Vol. IX. No. 205. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



73 



Further information concerning this plant is con- 

 tained in the AgrUultural Bidlctin of tlw Strait-'i 

 Wild Fi'dcyated Malai/ Staten for l)eceniber last. In 

 a description which is given of the plant, it is stateil 

 that the stem is straight and un branched, wliich is an 

 itnportant matter in a fibre plant. The diameter of 

 the stf m is about }-inch, and it bears numerous lanceo- 

 late leaves. The Howers, whicii are white with a grey- 

 violet corona, are borne in bunches near the top of the 

 stem. The suggestion is made that the plant would 

 do well in regions where other similar fibre plants show 

 a tendency to form branches low flown on the stem. 

 In cultivation, it requires to be sown in good, open soil, 

 and may be cut in about si.x months. Fibre, recently 

 sent from Uganda, was valued at £'i5 a ton, so that 

 this would make it appear that the plant is worth the 

 attention of those interested in fibres. 

 -^^^ ♦ -^ — 



Sisal in Mauritius. 



The Eiipport Annueldela Station Agronomdiue 

 de I'lle Mourlii', 190(j-7, states that, in this island 

 about 40 tons of sisal leaves (Aywy; riyiil'i, var. 

 sisalana) are required to produce 1 ton of dried fibre. 

 The plant is grown by the owners of the decorticating 

 factories; this is partly because production of the 

 plant by others is discouraged by the circumstance 

 that the price paid (or the leaves remains the same, 

 whatever the market conditions may be. It is 

 suggested that the manufacturers shoiild offer intending 

 cultivators a price which is remunerative, and pro- 

 portional to the state of the market for the fibre. This 

 will probably have the result of extending the culti- 

 vation, of causing greater care to be taken in growing 

 the plant, and of reducing the expenses in connexion 

 with the separation of the fibre. 



The South African Pipe Calabash. 



References to the gourd (Lcujenaria valtfaris) 

 which produces the fruit used in making the calabash 

 pipe have been made several times in the Af/rinUfural 

 iVew's, and trials with seeds of tlys plant, from South 

 Africa have been conducted by the Deparimeni. The 

 plant itself is a native of all tropical countries, and has 

 been introduced into the Southern United States. 



Circular No. 41 of the United States Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, dealing with this plant and the manu- 

 facture of pipes from it, has been recenrh- i.ssued. In 

 this, the reason for the high prices that have to be 

 paid for these pipes is given by saying that the 

 crook of the calabash naturally varies in shape, so that 

 each mouthpiece must be made to fit it, and each 

 lining of meerschaum, or of plaster of Paris, must be 

 specially adapted. The discovery of the use of the 

 calabash as a pipe bowl is attributed to the Boers. 



In growing the vine for the sake of its fruits, 

 according to this circular, it should be allowed to trail 

 over the ground, and it seems to induce a more perfect 

 neck if the gourds are made to stand up, when half 

 grown, so that they rest on their larger ends; care is 

 required in doing this. It was not found that the 

 ability to acquire a crooked neck is an inherited 



quality. The gourds should not be picked green, but 

 must be left as long as possible on the vines, in order 

 that they may become thoroughly hard. The plants 

 thri\*e well in rich soil, especially if this is composeil of 

 a loam containing plenty of organic matter, whicli has 

 received a dressing of well rotted pen, or stable, manure. 



In the circular referred to, a method is given for 

 causing the neck of the calabash to assume any requir- 

 ed shape. This consists in carefully laying the young 

 gou id, before its neck has hardened, on a board, and caus- 

 ing it to assume the required shape by means of pegs 

 thrust into holes that have been pierced in the board 

 very close together. As the fruit grows, the pegs 

 will require to be reset in such a way as to cause the 

 attainment of the desired shape. 



It is stated that the prices paid for the fruits by 

 the manufacturer are very low. and that the demand 

 is limited; so that the raising of the gourd on a large 

 scale is not advised. 



Swiss Milk Goats. 



The efforts that have been made in Europe to 

 improve the goat for milking purposes have met with 

 such success that the matter deserves general atten- 

 tion. The Tranmwd Agricultural Journal, Vol. 

 VIII, No. 29, states that the best milking goats are the 

 Swiss Saanen breed, the ewes of which are now report- 

 ed to yield at least a thousand bottles a year, that is at 

 the rate of six or eight bottles of milk a day. It goes 

 on to draw attention to the fact that goat's milk may be 

 prevented from possessing the smell which so quickly 

 distinguishes it from that of the cow by stabling the 

 ram at a distance from it, and mentions that goats of 

 this breed namrally require more care than is usually 

 given to the commoner varieties of this animal, if it is 

 desired to obtain a large quantity of milk from them. 



Passages are quoted from a report of the Director 

 of the Stud Farm, Hessen, Germany, which states that 

 ewes of this race if well developed, are ready for 

 breeding purposes at the age of six months. The 

 milking of the ewe is suspended for four to six weeks 

 before the kids are born, to the benefit of both the 

 mother and her offspring. After the birth of the latter, 

 the ewe should be provided with good grazing, or with 

 hay, but should be prevented (as for goats in general) 

 from drinking too much cold water. The milk produc- 

 tion is greatly increased if bran is fed. 



An average analysis of the milk from 100 goats is 

 given, and is compared with the average analysis of 

 cows' milk, in Germany. This shows that goat's milk 

 is considerably richer in fat (478 per cent, against 3-40 

 per cent.) and proteids (4.29 per cent, against 3'.50 per 

 cent.) than that of the cow; while it is slightly poorer 

 in railk sugar (4 4i) per cent, against 4-60 per cent.). 



In order to improve the breed of goats in Holland, 

 the Netherlands Department of Agriculture has 

 recently imported animals of the Saanen race. These 

 were not obtained directly from Swit^rland, but from 

 Hessen, where pure breeding of the race has been 

 conducted for many years. 



It would appear that this breed of goats may 

 possibly be worthy of attention in the West Indies. 



