contributed to the 

 TIdlip-pine Journal of Sciennr^ January 1917, on the origin 

 and dispersal of the coco-nut palm, concludes that an Asiatic 

 origin of the palm is more probable than an American one, 

 and that the- palm may have been very easily disseminated 

 by the agency of oceanic currents. 



In the report of the Standing Committee on the Draught 

 Mongoose Ordinance, printed in the Proceediwji of the 

 Afjri'idtural Society of Trinidad and Tobaffo, October 1917, 

 it is suggested that having regard to the fact that there are 

 at present no mongoose in Tobago, steps be taken to prevent 

 their introduction into that island. From the experience 

 ' f other small West Indian islands a prohibitory Ordinance 

 in this directicn is most advisable. 



if any Zululand planters believe that cotton offers 

 • x'-elltnt prospects as a remunerative crop. The growing of 

 I otton does appear to hold out remarkable prospects: it is 

 ■<iid that £-50 to £60 per acre is not too high a figure to place 

 ii!"-.n the average gross return at present prices. There is 

 possiUlily th.it a very big industry may be started in that 

 c untry in the near future. If cotton could once be established, 

 ■it wf.uld prove a great thing for all South Africa. (The ^oitth 

 African Svaar Journal, August 15, 1917.) 



Spineless varieties of prickly pear have often been 

 considered as worthy of attention in dry countries as fodder 

 plants According however to the Agricu'tw cd Gn-.ette or 

 Neir South Wales, October 1917, after five years' experiments 

 with twenty varieties of spineless Opuntias, the Director of 

 the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, has come to the conclusion 

 that, as a fodder plant the Opuntias cannot be recommended 

 for any other reason except their ability to withstand 

 prolonged drought. Their nutritive qualities he finds to be 

 relatively small. 



With reference to the damage done by the hurricane of 

 September 23 in Jamaica, the West India Committee Circular, 

 Xovember 1. 1917 quotes as an instance mentioned in the 

 Jamaica Gleaner, the destruction in Portland: 'It is safe to 

 say that there is not a single house in this district that was 

 not blown down which is not badly damaged. Thousands of 

 coco-Duts, grape fruit, and oranges lie in heaps along the 

 roads and fields Not a single stem of banana is .branding. 

 The yam crop is gone along with bananas. Breadfruit is 

 a thing of the past, hardly a tree left with a fruit on it. 



The unsettled condition of the Chinese market, and the 

 i:icrease in the Formosan .sugar production threaten the 

 i'hilippine sugar industry with the loss of both its Chinese 

 and Japanese markets. The International Sugar Journal for 

 October 1917, states that efforts are being made to get the 

 United States to take their accumulated stock. Freight 

 rates are too high, however, to enable Philippine .sugar to be 

 .sold at a profit in the States in competition with other 

 sugars. 



The Board of Trade Journal, October 18, 1917, states 

 that the Acting Colonial Secretary at Kingston, Jamaica, 

 ivrite.s, under date September 4, that a company has been 

 formed in the colony-, with shareholders there and in the 

 United Kingdom, for the purpose of carrying on a dyewood 

 factory. A site for the erection of the factory and water 

 rights have been obtained, and as this property extends to 

 the fore.shore, facilities for landing and shipping have also 

 been granted The scheme is in abeyance at present, owing 

 t" the fact that machinery for the factory cannot be obtained. 



Tractors and motor trucks have become in the last few 

 months one of the most important items of equipment on 

 the Hawaiian sugarplautations, until hardly acropis harvested 

 to day without the aid of these two products of the gasolene 

 age. In 1912 there were only three tractors in the island, 

 and to-day the number runs well over 100. Motor trucks are 

 almost as numerous on sugar plantations now as passenger 

 automobiles. Ploughing, furrowing, cultivating, hauling 

 cane carts or waggons, and a dozen other useful purposes 

 are being found for the tractor on island plantations. (The 

 Louisiana Planter, October 27, 1917.) 



In the account of a very successful local agricultural 

 exhibition held in the parish of St. James, Barbado.s, 

 I)ecember 5, 1917, the Agricultui-al Rejjorter notices two 

 new features which are deserving of commendation. First, 

 prizes were given for agricultural work done on the spot by 

 school boys. Twenty eight boys competed in digging cane 

 holes, while twenty-four boys entered the competition 

 for forking and bedding. The results are reported to 

 have been most satisfactory. Second, the children of the 

 elementary schools were offered prizes for the collection of 

 ir.sect pests attacking esonomic crops. 



