236 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 15, 1916 



GLEANINGS. 



The native pasture grasses of the United States, dealt 

 with in Bulletin No. ^1, Bureau of Plant Industry, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, includes SporoMus 

 indicus, the Bed grass or Wire grass of the West Indies, which 

 is a characteristic specfes of the United States. Being coarse 

 and early becoming woody, it is there a gras.s of secondary 

 importance: but where feed is scarce, and especially in waste 

 places, it often makes a good growth and furnishes consid- 

 erable grazing. Figures of analysis .show it to be a fairly 

 rich fodder chemically, comparing well with many of the 

 more luxuriant pasture grasses. 



The influence of manures on the composition and quality of 

 tobacco, is a subject dealt with in the Ohio Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station Bulletin No. 285. The experiments described 

 show that the composition is modified to a greater or less 

 extent. Nitrate of soda tends to reduce the a.sh content. The 

 addition of lime to the soil decreases the calcium and increases 

 the magnesium in the tobacco. Smoking tests of cigars 

 show that the quality of tobacco is impaired where muriate 

 of potash is used as a fertilizer. 



The Curator of the Botanic Station, Antigua, has issued 

 a leaflet on papaw cultivation and the preparation of papain. 

 Directions are given in regard to plants and planting, bleeding 

 the fruit, yield, and drying the juice. It is believed that the 

 future demand for papain will increase, while the industry is 

 one which can easily be conducted by women and children, 

 thereby not inconveniencing the major industries which require 

 available labour. It is hoped in the future that a co-operative 

 scheme for purchasing wet papain may be .started. 



It appears from the Queensland Ayricultural Journal for 

 April 1916, that the Government of that country is mak- 

 ing another attempt to encourage cotton growing in parts of 

 Queensland. A quantity of seed has recently been ordered 

 from the United States, and this is expected to arrive in 

 September, which will be in plenty of time for sowing 

 the 1916-17 crop. The quantity iu'.perted is stated to be 

 sufficient to plant 1,000 acres. It is expected that this will 

 yield a return of £7,290. 



Part 1 of Bulletin No. 361 of the Department of Land- 

 scai)e Art, of the Cornell University, deals in an attractive and 

 instructive manner with the subject of laying out grounds 

 and gardens with a view to obtaining certain desired artistic 

 effects. Diagrams, for instance, are given to show the idea 

 of planting borders of various characters to give the pictur- 

 esque, varied, restrained or quiet effect. This publication will 

 prove interesting to those who are concerned with the plant- 

 ing of trees and bush growtli in Botanic or even large private 

 gardens. 



The chief medical officer of the English Board of 

 Education, in his Annual Report for 1914, calls attention to 

 the danger attendant on the employment of school children 

 after schf)oI hours, which has been aggravated tlirough the 

 dearth of labonr caused by the war. It is pointed out that 

 this extra work interferes with the hours of .sleep; it induces 

 a tendency towards instability as regards future emplo3'meut, 

 and frequently brings children under uiany other deterior- 

 ating influences. It is stated that the subject needs the 

 earnest and prompt attention of the authorities concerned. 



An ingenious mouse or rat trap is figured in the (Queens- 

 land Agricultural Journal for April 1916. A small board, one 

 end resting on the rim of an ordinary pail half full of water 

 and the other end on the floor, is provided at the top end with 

 an Lshaped piece of wire stuck into the end with its other end 

 turned up and bearing a piece of bait. Between the top of 

 the board and the vertical bend of the wire are three cotton 

 reels. As the mouse or rat readies the top of the board 

 it endeavours to walk over the reels to get at the bait, but 

 invariably slips oft" the reels and is drowned in the water 

 below. 



The Government Veterinary Surgeon of Trinidad, in his 

 Pieport for 1914-15, states that with the exception of anthrax 

 in cattle coming from Venezuela, there were no other contag- 

 ious diseases among imported animals. It is stated that anthrax 

 regulations are in force against St. Vincent and Demerara. It 

 is mentioned further, that there have been some cases of 

 hydrophobia in dogs, and that a good number of imported 

 mules from America suffer from 'strauglis' or distemper, which 

 however, is a more inconvenient than serious complaint. 

 Generally the health amongst the animals of the Colony was 

 good. 



A leaflet issued by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture (Bureau of Animal Industry) deals with the 

 standards for dairy products, including the standards in 

 Hawaii, the Philippines and Porto Eico. In Hawaii the 

 standard is: total solids 11'5 per cent., fat 2o per cent.: in the 

 Philippine Islands the standard is: total solids 11 '75, solids- 

 not-fat 3'25. In Porto Pico, the standards correspond on 

 stated dilution to State standards for milk. In connexion 

 with this note, see the article on composition of milk in the 

 tropics in the last issue of the Agrizullural News. 



It is stated in Modtrn Cuba for December 1915, that 

 the National Government of Venezuela has entered into 

 a contract with a Company for the encouragement of the 

 cultivation of fibre-producing plants in that country. The 

 Company is obliged to plant, itself, or through another 

 company or person, not less than 200,000 stalks of sisal 

 [Agave sisalana) or some other plant, not more than 2,000 

 per hectare (274 acres), and to supply up to 25,000 bundles 

 of sisal annually for six years, to be distributed among 

 farmers who desire to attempt planting the crop, each lot of 

 plants to be accompanied by a book of instructions. The 

 Company was to begin planting this year, and to complete 

 the contract required by the end of 1917. 



