ToL. I. No. 12. 



THE AGllICULTURAL NEWS. 



1S7 



ration or used as a large part of the food of fowls, whole 

 ■corn is resjionsible for much of tlie mortality in our iioultry. 

 Plainly I say, that, a great many of the diseases and troubles 

 that etlect tV)\vls, are directly due to feeding them on wiiole 

 ■corn, and little or nothing else but corn. 



CONTEXTS OF A MOHEL FOOD. 



A model jiound of food for a km\ as cali-idated for 

 northern climates, should contain 2\'^ ounces of i>rotein 

 •(albumen, or flesh-formers); Ij',^ ounce of fat and 12,'i-: 

 ounces of starch. For the West Indies, less fat and less 

 food altogether (their being less animal heat to be sustained) 

 ■^•ill make a more suitable ration, so we may knock off j\ 

 in the fat altogether. 



ILL EFFECTS OF FEEI>IX(; CORN ONLY. 



Every jiound of corn is deficient in fiesh-formcrs, to the 

 •extent of 1 ounce 1 drachm, and in starch 1 ounce 

 1 1 drachms, while there is an excess of fat, the very thing 

 tliat should be avoided in our always warm climate, of 

 4 drachms, or of one fourth of an ounce. If fowls fed on 

 ■corn alone were to eat enough to get sufficient Hesh-formers, 

 they would have to eat an excess of starch, which is fattening, 

 to the extent of 3 ounces 9 drachms, almost a quarter of 

 a iiound, and of fat an excess of 1 ounce. A.s an egg consists 

 on an average of a little over a quarter of an ounce of 

 iilbumen (Hesh-former.s) which is the white, and a little less 

 than a quarter of an ounce of fat, which is the yolk, the 

 remainder being chieHy water, it will be seen that there must 

 be this Hesh-formirig element called albumen to a sufficient 

 extent in the food of the hens, and if to get this there is 

 a large sur[ilus of the starch and fat elements, the hen cannot 

 use these up in energy or in making eggs, but lay u[> the 

 .sur[ilus in fat. When a hen becomes very fat, the egg-making 

 ■organs are clogged and she lays first, irregularly, stopping for 

 several days, then laying a double yolk egg or some monstro- 

 sity ; then she stops laying altogether ; then not having any 

 outlet for the fat-making food she is still eating, and as a fat 

 lien is disinclined for exercise and does not go scratching 

 after food, she lays up fat more rajjidly, until, if not killed 

 for table, one day she staggers, turns round as if giddy and 

 falls dead, or in the morning is found dead beneath the 

 roost. The immediate cause of death is apoplexy, the 

 attributing cause fat, and the jirimary cause too much corn. 

 If dissected the liver will be found enlarged, fiabliy, and 

 <liseased all through. 



(I'o he contiiiuiil.) 



The pamphlet contains a sini})]y written account of the 

 life-history of a typical fungus, and deals in succession 

 with the more important root, stem, leaf, fruit and 

 seed diseases of the West Indies. Practical remedies 

 are given for each. Ciiapters are added on the prepara- 

 tion, application and cost of fiiiigicides : the introduction 

 of new pests, and directions for collecting and forward- 

 ing specimens. Five illustrations accompany the text. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



D)'. 1). Moms, C.]\I.(jl., the Commissioner of 

 Agriculture for the West Imlies, left Barbados in the 

 ^.S. Teniiyxoii on Tuesday September 10, for New 

 York. The principal object of his visit to the States 

 is to attend the International (,'onference on Plant- 

 Breeding and Hvl)ridization to be held at New York 

 on September 30 and October 1 to 2. Dr. Morri.s will 

 •also visit S(jme of the leading agricultural institutions of 

 *he United States, and interview important merchants 

 •find others with reference to a ])ossible market for 

 West Indian ])roduce in that country. 



Pamphlet No. 17 of the Dejiartment Series, 



•entitled: TIk' General t rent incut <if Fani/uid Fe.ifs 



has been issued and may be obtained from any of the 



■local agents of the Department, price id, post free, oil. 



During the jjast fortnight Pampjdet No. 18, 

 Riri /ii-n fur cooki nij Wi'sf Inilian I'o^.v has also been 

 ])ublished. (Price two-pence). It contains a brief, 

 popular account of the yam written, not for dwellers in 

 the tropics, but for those to whom the yam plant is not 

 familiar. Tiiis introductory portion is followed by 

 recipes for cooking yams and presenting them at table 

 in an attractive manner. The pamphlet will be widely 

 distributed in the United Kingdom and America and 

 other countries with which it is proposed to endeavour 

 to foster a traile in West Indian yams. 



EDUCATIONAL 



Agricultural Scholarships at Antigua. 



As announced on p. 107 of the AgricultaraJ XewK the 

 Department has been enabled to offer assistance in the 

 teaching of elementary science and agriculture at the 

 Antigua Grammar School. One jiractical step has been the 

 founding of scholarsliijis to be awarded to boys of Antigua 

 and Montserrat, preferably the sons of jilanters. 



An examination has recently been held by ilr. Francis 

 Watts the Government Chemist, and the liev. S. E. 

 liranch, Headmaster of the Scliool. As the result Henry 

 Howes of ilontserrat has been recommended for a 'Boarding 

 scholarshii>', of the value of £20 per annum, and Victor 

 Brookes, Donald Christian, Sydney Christian, liandoli)h 

 Buckley, Stewart JIacSevney, and Oscar Kelstick, all of 

 Anti"ua, for 'Day scholarships' of the annual value of 

 iio'each. 



The day scholarships cover practically the whole of the 

 recipient's school ex])enses, whilst the boarding scholarship 

 meets about half the total charges. Thirteen boys comiieted 

 for the seven scholarships awarded. 



Cambridge Local Examinations. 



When drawing attention on p. 27 of this journal, to 

 the syllabus ofthe new section of Agricultural Science of 

 the Cambridge Local Examinations, we appended some 

 sno-o-estions, made by the De])artment, to render the 

 syflabus more suited to A\'est Indian conditions. 

 Concerning these suggestions the Secretary of tlie 

 Examination Board in England writes: 



The modifications i]i our schedule for Agricultural 

 Science (Seniors) suggested for centres in the West Indies, 

 have now been adopted Viy the Syndicate ; and I ha\e to 

 thank the Inqierial Department of Agricidture for the 

 assistance which they have given us in the matter. 



In the papers for December next, alternative questions 

 will be set in accordance with the modified schedule. 



