N. Guinea

Planting Industry In

Agriculture Director’s Tour

THE Director of Agriculture in New Guinea, Mr. George Murray, has re turned from a ten-months’ world tour with a mass of valuable information relating to the improvement of existing industries in New Guinea, and the intro duction of new ones. The best of it is being kept, naturally, for official sub mission to the Administrator; but a P.I.M. representative gathered a few in teresting facts from Mr. Murray’s obser vations, in many countries.

Mr. Murray spent many useful days in Malaya and Ceylon, examining copra production methods. He travelled in Malaya to various plantations with Mr.

Cook, copra research officer, whom he re gards as the world’s greatest authority on his subject. Mr. Cook, with a view to improving quality, has been experi menting with copra driers, and he has practically arrived at the conclusion that several medium-sized driers will give a higher and more even quality than one large drier of the Ceylon type.

The New Guinea Copra Inspection Or dinance has been studied and highly approved in Malaya; but Mr. Murray did not think its application would be feasible there, 'owing to the enormous amount of copra produced by natives.

Derris Industry

Mr. Murray spent some time in London and in Malaya examining the derris-root industry, which might be suitable for New Guinea. Derris is now a valuable commodity: but there seem to be certain puzzling features connected with its pro duction. Derris must have a certain toxic content, and it is doubtful whether this is controlled by soil, by cultivation, or by variety. Mr. Murray is inclined to think that the secret lies in the variety; and, when in Singapore, he tried to get some roots of the variety known as Changi, but failed. He thinks that, If derris were to be established successfully in New Guinea, the services of an agri cultural chemist would be needed.