Vol. Vni. No. 176. 



THK AGlllCULT[JRAL NEWS 



2J 



WEST APRIOAN RAMS. 



The accom|iaiiying picturi .s of three of the four 

 West African rams imported from Lag. s by the 

 Imperial Commissioner (if Agriculture in September 

 1907, will give an idea of the size and character of 

 these animals. 



The rams in (iue.stioii are of a type which recelveJ high 

 coiuineiulatioii at an Agricultural Show ht'hl at L igos early 

 in 1907, and the iutroductiou of sul-Ii animals into the West 

 Indies appeared to be the best means of improving the breed 

 of woolle.ss sheep, also probably of African origin, which are 

 so common in these colonies. 



The ram 'Alaki ' (Kig. 5) has lately been sold to a. stock 

 owner at .Barbados, while ' Yourba ' (Fig. 6) was early in 

 lyOS purchased fur breeding purpo.ses at St Vincent. 



Fig. 6. Yokuba. 



As already mentioned in the Ai/riciiltnnil A'ews 

 (Vol. VII, pp. 73 and 408), the lambs resulting from a cro-s.* 

 between these rams and the woolless sheep of the West 

 Indies show superior characteristics, and the male lamb.'* 

 have been in frecpient demand by stock raisers in several of 

 the islands. 



Fic. 4. White Chief. 



Of the four ranis, two still remain the property of the 

 Imperial Dejiartment of Agriculture, and two have been sold 

 to e.statc owners. The two retained by thj Department are 

 ' White Chief ' (Fig. 4), and ' Egba/ White Chief is sta- 

 tioned at the Lunatic Asylum Farm, Barbados, while Egba 



Fig. 5. Alaki. 



has been sent to the Stock Farm at the Agricultural School, 

 St. Lucia. The fee for service in the case of each animal is 

 2s. It may be mentioneid that Egba weighs about 140 lb., 

 and stands 3.3 inches hiirh at the shoulder. 



MILK ADULTERATION IN TRINIDAD. 



Milk adulteration has been on the increase of late 

 iu Trinidad, and the Board of Health of the colony 

 recently appointed a Committee of its members to 

 consider what further steps could be taken to secure to 

 the public a purer supply of milk. 



Milk vendors in Trinidad have to take out a licence, and 

 also to wear a distinctive badge. The fact that the.se licences, 

 have sometimes been taken away from retailers who have beer» 

 convicted on several occasions of watering their milk, has 

 apparently not been successful in stojiping adulteration, .since 

 the dishonest vendor is usually able to induce someone else 

 to take out a licence for him in another name, and thus the 

 law is evaded. This point is one of the chief matters to be 

 discussed by the Committee. 



The present system of surveillance, and the punishment 

 meted out to otfendors do not appear to be sufficiently 

 stringent, and stronger measures are advocated by the- 

 I'url-of-Sj'ain Gazette. It is suggested that there should be 

 gradually instituted a system of requiring all milk not sold 

 at fi.xed shops or stands to be subjected to examination of 

 some kind before being offered for public sale, and further, 

 that the penalty for milk adulteration (v\'hich is now 2s. per 

 part of added water for the first offence, and double that for 

 the second) should be increased to a minimum of 5.s. for the 

 first offence, and £10 for the second, with peremiitory 

 imprisonment for further infringement of the law. 



