when 14 days old and again at one month. The perennial varieties is the Sea Island and Egyptian - were planted from 5ft. to 7ft. apart in The Sea Island and Egyptian varieties grew out almost too luxuriantly, so that the sun was excluded to a great extent and only about half of the bolls ripened. The annuals also grew out well and gave very satisfactory yields. Weather conditions were favourable during planting time, but a protracted period of drought set in when plants were about six weeks old. The crop was freely cultivated and a certain amount of hand-hoeing was also done to keep the field clear of weeds. The following is the cost of production and estimated profit per acre of the different varieties planted: The cost of production per acre varies in the different varleties owing to additional cost of picking of one variety as compared with another. The cost of picking was higher in the case of the Sea Island owing to the bolls not opening well and in the case of the Toole owing to the heavy yield. The second year crop of the Sea Island variety is of very good quality and of satisfactory yield. The only insect pest which troubled the field in question was cotton stainer (Dysdercus superstitiosus) but not to any great extent. 362 Cotton Experiments in British Guiana. HARRISON, J. B. and STOCKDALE, F. A. in: West Indian Bulletin, Vol. XIII, No. 1, pp. 40-55. Barbados, 1913. Experiments in growing different foreign varieties of cotton have been in progress for some time (West Indian Bulletin, Vol IX, pp. 213-214). None of the varieties grown however paid for the cost of their cultivation, so that these experiments were discontinued after 1908, and attention was given to producing hardy varieties suitable for the heavy clay soils of the coastal region. The writers give tables incorporating the data resulting from the observation of 103 hybrid Sea Island and Buck plants (indigenous variety) of four generations (100 individuals per generation) F1; of 274 F, plants; of 436 F, plants (derived from the seeds of 7 F.). 1 While refraining from discussing these data in detail, until those from a further generation are available, the writers state that it is now possible to select, even in three generations, cottons that seem to be practically true to type. Variety 59.66, an extracted sea Island cotton, grows vigorously on heavy clay soil and under meteorological conditions where the ordinary commercial strains of this cotton refuse to grow. Variety 59. 33 is also interesting from its short staple cotton and comparatively early maturity. Trials have also been made in crossing indigenous cottons from the Rupununi district with Sea Island, and the results seem encouraging. 363 - Action of Light on the Growth of Seed Beets. - STROHMER, F. Einfluss der Belichtung auf das Wachstum der Samenrüben. Mitteilungen der chemisch-technischen Versuchsstation des Zeutralvereines für die Kübenzuckerindustrie. Serie IV, No. 41. Oesterreichisch-Ungarische Zeitschrift für Zuckerindustrie und Landwirtschaft, Year XLI, Part 6, pp. 913-931. Vienna, 1912. In a preceding work of Strohmer, Briem and Fallada (OesterreichischUngarische Zeitschrift für Zuckerindustrie und Landwirtschaft, Year XL, 1911, p. 11) it has been demonstrated that a lack of light during the first year of vegetation causes in beets a considerable development of the leaves at the experse of the root, and modifies unfavourably the composition of the dry matter of the root from an industrial point of view by diminishir g its sugar content. The writers proposed to ascertain if in the secord year of vegetation the lack of light favours the development of the upper part of the plant at the expense of the lower and whether it ir creases the production of seed or modifies its characters. The first series of experiments, like the preceding ores, was conducted at the Wohanka station for the production of beet seed at Uholiczky near Prague. Three one-year-old beets (I, II, III), of equal weight and sugar content (18.0 per cent.) were halved, one of the halves (a) was plar ted so as to receive the sunlight for three quarters of the day, the other half (b) was placed under some trees so as to be always in the shade. The results obtained in a dry year, 1911, are shown in Table I. SUGAR CROPS In the germination tests no essential difference was observed between the seeds produced in the sunlight and those in the shade. The seeds of this generation were used in cultivation experiments carried out, with the usual tillage and manuring, in 1912 at Gross Zinkendorf, Hungary and at Dürnkrut, Lower Austria. Numerous and detailed tables give the meteorological observations, cultural and analytical results. Table II. refers to the sugar content. The results obtained show "that the lack of sunlight acts unfavourably on the development of the parent beets to the extent of diminishing the production of seed clusters. The size of these is inferior to that of normal clusters and they often give rise to weak plants. Nevertheless, when the latter have attained a normal development, their yield, sugar content and chemical composition does not allow an unfavourable effect of the lack of sunlight on the parent root to be recognized; so that such offspring is perfectly equal to that of beets of the same kind grown under perfectly normal conditions." These results agree with others obtained by the same writer (Oesterr.Ung. Zeitschrift für Zuckerindustrie und Landwirtschaft, Year XXXIX, 1910, p. 919) which show that the character of sugar content of beets is preserved even through a generation grown under different climatic conditions. It may thus be affirmed that the sugar content of beets derivir g from individual selection is a hereditary and transmissible character. 364 Cultural Accounts and Production of Sugar Cane cultivated on the Share System. Resultado del costo de la caña de azúcar cultivada por colonos, segun las prácticas adoptadas en Cuba. El Hacendado Mexicano, Year XIX, Vol. 10, pp. 52-53. Mexico, February 1, 1913. It has been suggested to employ colonists for the cultivation of sugar cane and to purchase and work up their production in large central factories. But as far as the writer knows the advice has been followed only on one estate near Tampico, where it has given excellent results. In order to show the advantages of the system the writer quotes the example of Cuba, where it is common, and gives the following data referring to the system, which are taken from official documents and from Cuban sugar factories. The factory gives the grower on the share system from 40 to 52 % of the sugar extracted from the canes he delivers, namely: a) average crop, yield of sugar 12 per cent. 2 388.32 lbs. per acre $66.87 |