306 



Mikania acandens in Fiji —The following letter has been receive* 1 

 from Mr. C. H. Knowles, Superintendent of Agriculture, Fiji : 



" Fiji, 17th May, 1907. 



"I have the honour to inform you that I am forwarding 

 specimens of root, stem, leaves and flowers of a vine that is 

 a serious nuisance as a weed in the wet districts of Fiji. The 

 Fijian name is Wa Butako, which means ' Thief ' or ' Pirate,' 

 having reference to the rapid way in which it spreads and makes 

 itself at home in the native and other cultivations. 



" In the bush on the sides of the road from Suva to Rewa it is 

 to be seen climbing on the trees and posts, and when the bush is 

 cleared this vine makes its appearance climbing up all stumps and 

 often forming a thick carpet on the land. In cane fields it climbs 

 around cane and does much damage if unchecked. It is easily 

 removed by the laborious method of hand-picking, but horse 

 cultivation does not appear to kill it. - 



J' I should be much obliged if you would have it examined and 



™ I n n m f t S bot f nical name and wnere « ^ a native of. I 

 regiet that I am unable to obtain any information as to the history 

 of its arrival and spread in the Colony." 



The specimens show that the weprf in ««*««,*« ?« 



Mikania 



faLoSSr 1W.1 T > U SPeCi f? '" COmmon in most hot "onntries. 

 tJSSL ^TLlLf° metlm .? 3 .. «•«" ™>ch treble, and the 



Mr. Knowles tallies 



SK 2S haS - ^f 5 * * * ^ neShb^ho^ o? 

 p C e a st C that £^TJ?£^£K^ 1 ***** ^ 

 the plant by hand and dUroynfg it Car6fUlly rem ° Vmg 



West Indies.— From 



News we learn that the cuMvtfi™ of nfw7J°,r ** A 9 Hcultural 

 comnared with ♦>.« t*™ ™ 1Vd «on oi new seedling sugar canes, as 



33K&££S S23M ZV£?^ hit ir t0 growi ; in 



able progress in recent veT™ V . Indles shows consider- 



that hU acres wer^pfanZ in British S *° ,*£? ^^ 



seedling p 9no S „„,, VT , .„ na D - W5 5 while two Barbados 



seedlings, B 208 anrl R tai 1J, 1 b<50 m > wnile two Barbados 

 Editorial note whi/h .' U? T- also lar 2 el r cultivated. An 

 ^toXtupp 8P ^ m ,^ InUnatianal Sugar 

 Seedling Canes in X™2i ^?" 220 ) discussing the "Identity of 

 fact " that the se^i?n^nT a pZ? that l * ™ « an ascertained 

 Diamon PlanSon n Sm ' 2 °« Cultivated on the well known 



of that ^^IZvIkTk 2oT, ^ S? ° riginal 8eedUng 

 have, however »\ n Z iff v • ' 208 from Dl amond Plantation 



the ^ZXZZlTT^t* > critical examination by 



it is stated that thev «ti -a ^P 1 ™ 1 ™"* for the West Indies, and 

 that varfeV raised at SrtrtS^ ** "» ^"^ 6eedHnga <" 



