216 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS, 



JtLY 14, 1917. 



CDITORIAL 



Head Office 



NOTICES. 



— Barbados. 



Letters and matter for publication, as well as all 

 specimens for 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 

 addressed to the Agents, and not to the Department. 



The complete list of Agents, and the subscription 

 and advertisement rates, will be found on page 3 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 AssistaiU and 

 Assistant Editor 



■Entomologists 



Mycologist 



W. R. Dunlop. 



( H. A. Ballou, M.Sc. 



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



W. Nowell, D.I.C. 



•Chief Clerk 



'CUriad Assistants 



Typist 



Aifistant Typist 

 Assistant for Publications 



CLERICAL STAFF. 



k. G. Howell. 

 CIj. a. Corbin. 

 \ P. Taylor. 

 Ik. R. C. Foster. 

 Miss B. Robinson. 

 Miss W. Ellis. 



A. B. Price, Fell. Journ. Inst. 



gigriciillural |]inuH 



Vol. XVI. SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1917. No. 397. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



The editorial in the present issue deals with the 

 report of the Royal Commission on developing the 

 -national resources of the self-governing Dominions and 

 ■Crown ( "olonies of the British Empire. 



On page 219 will be found an interesting article 

 describing the ways in which bees are of importance 

 in tropical agriculture. 



Two instructive articles dealing with the pruning 

 of fruit trees and the characteristics of different kinds 

 of clouds appear on page 221. 



On page 222 will be found an important article 

 describing the action t.aken by the United States in 

 regard to agricultural development in that country in 

 connexion with the war. 



Sugar Prices. 



In a letter reproduced in the West India Com- 

 mittee Circular of May 31, 1917, from' the Royal Com- 

 mission on the sugar supply to the Committee of West 

 Indian Brokers, it is stated that in order to simplify the 

 scale of prescribed wholesale selling prices of sugar, the 

 Commission has decided to reduce the number of cate- 

 gories to the following five, viz: (a) cubes, chips, etc.^ 

 crystals, granulated; (b) dry white sugar, West Indian 

 grocery crystallized, yellow crystals; (c) West Indian mus- 

 covado raw sugar; (d) moist (pieces), West Indian grocery 

 syrups; (e) jellies, knots and lumps to be sold only to 

 manufacturers. 'J'he Commitieeis requested to adopt in 

 future the same terms as those on which Commission's 

 sugars are sold, viz: I4 percent, discount, fourteen days 

 rent and interest, in place of the usual terms of 

 1 per cent, discount and one month's rent and 



interest. 



— ^ 



British Sugar Technologists. 



The formation of the Empire Sugar Supply (Tech- 

 nical) Committee of the London section of the Society 

 of Chemical Industry has, according to the We^^t India 

 Committee Circular, of May 31, 1917. been completed. 

 The exact terms of reference of the Committee are: — 



(1) To prepare an account of the pre-war sugar 

 position as regards (a) production, its amount and 

 nature; (b) consumption, its amount and nature; and 

 (c) the quantity, nature, and source of the sugar 

 imported or exported of each unit of the British 

 Empire. 



(2) To ascertain the economic sugar-producing 

 possibilities of the British Empire. 



(3) To report on the most likely localities for 

 increased supply as well as on the kinds of sugar 

 required by the various consumers throughout the 

 Empire. 



(4) To make such technical suggestions as may 

 appear of use to the development of the industry. 



At a meeting of the Committee held on May 23, 

 1917, Messrs. Ling, Macdonald and .Scard were appointed 

 an Executive Committee in connexion with the work 

 of the Committee. 



The Turks Islands Agricultural Society. 



An Agricultural Society, as it appears in the 

 Journal of the Jamaica Agririiltural Socielij of April 

 1917, was formed in the Turks and Caicos Islands 

 on November 21, 1916, and at the first meeting 

 the names of 110 persons who had expressed their 

 intention of joining the Society, were read. The 

 Legislative Board has voted £2.5 as a grant to the 

 Society for 1917, .and, on the occasion of his recent 

 visit to the Dependency, the Governor of Jamaica 

 expressed a cordial interest in the Society .and 

 recommended early affiliation with the Jamaica 

 Agricultural Society from which, by suggestions .and 

 advice as well .as by more material assistance, the local 

 branch might expect to be benefited. The Society 

 procured, early in the year, seeds of easily grown 

 annuals which were supplied to members as the 



