Vol. Xir. No. 280. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



tained in the wood. However, ( ". F Cross accepted the 

 statement and pointed out that the digestion of ligno- 

 ■cellulose was a ijuestion of degr'ee as bad been long 

 established by Kellner, in Germany. 



1'he greater pait of the paper deals with feeding; 

 experiiiieiits carried out with Sacchnlose. The first 

 experiment was with draft-horses working during 

 the hot weather. A reduction of 4 lb. of oats in the 

 basal raiion was replaced by 4 lb. of Saechulose. The 

 animals thus fed showed a net gain in body weight 

 compared with the control animals with which they 

 liad been working. In another ex))eriment Sacchulose 

 was mixed with molasses and confirmatory results were 

 obtained. 



The points dealt with in the paper are funda- 

 mental: but from the commercial aspect it is improba- 

 ble that Sacchulose could ever be placed on the market 

 at a lower cost of production than molasses. At present 

 sawdust is cheap, but its supply is limited, and i-? 

 in the hands of the saw-mill owners. With any 

 increase in demand there would be a proportional 

 rise in price, possibl\- sufficient to prohibit entirely 

 the manufacture of Sacchulose on a commercial scale. 

 3IorG0ver, as is pointed out in a recent number of the 

 West India Coniinitfi'e Circular, due regard must be 

 had to the practical dietetic value of a food apart from 

 its chemical composition and calorific value. It is not 

 to be expected that an animal would thrive as well, in 

 the long run, on sugar from sawdust as it would on 

 natural molasses extracted from the sugar-cane. 



The genei-al poition, then, would appear to be 

 somewhat as follows. It is open to question whether 

 Sacchulose could be produced on a large scale in 

 England; if it were, buyers should refrain from giving 

 as high a price per unit of heat value as in the case 

 «f natural molasses. For feeding purposes it would 

 probably be economical to mix Sacchulose wiih molasses 

 Avith a view of increasing the digestibility of the o6 per 

 cent, of woody fibre which Sacchulose contains. 



The Flowers of the Papaw Plant. 



This subject has already been referred to in the 

 Agricultural News, in Vol. XI, p. 9, where the well- 

 known fact is pointed out that the male and female 

 flowers of the papaw are usually produced on separate 

 trees, and that occasionally Howers possessing both 

 characteristics (herniaphroditc flowers) arise in female 

 inflorescences. It is further stated that a 'male' tree 

 can be caused to bear female flowers, and eventually 

 fruit, by cutting it back. !,' Agriculture Pratique 

 des Pays Cliaudfi for October 1911, gives attention to 

 an exceptional case where hermaphrodite flowers arose 

 in a male inflorescence on a plant in the Jardin 

 Colonial in I'pper (luinea, and an issue of the same 

 journal for October 1912, describes in detail the 

 structure and relationship of these different flowers 

 obtained from a plant grown under artificial conditions 

 in Paris. 



It was observed first of all, that in the case of this 

 artificially grown plart the upper inflorescences bore 

 more female flowers than the lower branches, whereas 

 the converse occurs in nature. It is supposed that the 



intensity of the heat and light between the top of the 

 plant and the glass under which it was grown was the 

 cause of this abnormal development. 



The paper under review then proceeds to describe 

 the ordinary male and female flowers, and the herma- 

 phrodite Mowers, and points out the diff(;rentiating 

 characteristics. Externally, the hermaphrodite flowers 

 resemble the female flowers but are somewhat longer: 

 and less globular. The con ilia is gamopetalous, and on 

 it are situated the stamens which, unlike those of the 

 male Hower, vary in number from one to three. The 

 anthers contain abundant pollen, and the numerous 

 seeds produced by the hermaphrodite flowers were 

 tested and found to possess a high germination capacity. 

 The fruits weigh about 6 oz., and are always longer 

 and less globular than those pi-oduced by the female 

 flower. 



The main point of botanical interest, however^ 

 which results from these observations, is the fact that 

 all the different transitional stages are to be seerj 

 between the male and female flower; but for a propeg 

 appreciation of this, reference must be made to the 

 excellent drawings which illustrate the text. 



Tapping Rubber Trees by Electricity. 



A Oerman inventor, resident in Peru, claims t«j 

 have constructed an electrical appliance which will tap 

 rubber trees and coagulate the latex. The matter 

 is dealt with at some length in the India Rubber 

 World for December 1, 1912 The actual method of 

 working of the tapping and collecting device is not very 

 clearly described, but the general arrangement and 

 management of the system is briefly as follows. 

 Hollow iron channels, divided into a series of sections, 

 are placed upon the trunk of the rubber tree. Within 

 these sections are pricking devices which work in- 

 dependently, so that different areas can be tapped at 

 ditl'erent intervals. Within the sections are receptacles 

 containing on acid preparation where the latex is- 

 coagulated into rubber. 



It is stated that trees fitted with the apparatus 

 need not be visited until the expiration of sixty days, 

 and on a large tree where there may be nine of these 

 devices — each with thirty cups — there will be 270 

 lumps of coagulated rubber waiting for the gatherer. 



The electric power is generated at a central 

 station and distributod from tree to tree by insulatecE 

 wires. In putting forward the advantages of the 

 system no mention is made of the cost of erecting and 

 maintaining the central station — a great expense unless 

 water-power happens to be available — but the system 

 should certainly ])rove economical as regards labour, and 

 provide a convenient method of tapping trees situated 

 in inaccessible places; it should render practicable the 

 tapping of trees at the time of maximum flow of latex, 

 namely, before sunrise; and the small punctures m.ade 

 by the device reduc?'the time required in ordinary 

 practice for the bark to heal. 



On the whole, it appears that the invention has 

 possibilities, particularly in tropical forests where 

 extensive, and not intensive, methods of colloction arc 

 likely to prevail. 



