Vol. V. No. 104. 



THE AGRECULTUEAL NEWS. 



119 



DISINFECTION OF COTTON SEED. 



Mention has repeatedly been made in the Agri- 

 cultural News (Vol. Ill, pp. 117, 14!) ; Vol. IV, pp. 98, 

 101 ; and Vol. V, p. 103) of the desirability of disinfect- 

 ing cotton .seed before planting. This is a most 

 important question, as the value of the following crop 

 ■will depend to a large extent vipon the absence of 

 disease. 



The economic importance of a plant disease depends on 

 its distribution, its intensity, and the value of the plants 

 attacked. Epidemics of fungoid disease which rapidly cause 

 the death of their host, or otherwise endanger the value of 

 the crop, may through repeated attacks, render the cultivation 

 of certain plants impossible in a given locality. 



That great loss of wealth has been suBered from diseases 

 of plants, figures have been frequently adduced to prove. In 

 Australia, wheat rust causes a loss of nearly £8,000,000 

 annually, while in India the loss from this cause is estimated 

 at not less than £91,000,000. Ceylon suffered to the extent 

 of probably over £12,000,000 by the cotfee-leat disease, 

 which led to the ruin of the industry in that island. In some 

 of the cotton-growing districts of the United States, 10 to 15 

 per cent, of the total crop has been lost owing to the occur- 

 rence of anthracnose. 



Consideration of losses of sums of money like these, 

 emphasizes the importance of any measures for preventing 

 the spread of the fungoid diseases of cotton in the West 

 Indies. 



In order to combat any fungoid disease successfully, it 

 is most important that its life-history should be first known, 

 for then remedies can be applied at the weakest stage of its 

 attack. The diseases of cotton have been investigated by 

 officers of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and 

 experiments have been carried out with the view of obtaining 

 remedies for the same. 



These investigations show that it would be advisable 

 to have all cotton seed to be used for planting purposes 

 carefully hand-picked in order to remove any bad seeds, 

 which would probably be weak or diseased ; and, further, for 

 the purpose of keeping diseases of cotton in check, all 

 planters are strongly recommended to have all their cotton 

 seed carefully disinfected (as well as selected) before planting, 

 so as to prevent the germination of any spores which remain 

 attached to the .seed itself. 



The disinfectant advocated by the Imi)erial Department 

 of Agriculture for cotton seed is a 1 in 1,000 sohition of 

 corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride) ; this may be prei>ared 

 by dissolving 1 oz. of corrosive sublimate in 7 gallons 

 of water. In view of the results of experiments that have 

 been carried on during the past year, it is recommended that 

 the seeds, after being hand-picked, should be soaked in this 

 solution for twenty minutes, care being taken that they are 

 thoroughly wetted. The seeds might then be taken out and 

 washed in clean water for a few minutes, spread in a thin 

 layer to dry, on a clean tioor, or a clean canvas, in the shade. 

 While drying, the seed should be turned several times, and 

 when thoroughly dry it will be ready for planting, or it may 

 be put into bags and kept for some time. A few days should 

 elapse between the disinfection and the planting, as no .seed 

 should be planted without first being thoroughly dried. 



In the case of seed shipped from one island to another 

 for planting purposes, there would be a probability of 

 introducing diseases into localities where, hitherto, they have 

 been unknown, and therefore, it is strongly urged that all 

 cotton seed should be disinfected before it is shipped. 



The multiplication of large areas of plants of the same 



kind increases the danger of epidemics, and therefore all 

 planters of cotton are strongly advised to co-operate in these 

 precautionary methods, so as to reduce the possibility of 

 further spread of disease amongst their crops. It should be 

 borne in mind that the wider the areas over which cotton is 

 planted in these islands, the greater should be the care taken 

 to prevent the spread of disease. 



ST. VINCENT COTTON. 



In a recent letter to the Imperial Commissioner 

 of Agriculture, Mr. \V. N. Sands, Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent at St. Vincent, reports as follows : — 



The account sales of the 117 bales of cotton shipped, in 

 January and February last, to the British Cotton-growing 

 Association have been received, and are very satisfactory to 

 all concerned. 



Only 1 bale has, so far, sold for le.ss than 17f?., and this 

 fetched 12-id. per lb. The very low price in this case was 

 entirely due to the cotton being very badly prepared. 

 Thirty-one bales sold at 20rf. per H). 



To date (March 17), 101,686 R). of lint have been ginned 

 at the central cotton factory. 



In a further letter dated Blarch 31, Mr. Sands 

 writes : — ■ 



In addition to the 117 bales of cotton already reported 

 on, 69 bales have been sold, and the account sales received. 

 Of these, 1 bale sold for IQcL, which was the only bale 

 that sold for less than ISc^., and it is mentioned that this 

 was the only bale that was not shipped to the British 

 Cotton-growing Association. The total account sales received 

 to date, are in respect of 186 bales which were sold as 

 follows : 54 bales at 20(/. per lb. ; 61 bales at 19(/. per lb.; 

 50 bales at 17irf. to ISld. per ft. ; 13 bales at 18rf. per ft. ; 

 6 bales at 175. per ft. ; 1 bale at 16f/. per ft. ; and 1 bale 

 at 12i(/. per ft. 



The total amount of cotton ginned at the central cotton 

 factory this season, to date, is 110,333 ft., or about 306i- 

 bales. 



There seems a probability that the acreage of cotton in 

 St. Vincent will be largely increased next season as a result 

 of the very favourable returns from the present crop. The 

 increase will include several cultivations that will be 

 started by planters who have not as yet grown cotton. 



At the time of writing, the work of selecting and dis- 

 infecting seed for planting purposes was about to begin. 

 Seed for this purpose was to be obtained from those estates 

 that had produced cotton which sold for 20(f. per ft. 



THE CACAO INDUSTRY IN GRENADA. 



In a comparison of the principal cacao-producing 

 countries, the Journal of the Society of Arts for 

 Febniarj' 23 last, gives iigures to show that the crop in 

 Grenada for 1904 exceeded that of 1903 by only 76 

 tons, while Trinidad increased its output of cacao by 

 3,GS9 tons. 



It is a little surprising, says the Journal, that Grenada, 

 which owes its great prosperity entirely to cacao, and whose 

 product is always in demand in the London market even 

 when other sorts are unsaleable, does not extend its 

 cultivation more rajjidly. 



There is no room to extend the cultivation of 

 cacao at Grenada. Intensive cultivation over the area 

 at present under cacao is needed, and it is to improved 

 method rather than to increased acreage that Grenada 

 must look for increased production in the future. 



