< 



382 



A short description of the land must accompany the samples and 

 the sketch plan. In the case of cultivated land, state how long the 

 land has been under cultivation, what crops were chiefly grown, result 

 of such crops, was any manure applied, when, and what sort, and in 

 what quantities per acre. In the case of virgin soil, state if the land 

 was heavily timbered or not, ringbarked, if scrub or forest land, what 

 sort of timber was chiefly growing on the land. In all cases a des- 

 cription of the neighbouring land, outcropping rocks, &c., are of great 

 value. Also state if the land is naturally or artificially drained or 

 not ; describe the land as regards its position to hills, roads, creeks, 

 ridges, &c. 



Only by adhering strictly to these instructions, and by giving 

 minute details can benefit be derived from the soil analysis. 



Special forms of application for advice as to manurial treatment 

 of soil have been prepared, and may be obtained from the Under 

 Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Stock. 



It is strongly advised to fill up one of these forms in each case 

 when a sample of soil is submitted for analysis. 



(Queensland Agricultural Journal Vol. XXVII, No. 3.) 



EXPERIIWENTS IN THE EXTRACTiON OF 

 MANIHOT GLAZIOVn LATEX. 



Two experiments of this kind have been made recently at Kalamu, 

 near Bama, in the Lower Congo, with trees, in the first case, grow- 

 ing in a sandy hollow. The results, which are given in the Bulletin 

 Agricole du Congo Blege, for June 1911, p. 359, show that in the first 

 experiment made in the dry season, employing 129 trees, the yield of 

 latex was 12.9 gallons, equivalent to 32.71b. of dry rubber; the re- 

 newals of the tapping were made during twenty-nine days. It was 

 noticed that, during this trial, the latex was much thicker and richer 

 in rubber than in the one to be described. A circumstance rarely 

 observed in regard to Manihot was noticed, namely a decided increase 

 in the yield of latex after the first four renewals of the tapping ; 

 towards the end of the trial a gradual diminution occurred in the 

 quantity collected daily. A former experiment, made on the same 

 trees during the rainy season, gave a yield of 14.6 gallons of latex, 

 or 28.3 lbs. of dry rubber. 



The second trial was made in the dry season, employing 242 

 trees, situated on a plateau possessing a clay soil with pebbles. The 

 tapping, repeated for ten days, gave 27.6 lbs. of dry rubber. 



