348 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS 



November 3, 1917. 



The Tootal Bioadhurst Lee Company has decided to set 

 aside £10,000 a year for five years for the promotion of 

 research and education. According to Thu Times, the provision- 

 al committee on research and education for the cotton indus- 

 try will, at the close of the current holiday season, issue a 

 prospectus of the new organization This definite industrial 

 research federation of the cotton trade will be followed by 

 the establishment of institutes and laboratories. {N'ature, 

 August 23, 1917.) 



GLEANINGS. 



In the grinding season just closed Porto Eico has pro- 

 duced the largest crop of sugar recorded in the history of 

 the island, it having been 502,398 tons of sugar. (The 

 Louisiana Planter, September 1, 1917.) 



Guinea corn is a grand crop for dry districts, and it 

 gives far more green forage per acre than Indian corn, 

 because it grows up again. The Journal of (he Jnm.nici 

 Agricultural Society, July 1917, says; 'We have had Guinea 

 corn grazed out by cattle six times, yet it grew up again 

 and produced small heads.' 



The Demerara Argosy. October 13, 1917, reports the 

 prosecution of three farmers for having failed to comply with 

 the orders of the Agricultural ]>oard in respect to the 

 locust pest in Essequibo. Two of them were given a fort 

 night to carry out the orders, the third having failed to 

 appear, the Bench issued a warrant for his apprehension. 



The Canada- West India Magazine. September 1917, 

 suggests the possibilities of raw materials for paper 

 manufacture being obtained fioni the West Indies, ranging 

 from tome of the sedges {Cyperus spp.) to bamboo and wood 

 -pulp from large forest trees. Perhaps, too, the unutilized 

 mega.ss of sugar mills might afford a supply of pulp not 

 much inferior to wood pulp for paper making. 



The Report of the Agricultural Department of the 

 Northern Provinces of Nigeria for 1915 shows that the 

 department is influencing the cultivation of sugar-cane in the 

 Maigna district. Varieties of pedigree cane from Barbados 

 have been introduced and taken up by native cultivators, 

 •with whom they have proved e.xtreiuely popular, being stout- 

 er in growth and containing a higher percentage of sucro-se 

 than the indigenous canes. 



The Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, 

 August 1917, .states that after the hurricane of 1916 there 

 might easily have been a greater calamity in an absolute 

 lack of foodstuffs, but for the prompt, systematic, and 

 organized efforts of the Society. Supplies of seeds and 

 plants were organized; from districts where there was a 

 sufficiency of one thing supplies were sent to other districts 

 where there was a scarcity. 



Increasing attention is being given to cacao growing in 

 Uganda. Of the acreage under this crop 1 59 acres contain 

 trees over five years old, 4,113 acres bear trees under five 

 years old, pnd 689 acres have just been planted. The crop 

 has a number of serious insect pests and diseases, but provid- 

 ed that necessary preeaulion is taken, and suitable situa- 

 tion selected, lhi.s crop promises well. (Annual Report, 

 Department of Agriculture, Uganda. 1915- 16 ) 



According to the Chainher oj Coinmerce Journal, August 

 1917, the French Government is encouragini; the culti- 

 vation of fibre-producing plants in French West Africa. 

 The Journal qfliciel ile V Afrique occidenfale Francaise states 

 that at the rtqutst of the Government General an official 

 study of the uses of Ma' fibre {Ili/jiscus cannaldnas) grown 

 in French West Africa has been made. Though, at present, 

 this fibre cannot replace jute in the manufacture of tissues, 

 it is well adapted for rope making. 



The production of sugar in Peru has largely increased 

 of lite years. The area suitable for the growing of sugar- 

 cane on the west coast of Peru is limited only by the avail- 

 able supply of water for irrigation. In soni'j districts the 

 supply of subterranean water has been tapped, and the use 

 of centrifugal pumps for bringing it to the surface has made 

 it possible to increase the area under cultivation. The 

 production of sugar his grown from 178,533 metric tons iu 

 1911 to 262,840 tons in 1915. {The. Join nal of the Royal 

 Society of Arts, Swna 22, 1917.) 



The re.solution establishing a Standing Cacao Sub- 

 Committee, adopted at a meeting of members of the West 

 India Committee interested in the cacao industry on August 

 28, was confirmed by the E.^ecutive on September 6. At 

 a further meeting of the Cacao Section — as it will now be 

 called — on September 18, a Working Committee was 

 appointed, comprising the Chairman, the Deputy-Chairman, 

 Mr. AV. Gillespie, Mr, G. M. Frame, .Mr. E.A.Robinson, 

 and Mr. J. E. Munro, with powers to add to their number. 

 (The West Inclii' ComniitUr Circular, September 20, 1917.) 



According to the American Consul at Vokohama, a few 

 small shipments of mustard .seed were made in 1914 to 

 introduce the Japanese product into the United States. 

 This resulted in several large orders for 1915, as the supe- 

 riority of the Japanese mustird seed over the Chinese was 

 at once recognized. The soil and climate of Japan are well 

 adapted to the growth of mustard, and a considerable 

 increase in the cultivation has taken place. The production 

 in 1915 was 15,.")00 bushel.?, valued at §30,000; in 1916 it 

 was 30,000 bushels, valued at 160,000. (The Chamber of 

 Commerce Journal, August 1917.) 



According to the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, 

 pine- apple fibre is produced in fairly large quantities on the 

 island of Hainan and in some districts of the mainland 

 opposite. It is also produced on a smaller scale in the 

 Philippine Islands, where the fibre is made into the fine 

 fabric known as pina cloth. For fibre production the plants are 

 grown closer together than when fruit only is required, or they 

 may be grown under trees in partial shade, in order to induce 

 the formation of long leaves. The best fibre is produced by 

 very tedious manual labour, as the machine product is not of 

 such good quality. In the Philippines 50 to 60 lb. only of 

 fibre is obtained per ton of green leaves. ' • 



