164 



NA TURE 



[April 8, 1909 



the refined product of which is sold in China and 

 India. The oil \v,is until recently carried down the 

 Irawadi in barges to the refineries at Rang-oon ; but 

 a steel pipe ten inches in diameter and 297 miles long 

 has been recently laid. 



An oil-field occurs in Beluchistan and Persia in 

 rocks of the same age as those of Burmah, but the 

 geological conditions are unfavourable to the collec- 

 tion of the oil in natural underground reservoirs, and 

 thus the western field has remained unimportant. 



This valuable guide to the mineral fields of India 

 closes with a summary of the mining laws, a biblio- 

 graphy, a full index, and three sketch-maps that 

 show the distribution of oil in Burmah and of the 

 metallic and earthy minerals throughout the Indian 

 Empire. 



J. W. G. 



COTTON GROWING IN THE WEST INDIES.^ 



THE history of the modern cotton industry of the 

 West Indies forms one of the most interesting 

 chapters in the history of agriculture. When cotton 

 was re-introduced some six years ago it was prac- 

 tically a new crop to all concerned. Managers of 

 estates had to learn the methods of cultivation and 

 management, and labourers had to be trained. The 

 manurial requirements of the crop required to be 

 studied, and insect and fungoid pests had to be dealt 

 with as they arose, to prevent them killing off the 

 new crop. Thanks largely to the staff of the West 

 Indian Agricultural Department, to the enterprise of 

 the planters, and to the assistance of the British 

 Cotton-growing Association, the crop has now become 

 a very important one, and has been the means of 

 improving considerably the financial position of many 

 of these colonies. 



The bulletin before us contains several important 

 papers discussing the various phases of cotton pro- 

 duction. Perhaps the most striking feature is the 

 rapidity with which the industry has spread. 



Cotton was first planted on a commercial scale in 

 1902, when about 400 acres were put into cultivation. 

 In 1903 this area was extended to 4000 acres, in 1904 

 to 7000 acres, in 1905 to 9500, in 1906 to 14,500, and 

 for the season 1907-8 20,000 acres are under culture 

 in this crop. In addition there has been a general 

 improvement in the quality of the lint produced since 

 the plants have become acclimatised, and the planters 

 have gained experience in the methods of cultivation 

 and preparing the products. Mr. Thornton, in his 

 general review of the progress of the industry, 

 adduces evidence to show that further progress is 

 possible; numerous points remain to be settled, and 

 still greater improvements can be anticipated. 



Mr. Sands's paper on the cultivation of Sea Island 

 cotton at St. Vincent forms very pleasant reading. St. 

 Vincent had been reduced to very bad straits. There 

 had been a severe hurricane in 1893, and the terrible 

 eruptions of the Soufriere in 1902-3. The unre- 

 munerative prices for arrowroot and sugar, the staple 

 products of the island, made it impossible for the 

 planters to retrieve their disasters. In 1903, however, 

 the cultivation of Sea Island cotton was introduced by 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and has 

 proved to be the means of restoring prosperity to the 

 island; the revenue is now exceeding the expenditure, 

 exports and imports are rising rapidly, estates are in 

 full cultivation, and there is full employment for the 

 peasant and labouring classes. The value of cotton 

 exported for the year 1905-6 was 6059J., for 1906-7 

 was 16,922?. The' total vaiue of the 1907-8 crop, in- 



1 "West Indian Bulletin. The Journal of the Imperial Agricultural 

 Department for the West Indies," vol. ix., No. 3, 1908. 



NO. 2058, VOL. 80] 



eluding exports, value of seed, &c., is estimated at 

 45,oooZ. 



In St. Kitts cotton is grown almost entirely as an 

 intermediate crop with sugar-cane. Up to the present 

 no injurious effect on the sugar-cane has been noticed, 

 and with careful manuring there seems little risk in 

 continuing this system of planting. An agricultural 

 inspector has been appointed to instruct the smaller 

 growers in the best methods of working, and the 

 prospects are considered highly satisfactory. In 

 others of the Leeward Islands Dr. Watts has an 

 equally satisfactory report to make ; the exports from 

 this group rose from 383,4771b. of lint in 1904-5 to 

 526,3821b. in 1905-6, and 702,9101b. in 1906-7, while 

 a further increase is anticipated during the current 

 season. 



The Imperial Department is studying the question 

 of .seed selection, which promises to lead to still 

 further improvement. The manurial requirements of 

 the crop are being investigated, and schemes devised 

 for dealing with the pests. Mr. Ballon gives a sum- 

 mary of his experiments on the cotton-worm, the 

 boll-worm, cut-worms, the stainers and other pests; 

 constant vigilance will obviously be necessary, but 

 with a strong Department of Agriculture there is no 

 reason to fear that the pests cannot be coped with. 

 The progress of the industry reflects the greatest 

 credit alike on the Department and on the planters, 

 and augurs well for the future prosperity of the West 

 Indies. E. J. R. 



notes: 



Sir Ricii;\rd D. Powell has been re-elected president of 

 the Royal College of Physicians of London. 



Mr. T. Edison has been awarded the gold medal of the 

 Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden for his inventions 

 in connection with the phonograph. 



Prince Albert of Monaco, distinguished for his re- 

 searches in oceanography, has been elected a foreign 

 member of the Paris Academy of Sciences in succession 

 to the late Lord Kelvin. 



The summer meeting of the Institution of Mechanical 

 Engineers will be held this year in Liverpool, and will 

 begin on Monday, July 26. 



The Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh — one of the 

 oldest scientific societies in the kingdom — has now opened 

 its doors to women members. At the March meeting of 

 the society, Mrs. Elizabeth Gray, Edinburgh, Miss Marion 

 I. Newbigin, D.Sc, Edinburgh, Mrs. Ogilvie Gordon, 

 D.Sc, Ph.D., Aberdeen, and Miss Muriel Robertson, 

 London, were elected ordinary fellows. 



Reuter's correspondent at Sydney reports that during 

 a violent storm in the New Hebrides on March 29, Teouma 

 was swept by a huge wave, which caused great destruc- 

 tion. The Government buildings at Vila were destroyed, 

 and many vessels were stranded. 



The New York correspondent of the Times announces 

 that Dr. W. H. Edwards died at Coalburo, West Virginia, 

 on April 4, at the age of eighty-eight years. Dr. Edwards 

 was the author of " The Butterflies of North America," 

 a standard work on the subject, and contributed many 

 papers on entomology to various scientific periodicals. 



From Honolulu is reported the death, in his seventy- 

 third year, of the Rev. Dr. Sereno E. Bishop, who had 

 spent fifty-six years as an American missionary in the 

 Hawaiian Islands. He was a frequent contributor to 



