Vol. V. No. 103. 



THE AGllICULTUEAL NEWS. 



loa 



AN ENUMERATION OF THE VAf^CVLAR 

 PLANTS KNOWN FROM SURINAM, TOGETHER 

 WITH THEIR DISTRIBUTION AND SYNONYMY. 

 By A. A. Pulle. E. J. BRILL— Leiden. 1906. 



This is a coiupreliensive book supjilying a very excellent 

 treatise on the present knowledge of the Surinam flora, as 

 well as giving an interesting account of the history of its 

 investigation. 



The author states in the preface that no claims of 

 completeness are made for this work, its objects being to 

 attempt to create an increased interest in this Dutch colony, 

 and to add to our knowledge of the botany of this interesting 

 part of tropical South America. 



The portion of the volume that is devoted to the 

 liistory of the investigations of this flora contains short 

 accounts of the different expeditions and collections that were 

 made in this colony, and shows how nianj' of the older 

 naturalists dispensed with their former occupations to spend 

 their time in making collections, both botanical and zoologi- 

 cal, from then little known countries. 



The starting point for the enumeration of this floi'a was 

 a collection made by Professor F. A. F. C. AVent of L'trecht, 

 in 1901, and as other expeditions considerably enlarged the 

 material, it became essential to work over as many of the 

 former collections as possible. Considerable liel]), for the 

 purpose of consulting collections at Kcw, G()ttingen 

 and Berlin, was rendered by grants of money from the 

 ' Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Surinam' 

 and by the Colonial Minister of the Dutch Government. 



The systematic portion of the volume commences with 

 the vascular cryptogams, then treats with the monocotyledons 

 and finally with the dicotyledons. The families and genera 

 very nearly follow the lines of Engler and Prantl in 

 Die Naliirliilu'ii PjiaHieiifamilien, the species being generally 

 enumerated as they occur in Flora Brnsiliensis. Several 

 new species are described, very good plates being given of 

 some of them. 



Towards the end of the volume, jilant formations and 

 vegetative zones are recorded, but it is hoped that this 

 is only a beginning, for future work. Manj' botanists, 

 passing hurriedly through an extended region, have produced 

 numerous so-called formations, which eventually pro\-ed to be 

 patches. 



!Most of the ecological work has, u)) to the present, 

 lieen conducted in countries where the floras have been 

 •exhaustively investigated; and although the observations made 

 by the author are elementary, they offer considerable 

 ])ossibilitie.s, as ecological observations in a tropical country 

 would be welcomed by all botanists. They must however come 

 from one who knows well the flora he is working with, 

 -as the variations of plant combinations are almost infinite, 

 and while it is comparatively easy to describe some of these 

 combinations, it is a task of almost unexampled difficulty to 

 investigate the real relation between them and the physical 

 •conditions of the tract under investigation. 



MANURIAL EXPERIMENTS WITH SEEDLINCf 

 AND OTHER CANES IN THE LEEWARD ISLANDS, 



IdO-'ro. 



This (no. .'iO) is the latest addition to the pamphlet serie.s 

 of the publications of the Imperial Department of Agriculture. 

 By an oversight, the cover bears the title of 'Manurial' 

 experiments. It should have been ' Experiments with 

 Seedling and other canes in the Leeward Islands in 1901-5.' 



The objects of the experiments, conducted on eight 

 estates in the islands of Antigua and St. Kitt'.s, were for the 

 purpose of finding varieties of sugar-cane likely to increase 

 the output of sugar, and aid the planters in combating the 

 ravages of fungoid diseases and insect pests. 



In Antigua, the results of the experiments with plant 

 canes during the season show that seven canes, viz., B. 15G, 

 Sealy Seedling, B. 306, B. 208, D. 7i, D. 9-5, and D. 109 

 stand out as specially worthy of attention. 



In St. Kitt's, the best results as plant canes were 

 obtained with Caledonian Queen or White Transparent. The 

 Barbados seedling canes B. 208, and B. 117, were also grown 

 in St. Kitt's with satisfactory results. In addition, the 

 Demerara seedling canes D. 71, and D. 116 are recommended 

 for cautious planting. 



The information contained in this pamphlet is well 

 worth diligent perusal, and is evidence of the careful attention 

 and strenuous labour bestowed upon the experiments by 

 Dr. Watts and those associated with him. 



ALL ABOUT BANANAS AND PLANTAINS. 



Additional Series Nl, containing an article 

 reprinted from the Kexo Bulletin (1894, pp. 229-314) 

 on the ' Species and Principal Varieties of Musa,' has 

 recently been published by His Majesty's Stationery 

 Office, and is on sale by Wynian & Sons, Ltd., Fetter 

 Lane, London, E.G. Price, Is. Gd. 



This reprint contains an exhaustive account of the 

 several species and varieties of banana.s and plantains 

 compiled by Sir Daniel ilorris, K.C.M.G., when he held the 

 appointment of Assistant Director of the Royal Gardens at 

 Kew. The systematic part is basetl on the cla.ssification adopted 

 by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., to which is added a description 

 of all the species of Musa known iu a wild state. There is 

 also given an enumeration of the cultivated varieties of 

 bananas and plantains existing in India, Ceylon, the Indian 

 Archipelago, Polynesia, Tropical Africa, ilauritius and 

 ^Madagascar, Venezuela, British Guiana, and the West Indian 

 Islands. 



Then follow interesting facts in regard to the cultivation, 

 diseases, and the common uses of bananas and plantains ; the 

 utilization of banana fibre ; the preparation of banana wine, 

 banana meal, preserved bananas ; and the enormous growth of 

 the trade in fresh bananas between .Jamaica and the United 

 States, between the Canary Islands and the United Kingdom, 

 and in Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. 



Those who desire fuller information ^vith regard to the 

 cultivation of bananas in the West Indies, might profitably 

 consult an article on the ' Banana Industry in Jamaica' 

 by the Hon. W. Fawcett ( West Indian Bulletin, Vol. Ill, 

 pp. 153-171), and an article on the 'Fruit Industry of 

 Jamaica ' by ilr. W. E. Smith of Trinidad ( West India)/. 

 Bulletin, Vol. \, pp. 53-63). Both articles deserve careful 

 study. 



