Vol. V. No. 121. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



393 



Comparison of these figures with those for the 

 five years 188-5-9 shows a decline of £894,000 for 

 sugar; of £57,000 for molasses; and of £105,600 

 for coffee. On the other hand, fruit has increased by 

 £610,000, cacao by £670,000, and tobacco by £18,000. 

 In other words, the value of the fruit exports and of 

 those of tobacco has been nearly trebled, and that of 

 cacao doubled. 



In reference to the direction of trade, it is shown 

 that twice as much sugar goes to the United States 

 as to the United Kingdom. Of the fruit, 90 per cent, 

 goes to the former and 7 per cent, to the latter. 



Lime Industry in the West Indies. 



Writing in the Grenada Chronicle, Mr. G. Whitfield 

 Smith, Commissioner of Carriacou, draws attention to 

 the lime industry as one lilcely to offer reasonable 

 prospect of success in Grenada. Mr. Smith points out 

 that from a small beginning the lime industry has 

 steadily progressed and prospered till it has taken first 

 place in Dominica and Montserrat. 



He gives particulars as to the cultivation of limes 

 and their yield ' in the hope that they may induce 

 a systematic effort on the part of our cultivators 

 profitably to reclaim and employ the many thousand 

 acres which are now lying useless, and thereby to add 

 one more item to the list of export products from 

 this lovely colony.' 



Lime trees are generally planted at 15 feet apart, 

 or 193 trees to the acre. When in full bearing a tree 

 will yield from 1,200 to 1,800 limes per annum. The 

 yield of an estate, under ordinarily favourable circum- 

 stances, may be estimated at 190 barrels per acre. 



Assuming that the limes are converted into raw 

 juice, Mr. Smith's figures show that an acre will give 

 handsome returns when prices are good. But as the 

 market for raw juice is limited, it may be necessary to 

 concentrate. By concentrating the juice, the planter 

 will still obtain excellent returns. It is claimed by 

 a successful lime planter in Dominica that ' it is an 

 incontestable fact that it will yield the greatest returns 

 on the capital invested of any industry in the West 

 Indies.' 



Funtumia Rubber in the Cameroons. 



An article by one of the editors in the Tropen- 

 ■pjianzer, for July 1905, contains interesting information 

 in reference to the cultivation of Funtumia elastica in 

 German West Africa. 



There are now in the Cameroons about 350,000 culti- 

 vated trees of this rubber, nearly 100,000 of which 

 belong to Moliwe plantation. The trees grow rapidly 

 in the Cameroons : the few diseases which attack rubber 

 trees do not injure Funtumia, and the only hesitation felt 

 about planting it has had reference to doubts about the 

 earliest age at which the tree can be tapped, and its 

 yield. As a result of a preliminary series of experi- 

 ments made by the manager of Moliwe, the following 

 points have been established : — 



(a) Funtumia elastica yields commercial rubber 



at five and a half years. Although the quality is not 

 of the very best at this age, yet it is a useful rubber. 



(6) The method of tapping which yielded most 

 rubber was the one in which most bark was cut, 

 a double herring-bone of fifteen cuts on each side. This 

 produced 2J oz. of rubber in one day. Re-opening of 

 the cuts produced but little latex. 



(f) It would pay, with labour at 9d. per day, to tap 

 trees of this age, but would perhaps injure the trees. 



The coagulation of the rubber was brought about 

 b)' boiling, with the addition of acetic acid. 



Agriculture in the Straits Settlements. 



It is stated in the Annual Report on the Straits 

 Settlements for 1905 that pine-apple cultivation has 

 increased in Singapore even more than it did in the 

 previous year. Over 548,000 cases of preserved pine- 

 apples were exported, valued at over 2| million dollars, 

 an incre.ase of 100,000 cases and $318,000. 



A further extension of Para rubber planting is 

 reported in Singapore and in Malacca. The cultivation 

 ever3'where is increasing, and the demand for seed from 

 the Botanic Gardens is larger than can be supplied. 



Considerable extension of cocoa-nut planting has 

 also taken place. Mention is made of the phenomenal 

 rise in copra production and the extension of the 

 oil-extraction industry. 



The outjDut of sago was 47,788 tons, of tapioca 

 48,005 tons. The other principal articles of produce 

 are gambler, pepper, cotfee, hides, rattans, gutta, and 

 gum copal. 



New Source of Nitrates. 



According to the Journal of the Board oj 

 Agricidtiire, for November, recent investigations on 

 nitrification have suggested that peat, the result of the 

 decomposition of vegetable matter in water, might 

 prove of some importance as a source of nitrates. It 

 has been found that when broken into pieces, mixed 

 with lime, and treated with a weak solution of sulphate 

 of ammonia, peat has, after the addition of the nitrify- 

 ing organisms, exhibited an extraordinarily active 

 nitrification, much surpassing that of any materials 

 previously employed. 



All kinds of peat proved very effective, but the 

 light and spongy kinds, less advanced in decomposition, 

 were found somewhat better. The method adopted is 

 to saturate the peat with an ammoniacal solution, with 

 the result that the liquid becomes nitrified. It is 

 allowed to drain through the peat, and the nitrates are 

 obtained by evaporation. 



The investigators were also led to consider whether 

 the peat could not furnish in addition the ammonia 

 necessary for the operation, as it contains from 2 to 

 3 per cent, of its dry weight of nitrogen. They found 

 that, by treating the peat in a current of superheated 

 steam, they were able to extract the greater portion of 

 the nitrogen in the peat. ' If this method of producing 

 nitrogen proves a commercial success, it will add to 

 our manurial resources, whereas the nitrification of 

 sulphate of ammonia by peat is not likely to have any 

 very direct importance for agriculture. 



