December, 1912,] 



459 



evident that it will be necessary to adopt measures to check the spread of 

 insect pests and to reduce their depredations. If these cottons, as grown, 

 gave a good yield per acre, the results of the trials must be regarded as 

 very encouraging. The American and Cuban would appeal to be more 

 suitable than the Egyptian. 



PEASANT PROPRIETORSHIP IN HOLLAND. 



PROPOSED LEGISLATION. 



The following account is reproduced from the Bulletin of the Bureau 

 of Economic and Social Intelligence in the Journal of the Board of Agricul- 

 ture for November:— '« As a result of the report of a Commission appointed 

 in Holland to inquire into the economic condition of agricultural labour- 

 ers, a Bill has been brought forward to "enable agricultural labourers to 

 become proprietors of land with dwelling-houses, or to rent land." 



According to this Bill, the land, the value of which must not exceed 

 about £200, is to be purchased through the medium of approved associa- 

 tions to be formed in every canton and having for their sole aim the 

 promotion of the purchase of land by agricultural labourers. The money 

 for purchasing the land will be lent by the State to the communes of the 

 cantons and by them to the associations, in each case at the rate of 3i per 

 cent per annum, Facilities for purchase are only given to agricultural 

 labourers between the ages of twenty-five and thirty who can pay at least 

 one-tenth of the purchase value ; the remaining nine-tenths are lent to the 

 purchaser by the associations (or communes.) 



Repayment of the borrowed money is made as follows :— For the first 

 two years interest must be paid at the rate of 3| per cent.; from the third 

 year onwards repayment must be made in thirty annual instalments at 

 5h per cent. The purchaser, however, may if he desires pay less, for the 

 Bill authorises him to burden the property he has bought to the extent of 

 one-fourth of the sum borrowed with an annual charge redeemable at any 

 time or only after the complete extinction of the remainder of the debt. 



As a guarantee for the sum borrowed, the purchaser gives a mortgage 

 on the property bought but the deeds, etc., are free from stamp and regis- 

 tration duties. The purchaser is not allowed to let the laud while the 

 instalments are unpaid, or to dispose of it to anybody else during his 

 lifetime, but his testamentary liberty is in no way restricted. 



The Bill also provides that small plots of land may be let to agricul- 

 tural labourers who have no land. The rent must not exceed about 

 £2. 10s. per annum. The land must be suitable for cultivation and well 

 situated. The letting is carried out by the associations mentioned above, 

 or by the communes. 



YIELD OF GROUND-NUTS. 



Experiments in the Bombay Presidency with different Varieties of 

 ground-nuts have given excellent results in several cases (Ann. Rep. Dept. 

 Agric. Bombay 1910-11, p. 31). Thus, at Kilgeri, Spanish nuts yielded at 

 the rate of 3,340 lb. of nuts per acre and small Japanese nuts at 2,516 lb. 

 per acre, An experiment to ascertain the best quality of seed to .use for 

 sowing was partially spoiled by " ticca " disease, but it would appear 

 that 60 lb. per acre is sufficient for spreading varieties, and 80 lb. for 

 others.— Imperial Institute Bulletin, 



