832 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



reviewed, and the cultivation, manufacture, and general management of hemp 

 discussed with a view to Jamaican production. The topics covered are as fol- 

 lows: Description and varieties of sisal hemp plants; soil and its preparation; 

 selection and method of cultivation; catch crops; maturity and harvesting; 

 quality ; machinery, drying stand, press, and buildings ; artificial drying, baling, 

 and bagasse; yields and values; and the fields as grazing pastures. Many of 

 the data given are taken from Yucatan conditions. 



Cultivation of main-crop potatoes (Dcpt. Agr. and Tech. Instr. Ireland 

 Jour., 13 {WIS), No. Jf, pp. 764-774). — This gives general directions for pro- 

 ducing a potato crop in Ireland, and includes results of some tests by the de- 

 partment of agriculture in which potatoes were allowed to sprout before being 

 planted. The average results obtained in every county in Ireland during the 

 10 years 1903-1912 showed that sprouted seed yielded 12 tons 5 cwt, and 

 unsprouted seed 10 tons 6 cwt. per acre. 



The advantages of storing potatoes during the winter in sprouting boxes are 

 noted as follows: "(1) A substantial increase in yield; (2) planting may be 

 deferred for a time in an unfavorable season without detriment to the crop; 

 (3) several weeks' growth is secured in the boxes previous to planting; the 

 first bud is preserved, which results in the crop making rapid growth when 

 planted, enabling it to smother weeds; (4) the crop is usually ready for lifting 

 several weeks before that from unsprouted seed; (5) seed potatoes can be 

 safely and conveniently stored in boxes and easily examined for the removal 

 cf unsound tubers or for the detection of those of other varieties which may 

 have been accidentally introduced." 



Results are given of manurial experiments with potatoes conducted at 353 

 centers during the 11 years, 1901-1911. 



Potato production from experience, G. M. Twitchell (Aivi. Rpt. N. J. Bd. 

 ^Q^', 40 (1912), pp. 14O-I49). — This paper, which was delivered at the fortieth 

 annual meeting of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, deals with the 

 production of the potato crop as developed in Maine. The methods employed 

 in establishing different types of potatoes are described. It is noted that by 

 protecting the vines and increasing the leaf development a potato of increased 

 starch content may be obtained, and that the use of Paris green injures the 

 leaf surface and delays elaboration therein. 



Some experiments on the growth of rice in water culture, V. E. Villegas 

 {Philippine Agr. and Forester, 2 {1912), No. 4-6, pp. 86-90). — The results given 

 in this paper were obtained in a study of the inferior crop-producing power of 

 cogon soils. Rice plants were grown in water cultures with and without an 

 extract from cogon soils, in the presence of various nitrogen compounds, and in 

 the presence of a soil extract obtained from under a clump of bamboo. 



The results obtained showed that " rice grown in water culture containing 

 substances extracted from cogon soil is generally retarded in its growth ; where 

 sodium nitrate is the predominating fertilizer stimulation of growth is ob- 

 served. The extract from a soil growing bamboo retards the growth of rice 

 in every case, though the effect observed is less in the case of the plant grown 

 in a solution containing sodium nitrate as the sole nutrient salt. ... It is 

 evident that the removal of nitric acid from the solutions containing sodium 

 nitrate will tend to develop an amount of alkali sufficient to neutralize more 

 or less completely the acidity due to superphosphate. In fact the solutions 

 containing predominating proportions of sodium nitrate were the only ones 

 which were neutral at the end of the experiment. . . . We, therefore, conclude 

 that cogon soil and soil growing bamboo contains a substance or substances 

 injurious to the growth of rice in acid media ; whether the toxic action would 



