216 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 14, 1906. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



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 'Agri- 

 cultural News' should be addressed to the 

 Agents, and not to the Department. 



Local Agents: Messrs. Bowen & Sons, Bridge- 

 town, Barbados. Lcmdon Agents: Messrs. Dulaii & 

 Co., 37, Soho Sijuare, \V., and The West India Com- 

 mittee, 15, Seething Lane, E.C. A complete list of 

 Agents will be found on page 3 of the cover. 



The Agricultural A^eu^s : Price Id. per number, 

 post free lid. Annual subscription paj-able to Agents, 

 2s. 2d. Post free, Ss. M. 



gigrirultural fleiufi 



Vol. Y. 



SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1906. 



No. 110. 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Contents of Present Issue. 



In the editorial a brief account is given of the 

 salt industry in the West Indies. Salt extraction is the 

 principal occupation of the inhabitants of the Turlvs 

 Islands. Formerly a fiourishing salt industry existed 

 also in the Bahamas. 



On ]). 211 i-etiirns are published showing the area 

 under cultivation in British Guiana with varieties of 

 sugar-cane other than the Bourbon. There are now 

 21,481 acres planted in such varieties. 



An illustrated article appears on p. 213 dealing 

 w-ith the show of colonial fruit held by the Royal 

 Horticultural Societv on June 6 and 7 last. 



Among the cotton notes on pp. 214 and 21.5 will 

 be found a table showing the amount and estimated 

 value of Sea Island cotton exported from the various 

 West India Islands during the first quarter of the year. 

 There are also notes on disinfection and testing of 

 cotton seed before planting. 



On ]). 218 are published extracts from a paper by 

 ]\Ir. Henry A. Ballou on 'Cotton Stainers.' 



A photograjih of the Hereford bull obtained by 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture for St. Vincent 

 in 1902 appears on p. 219. 



A paper by Dr. Watts on the ' Intiuence of marl 

 on heavy clay soils' (p. 221) contains matter of con- 

 siderable interest to planters. 



Germination of Galba Seeds. 



In roterence to the note in the Agricultural Xeivs^ 

 ^'ol. Y , ]). 143, in which it was suggested that galba 

 seed would germinate only in November, Mr. F. R. 

 Shepherd, Agricultural Superintendent at St. Kitt's, 

 writes that his experience does not confirm this. He 

 says: 'I made trials of the germination of galba seeds- 

 at the Botanic Station and found that seeds planted in 

 March in boxes have germinated in the same way as 

 other seeds of that kind in from four to six weeks. 

 From my experiments I am sure the}' will grow at any 

 time under favourable conditions.' 



Varieties of Sugar-cane in British Guiana. 



It may be of interest to draw attention to the 

 report, published elsewhere in these columns, on the 

 area under cultivation in British Guiana with varieties 

 of sugar-cane other than Bourbon. 



The returns show that, for the crop of 1900-7, 

 21,481 acres are occupied in British Guiana with such 

 varieties, as against an area of 14,743 acres in 1905-6, 

 or an increase of 457 per cent. Many of the planta- 

 tions are now growing seedling varieties on a large 

 scale (one estate in Demerara having an area of about 

 4,150 acres so occupied), while many of them have 

 nurseries of several or many varieties. 



The seedling' canes most largel)- grown are D. 109 

 (8,386 acres), D. 625 (3,357 kcres), B. 208 (2,125 

 acres), D. 145 (1,842 acres), and B. 147 (1,733 acres). 



Atmospheric Nitrogen in Manures. 



Several references have been made in previous 

 issues of the Agricultimd News to the progi'ess that 

 has been made in the development of commercially 

 successful methods of fixing the free nitrogen of the air 

 and thus making it available for agricultural purposes. 



The position is i-eviewed in an interesting editorial 

 in the E.rjx'riment St<(tinn Record for May. 



The encouraging results yielded by the Frank and 

 Caro cyanamide process, and further developments in 

 the application of this process, have been followed by 

 the erection of factories in Italy, Germany, and else- 

 where to test the process on an extensive commercial 

 scale. 



Numerous experiments have shown that the 

 so-called lime nitrogen has a fertilizing value but 

 slightly inferior to that of nitrate of soda and somewhat 

 superior to that of sulphate of ammonia. 



It is anticipated that, where cheap water-power is 

 available, this process can be made to yield a product 

 capable of competing successfully in the markets of the 

 world with nitiate of soda. 



New methods of fixing atmospheric nitrogen are 

 constantly being devised, and their development, while 

 of great practical importance, is also of the highest 

 significance as an illustration of the successful applica- 

 tion of the results of investigations in pure science to 

 practical attairs and commercial needs. 



