366 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Meanwhile we publish further particulars of it 

 in the report forwarded to us, from Messrs. 

 Svensen & D'Oliveyra, who have been growing 

 it so successfully in tne Solomon Islands, as 

 follows : — 



Guadalcanar, Solomon Islands, 10th June 19U9. 



Messrs. Sturmfels Ltd., Greek St., Brisbane, 

 Queensland. 



Gentlemen: — Herewith please find samples 

 of our new hybrid perennial Cotton " Mamara " 

 which has been grown by us here with great 

 success. It yields a fine silky fibre similar to 

 Caravonica No. 2 valued in Europe at Is. per lb. 

 We have grown it principally as a catch crop 

 between coconuts without cultivation, other 

 than weeding, and we have obtained a return 

 of 300 lb. of lint per acre. This variety of cotton 

 only grows to an average height of about 6 feet 

 whereas the "Caravonica" reaches from 15 to 

 20 feet. We have grown the "Mamara" and 

 "Caravonica" alongside each other and find 

 that the former invariably produces the heavier 

 crop. Our rainfall is about 80 inches per annum, 

 half of which falls during, January, February 

 and March. A small crop of "Mamara" is 

 secured six months after planting and in January 

 the bushes should be heavily pruned back. 

 We feel assured that by trying the Mamara " 

 variety in suitable localities proprietors of 

 plantations will secure a very valuabe cot'ton ; 

 and if the seed is returned in the shape of 

 manure, very little is taken from the soil. We shall 

 always be pleased to give any information re- 

 quired, to intending growers.— Yours faithfully. 



(Signed.) Svensen & D'Oliveyra. 



After this satisfactory report we would like to 

 see the Peradeniya Department and enthusiastic 

 growers of cotton in our midst, like Dr. H. M. 

 Fernando and others, making a trial with the 

 new hybrid species in Ceylon. 



NEW RAMIE DEGUMMING PROCESS. 



Ramie fibre is one of the best in the world. 

 It produces cloth of a texture that can scarcely 

 be told from silk and stronger than linen. The 

 chief drawback in connection with its produc- 

 tion is the difficulty of cleaning the fibre from 

 the gum which is contained in the plant. Years 

 of study, and hundreds of thousands of dollars 

 have been spent in the effort to produce an ade- 

 quate " degumming process." Some twenty- 

 five years ago about $40,000 was expended on a 

 ramie plantaion situated near the present site of 

 the Olaa Mill, the cleaning machinery being 

 located in Hilo. The ramie grew well and the 

 fibre was of first-class quality, but the degum- 

 ming process was not successful, resulting in 

 total failure, That a successful dogummer will 

 some day be discovered is a moral certainty, in 

 which case there is no reason why ramie should 

 not become a staple and profitable product in 

 Hawaii. It may be that even now the long 

 looked for process may have been found. U. S. 

 Consul Charles Denby, of Shanghai, China, 

 thinks it has, and has so reported to the State 

 Department. He says that the operation is 

 simple and lasts only ten minutes. The ramie 

 is first placed in a vessel containing boiling wear 



to which is added a secret composition. After 

 boiling four and one-half minutes it is washed, 

 bleached, and thoroughly degummed. A de- 

 corticating machine has also been invented by a 

 Mr. Smith which, it is claimed, will do the whole 

 of the work now done in the fields by hand, ex- 

 cept cutting and carting. A fibre Company has 

 been organised at Shanghai to manufacture 

 ramie goods. We suggest that this is a proper 

 subject for investigation by the Hawaii Experi- 

 ment Station. Doubtless, Mr. Denby would, 

 upon request, furnish detail information con- 

 cerning cost and methods, and give names and 

 addresses of inventors. — Hawaii Planters 

 Monthly, May 15, 



" FERTILISERS AND MANURES.*" 



By A. D. Hall, m.a., kr.s., Director of the 

 rothamsted experimental station, &c. 

 [Reviewed by John Hughes, f.c.s., 

 Agricultural Analyst.] 

 This book, which is gracefully dedicated to 

 Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge, Baronet, "who 

 has shown in other fields the distinction and 

 imagination which marked his father's work 

 for agriculture," the only son of the late Sir 

 John Lawes, Bart., is intended by the author 

 to be a companion to his previous work, " The 

 Soil." Though published primarily for farmers 

 and the senior Students and Teachers in our 

 agricultural schools, the book is written in such 

 a clear, simple style and treats the principles of 

 manuring in such a useful practical manner that 

 it should be equally appreciated by Colonial 

 planters of Tea, Coffee, Sugar, Rubber, Cotton, 

 Cacao and other 6emi-tropical crops. It pos- 

 sesses the special advantage of making use of 

 the valuable experimental researches that have 

 been carried on, on a thoroughly systematic 

 method, at Rothamstead for so many years. Mr. 

 Hall endeavours to help men to a greater skill 

 in the selection of the fertilisers and manures 

 best adapted for particular soils and crops, 

 and employs the results of the Rothamstead 

 experiments by way of illustrating his views. 

 There are, in fact, 103 separate tables of experi- 

 mental results, and the illustrations of the 

 growth of crops and plants in pots, though not 

 many, are very interesting. 



The first chapter is taken up with a review 

 of the early history of Manures, the theories 

 of plant nutrition, the introduction of artificial or 

 prepared fertilisers, and the assimilation of plant 

 food from the air and from the soil ; and at- 

 tention is directed to the statement made by 

 Liebig to the British Association in 1840 that 

 the carbon compounds, which constitute fully 

 95 per cent, of the dry matter of the plant, were 

 obtained from the atmosphere by the plant and 

 that only about 2 per cent, in the form of 

 mineral constituents was obtained through the 

 roots from the soil. The author next proceeds 

 to consider the three essential ingredients of all 

 Manures under their respective headings and 

 in the order of their agricultural importance, 

 namely : Nitrogen, Phosphates and Potash, to 

 each of which separate chapters are allotted. Na- 

 turally, the soluble and quick-acting fertilisers, 



~ *"Joh Murray, 1909— Ssnett. ~ 



