Vol. V. No. 117. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



327 



SCIENCE NOTES. 



Soap Berry Tree. 



There are various jjlants known as soap berry 

 trees. These belong to the genus Sapindas and are 

 found in the old and new worlds. One species, 

 Siq^indiis Saponaria, is a native of Jamaica and 

 tropical America. The fleshy covei'ing of the seeds of 

 this tree makes a lather with water and may be used as 

 a soap. 



The Consular Report on agriculture in Algeria 

 for 1905 contains the following account of the Algerian 

 soap tree : — 



The Sajjindus vti/is is a largj*5fi-ee with a smooth 

 straight trunk. The new plants )-each to about 10 feet in 

 height in the first two years and begin to bear in si.x years, 

 but the fruit production increases largely as the tree gains in 

 age. The flowers are male and female, or hermaphrodite. 

 The berry is round in appearance, but with a distinct keel, 

 like a walnut's, encircling it. It is, when fresh, smooth, 

 shiny, and fleshy; when dried it is tough, gummy, and 

 translucid; the colour varies from yellowish-green to brown ; 

 in size, it varies from about i inch to 1 inch in diameter ; 

 dried, it weighs from | to ] oz. The seeds form about one- 

 third of the total weight. The tree, when full grown, rises 

 to a height of from 40 to .50 feet, and' produces over 200 lb. 

 of fruit, worth at present from §6 to $7. 



Several varieties have been produced from seed, but 

 have given poor results. The only practical method of 

 reproduction is from cuttings, which should be planted in 

 February in Algeria and similar climates, and must be 

 copiously watered during the summer. 



So far the cultivation of this tree in Algeria has been 

 limited to the lowlying lands near the coast (the orange 

 belt), but it is believed that it would survive a more severe 

 climate. The only large plantation of these trees is about 18 

 miles from Algiers, covering some 1-50 acres, but there are 

 manj' small plantations, and recently the cultivation of the 

 tree is being largely undertaken and is considered to have 

 a brilliant future before it. 



There are no important manufactures of soap tree 

 products in Algeria ; all the production of the plantation 

 mentioned above went last year to Germany. A good deal 

 of the fruit is employed in its natural state, and many 

 chemists produce specialties from it, such as saponine, an 

 excellent washing powder, and sapindine, a hair wash, as 

 well as many other articles for toilet ])urposes. 



Panama wood, which is extensively used in Europe for 

 washing, contains, on an average, about 8 per cent, of 

 saponine, whilst the dried fruit of the soap tree contains 

 fully 28 per cent. When freight has to be taken into 

 consideration, the importance of this difference can easily be 

 estimated. 



The wood of this tree is also valuable. It is fine in 

 grain, takes a good polish, and is very suitable for furniture. 

 The seed yields a considerable quantity of fine oil. 



Love Vine or Cuscuta. 



At a meeting of the Barbados Agricultural Society held 

 on September 28, Mr. .J. R. Bovell drew the attention of 

 members to the existence in the island of a scourge to 

 agriculture in the form of a species of Cuscuta, known as the 

 ' love vine.' After explaining the nature of this pest and the 

 injury it was likely to cause to vegetation, ilr. Bovell 



proposed that a committee should be appointed to consider 

 what steps should be taken for its destruction. 



As a result, a notice has been issued by his Excellency 

 the Governor calling attention to the dangerous nature of the 

 ' love vine,' and asking for ' the co-operation of every man, 

 woman, or child in the island in the destruction of this pest.' 



This pest became so serious a menace to the agricultural 

 interests of Trinidad two or three years ago that steps had to 

 be taken to deal with it by legislation. As mentioned in the 

 Agricultural News (Vol. Ill, p. 18-5), power was given, under 

 the Agricultural Protection Ordinance, to the Chief Inspec- 

 tor, with the apia-oval of the (iovernor, to sign an order for 

 the destruction of the ' love vine ' by burning or burying. 

 A leaflet giving information as to the habits of the pest, 

 issued by the Botanical Department of Trinidad, was 

 summarized in the Agi-icultuinl News (Vol. II, ]x 312). 



There are some eighty species of Cuscuta known to 

 science, all of which are parasitic on other plants. They are 

 leafless twiners, which attach themselves to the host-plant by 

 means of root-like suckers, which absorb ready-made food 

 from the host. The seeds produced by the parasite fall to 

 the ground and germinate in the soil in the usual way. As 

 soon, however, as the young shoot finds an acceptable host, 

 the root, for which there is now no further use, dies, and the 

 plant becomes parasitic. If left undisturbed, the vine will, 

 in time, completely destroy its host-plant. 



While the ' love vine ' is readily distributed by its seeds, 

 it is also reproduced vegetatively. Small portions are able to 

 attach themselves to a host-plant. 



It will therefore be understood that, to destroy the pest 

 completely, efforts should be made to prevent it from seeding 

 and then to pick off and destroy, by burying deeply with 

 lime, or burning, every portion that can be seen. 



In Great Britain four species of Cuscuta are found, the 

 most important being C. tnfolii, which is known as the 

 ' clover dodder.' An interesting article on the dodders 

 appeared in the last issue of the Journal of the Board of 

 Agriculture (September 1906). They are chiefly distributed 

 by seed included amongst agricultural seeds. For example, 

 in 190-5 as many as 11 per cent, of the clover seed .samples 

 examined by the Botanist to the Royal Agricultural Society 

 were condemned owing to the presence of dodder seeds. 



It is stated : ' The harm done is best explained by 

 stating that dodder possesses no chloroplasts, and is unable 

 to take up carbon dioxide from the air like ordinary green 

 plants ; but, after leaving its hold of the soil, it depends 

 entirely for its food products which it absorbs from its host- 

 plant, which therefore becomes exhausted and dies.' 



RAINFALL IN ST. LUCIA. 



Mr. J. C. Moore, Agricultural Superintendent, has 

 forwarded the following report on recent rainfall in 

 St. Lucia : — 



Very heavy rainfall was experienced in St. Lucia on 

 September 23 and 21. At the Agricultural School, 7-8.5 

 inches were registered for the two days. About 4 inches fell 

 between 4 and 6 a.m. on September 23, causing the Union 

 river to rise 13 feet and flood the whole of the experiment 

 plots attached to the school. Considerable damage was done 

 by silting up the drains, laying down various plants (including 

 cacao trees), washing out newly planted banana plants, 

 destroying all the onion seedlings, and washing away con- 

 siderable quantities of the best surface soil from some of the 

 plots. The rainfall at this station, for the current year to 

 September 30, is nearly 5 inches above the amount registered 

 for the corresponding period last year. 



