August, 1911.] 



Ill 



Edible Products. 



Comparison of Varieties. — A plot of a 

 total area of 4,400 sq. feet was divided 

 into five equal parts and planted with 

 nuts of the Spanish, Tennessee Red, 

 Dixie Giant and Carolina Running varie- 

 ties. The nuts were sown in rows 2 feet 

 apart with 2 feet between the holes in 

 the row- Two nuts were placed in each 

 hole at a depth of 2 inches. Sowing 

 tuuk place in July, 



The nuts used were saved from the 

 crop ot 1909, and were all attacked by 

 the root fungus, the mycelium being 

 observed on their surfaces. They were 

 disinfected for five minutes without 

 subsequent washing. In addition, one 

 of the five plots was planted with nuts 

 of the Spanish variety which were ob- 

 tained fresh from America and were not 

 disinfected. 



The yields were as follows : — 



Estimated 

 Actual yield yield per acre 

 in pounds. in pounds. 



Uncured. Cured. Uncured. Cured, 

 19 15£ 940J 767 



27 22 1,3364 1,089 



29 Ui 1,435 1,213 

 US 733 5,841 3,523 



108 * 6 5,346 3,76 J 



Variety; 

 Spanish (untreated) 

 Spanish (disinfected) 

 Tennessee Ked 

 Dixie Giant 

 Carolina Running 



The Dixie Giant and Carolina Running 

 varieties gave by far the highest yields 

 and bore the largest nuts. Unfor- 

 tunately they are but little suited 

 to the conditions of the market in 

 Dominica, where small nuts are pre- 

 ferred, as they are sold by measure. 



The disinfection treatment seemed to 

 have prevented any occurrence of 

 root disease, even from the diseased 

 nuts used for planting and, moreover, 

 appeared to have acted as a stimulant, 

 as it very probably accounts for the 

 difference in yield between the treated 

 and untreated plots of the Spanish 

 variety. The rust fungus, however, 

 broke out on the Carolina Runuing 

 variety on October 5, when the diseased 

 plant was removed, and the surrounding 

 piant dusted once a week with a mixture 

 of equal parts of lime and sulphur. 



On November 3rd, the rust fungus 

 appeared on the section planted with 

 the untreated seed of the Spanish 

 variety, at the end of the plot remote 

 from the Carolina Runniug plants. The 

 other three sections, containing Dixie 

 Giant, Tennessee Red, and the disin- 

 fected Spanish were free from disease. 

 The sporadic nature of the attacks of 

 the rust fungus on this plot suggests an 

 outside source of infection. This has, 

 however, not been discovered. On 

 the whole, lime-sulphur mixture appears 

 to have but little effect on the spread of 

 this disease. 



The Effect of Lime.— In order to test 

 the effect of a dressing of lime at the 

 rate of | lb. to the square yard, or 

 £,420 lb. to the acre, a plot of 2,451 square 

 feet was divided into two sections A 

 and B. Section A received a dressing of 

 lime ; section B did not. Both sections 

 were planted with nuts of the Virginia 

 Bunch variety, in rows 2 feet apart with 

 a space of 1 foot between the holes- One 

 seed was sown in each hole. 



The rust fungus broke out on section 

 A on October 6, and on section B twelve 

 days later, so that its effect, if any, was 

 much the same on both sections. It is 

 worthy of note that the lime-sulphur 

 mixture which was applied had but 

 little apparent effect on checking the 

 disease. 



The plot was reaped on November 15, 

 practically four months from the day of 

 planting. Section A, the limed portion, 

 gave a yield of 86§ lb. of cured nuts, or 

 an estimated yield ot 3,080 lb. of cured 

 nuts per acre. Section B gave an actual 

 yield of 81 lb. of cured nuts or an 

 estimated yield of 2,880 lb. per acre. 

 This gives an increase of 200 lb. per acre 

 of cured nuts in favour of the limed 

 section — an increase so small as to render 

 the experiment inconclusive. 



The Effect of Unleached Wood Ashes.— 

 To test this a plot, the area of which was 

 3,234 square feet, it was divided into two 

 sections, A and B. Section A was the 

 control plot, section B received a 

 dressing of 10 oz. of wood ashes to the 

 square yard, or 3,025 lb. per acre. The 

 plot was planted with nuts of the 

 Virginia Runner variety, planting being 

 carried out as in the case of the 

 Virginia Bunch variety used in the lime 

 experiment. 



The rust fungus occurred on both the 

 plots at about the same time, and was 

 not checked to any great extent by 

 application of the lime-sulphur mixture. 



Reaping was carried out on November 

 16, the nuts taking four months to 

 mature. Section A — the control plot- 

 gave an actual yield of 155j lb. of 

 cured nuts, or an estimated yield of 

 4,182 lb. per acre. Section B gave 

 an actual yield of 156 lb. of cured nuts 

 or an estimated yield of 4,202 lb, per 

 acre. This gives an increase of 20 lb. 

 per acre in favour of the wood ashes 

 plot- a result which is so small as to be 

 negligible. It may be noted, however, 

 that the seeds arrived late, so that the 

 dressing was on the ground for three 

 months instead of not more than two 

 weeks before the nuts were planted. 



