Vol XVI. No. 409. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



407 



(4) Select e^rs with well rounded and well filled butts 

 and tips 



(5) Avoid ea-s with wide spaces between rows of grain. 



(6) Do not s'rive too much after small cores — a larger 

 core carries more jrain. 



(7) Grain shoild be of uniform wedge shape, full tipped 

 and thick. 



(8) A rough ient is usually indicative of deep grain. 



(9) The core should be uniform in colour, and the grain 

 also should be of i uniform bright colour. 



(10) The grail should be in good condition and well 

 mitured — dry, sound, and firm on the cob. 



COMPRESSED GRAIN. 



A correspondent in a recent number of the London 

 Times (October 16, 1917;, referring to the present need of 

 an increase of the stores of corn in consecjuence of the 

 present war, mentions a process suggested as a method of 

 conserving grain by he late Lord Masham in 1905, when 

 a Royal Commission on the Supply of Food and Riw 

 Material in Time of War submitted their report. Lord 

 Masham, who was thei ninety years of age, had been quietly 

 experimenting on th? subject, but allowed some time to 

 lapse before bringing lis invention to the notice of the Royal 

 Commission. His projosals, however, in view of present 

 difhculties, seem to be of such great importance, thfit the cor- 

 respondent in que?tioi (Mr John Hutton) ventures to bring 

 them before the pubic in Lord Masham's own words. He 

 wrote; 'I will forward you the small sample of compressed 

 wheat that war^ made three years ago; the process is quite 

 simple, and can be done for less than Is. a quarter The 

 wheat is first crushed or rough ground as if for cattle. It 

 is then steamed to soften it for any suitable compressing 

 machine; the steaming is of the utmost importance and value, 

 as the high pressure steam kills all the germs of the parasites 

 which damage and destroy crude corn when stored in the 

 ordinary way. Anyone can try the experiment at the cost 

 of a few pounds. Tie sample sent was pressed in a common 

 oil mill. Probably br.cks might be the best form for storage, 

 but that is a detail As from the first the invention was 

 intended for the nitioual good I did not patent it, but 

 simply registered it to prevent anyone else from doing so. 

 The sample sent would, I have no doubt, keep for hundreds 

 of years, provided tlat it was always kept dry — everything 

 would depend upon that. When used, put the compressed 

 blocks or cakes thrnigh crushing rollers, and then grind it, 

 and the flour will Ve as good a hundred years hence .'.s it is 

 tad;iy.' 



It appears that upon reading the Commissioners' report 

 referred to above, jord Masham determined to put before 

 the Government a practical scheme which he thought would 

 satisfy both the Government and tlje nation in making pro- 

 visioii for a suftident supply in store, in case of war. To 

 quote his words: I think I can form a company that will 

 store, say, 10 mil ion quarters of corn (or, say, a four-months 

 supply) upon a jayment of Is. &d. per quarter per annum 

 This would com' to £750,000 a year; but it would really 

 cost the nation nothing, as with a four-months' consumption 

 of food in store, the whole of it might be saved, and would 

 be saved, out ol the cost of the navy, and in case of war, 

 the company waild have to be paid 35s. a quarter for every 

 quarter taken oit of store. The nation could not grumble at 



that The company would undertake not to put int^ 



store more than a million quarters a year, so as not to disturb 



the corn market, unless prices were very low, and then a t;reat 

 deal more might be done. The Government inspectors would 

 see that the corn in store was always sound and in good con- 

 dition, and if not, that the company replaced it wi h fre'^h. 

 On the above basis I think I could in six months form a 

 company, as I should have some machines to make and put 

 to work to show the public how it would hive to be done. 

 Might I as^k you to be so obliging as to put the proposal 

 before the Commissioners, and ascertain if they would enter- 

 tain it V 



The scheme, it would seem, was submitted to Mr. 

 Balfour, then Prime Minister; but shortly after, there was 

 a change of Government, and in 1906 Lord Masham died, 

 and the matter dropped. Mr. Hutton concludes by expres- 

 sing the opinion that if Lord Masham's invention had been 

 adopted by the Government, and a four-months' supply of 

 flour stored, the anxieties with regard to food during the 

 present war would have been considerably relaxed. 



The foregoing should be read with interest by those 

 concerned with maintaining adequate food supplies in the 

 various colonies in the West Indies. 



THE COTTON OUTLOOK FOR 1917-18 IN 

 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Reports from the cotton belt are anything but encourag- 

 ing. Low temperatures have been experienced in many sec- 

 tions, which have further accentuated the lateness of the crop. 

 This is most disquieting when the need for a large yield is 

 so essential. 



Reports advise the steady migration from the South to 

 the North of negroes, and it is estimated that 309,000 have 

 left the cotton belt during the last eight months. 



The successful prosecution of the war is receiving 

 greater attention than trade, but tliis cannot continue 

 indefinitely. The strong statistical position of cotton, which 

 will be emphasized by the probability of the new crop being 

 inadequate to provide a surplus over requirements, must 

 command attention. Everythini{ points to the cotton supply 

 position during the next eighteen months occasioning the 

 cotton trade of the world anxiety. 



The stocks of manufactured goods throughout the 

 world are acknowledged to be low. Consequently at some 

 future date replenishment must take place. 



The probability is that demand from countries other 

 than Europe would be large, given reasonable facilities foe 

 trading. Therefore, in looking ahead, it would be unwise 

 to I lace the world's requirements of American cotton under 

 14,500,000 to 15,000.000 bales. 



The importance of augmenting the cotton suppl}' has 

 been repeatedly urged, but never before was the necessity so 

 urgent, as at present, to avert a shortage. (The Queensland 

 A '• i allur'il J'lurnal, September 1917.) 



Acreage under Cotton in St. Vincent.— Accord- 

 ing to official returns recently received at the Head Office of 

 this Depirtment, the area under Sea Island cotton in 

 St. Vincent is 2,614 acres, and in the Northern Grenadines, 

 which form a part of the colony, 725 acres, making a total of 

 3,339 acres. Of this, 1,997 an res are cultivated on estates, 

 and 1,342 by small holders. In addition there are 1,232 

 acres under Marie Galante cotton in the Southern Grenadines 

 of the colony, 460 acres on estates, and 771 acres on small 

 holdings. These figures show an increase under cotton 

 of 1,118 acres as compared with last season, being 937 

 acres more under Sea Island, and 181 more under Marie 

 Galante, 



