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THE TRdMCAL AGRICULTURIST. 



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upon by the sun decompose carbonic acid and give 

 off oxygen. This is a process of nutrition since by 

 that decomposition the plant assimilates the carbon 

 for its tissue. On the other hand tho branches, 

 flowers, fruits and seeds absorb oxygen and emit 

 carbonic acid. Respecting the roots de Saussure has 

 laid down in a general manner that oxygen is 

 indispensable to them. Messrs. Vesgue and Dc-heraih 

 have concluded their experiments showing that the 

 roots must find in the atmosphere of the soil, oxygen, 

 just as the leaves obtain it in the air. The root 

 however disengages but little carbonic acid ; thus little, 

 is not due to any decomposition of the plant's organs, 

 but to the regular circulation of the gas in the plant. 



How to obtain heavy crops from the soil and at 

 the same time secure for them a good market price, 

 are the problems engrossing all attention. French- 

 farmers have been leaning to the raising of cereals, 

 as the road to remunerative culture, but were all 

 to do likewise, France would be a granary of abund- 

 ance, and excess would reduce profits below zero, 

 then it is never prudent to put one's eggs in a 

 single basket. These considerations lead to the new 

 departure of keeping cattle simultaneously with grain 

 raising, falling back, where required on the market 

 for a supplement of fertilizers. 



The question of the exciting property of oats as 

 a measure of their feeding value, is again being dis- 

 cussed. It is admitted that this stimulating or ex- 

 citing virtue resides in the pericarp of the grain and 

 is highly nitrogenous. It acts powerfully on the motor- 

 nerves. It exists in oats in a different degree vary- 

 ing with the soil on which it grown. Black possess 

 a greater percentage of this stimulating substance 

 than white oats ; crushins the grain lessens its stim- 

 ulating action. The duration of the influence of this 

 exciting influence is estimated to be one-half hour 

 per each pound of whole grain. 



Dr. L. Hecht, has tried to produce a cereal by 

 crossing wheat with rye, and thus obtain a grain 

 with a tendency to ripen earlier and perhaps in 

 suiting poor soils might thereby enhance their value. 

 The flower of wheat is hermaphrodite, that is capable 

 of impregnating itself like an oyster. The male and 

 female organs are so enclosed in a capsule _ that it 

 is extrpniH-Jy difficult for the pollen of any neighbour- 

 ing ear to penetrate, and still less that of any diff- 

 erent plant. Hence it was necessary to artificially 

 impregnate, by opening carefully the flower capsule 

 and remove the stamina when green. AYhen the 

 pistels — left alone— were deemed fit for fecundation 

 the pollen of an ear of rye was shaken on them, 

 the capsule carefully closed, and protected by a 

 papering. The experiment upon ear yielded ten 

 grains of wiieat. These were sown in autumn, nine 

 germinated. Tne sowings were continued. Results : 

 some of the years naked ; others bearded— the original 

 wheat was the bearded Armstrong variety — ''ut ail 

 resembled more the wheat than tho rye. The seed 

 6tooled well. The expeinient never cau rank higher 

 than a curiosity. 



Gum Arabic. — The Soudan rebellion, threatening 

 ae far as Wady-Halfa, and thus preventing com- 

 munication on all the caravan routes, has put a 

 complete stop to exports of gum arable. The stocks 

 at Cairo, Trieste, Marseilles, and England being 

 nearly exhausted, there is no doubt that the real 

 article will eventually disappear from the general 

 market. From the annual report for 1885 of the 

 Breslau Chamber of Commerce it seems that even 

 if order were re-established (an event which is not 

 likely to happen for a long time) they could not 

 yet rely upon arrivals of any importance, since the 

 small accumulations of gum in the Soudan have 

 partly been used as food and partly destroyed.— 

 Das Handch- Museum. [This ought to encourage 

 the collectors of gum from our cadjunut 

 trees in the Cinuauioii Gardens and lowcowntry 

 genexftUy.— El?.] 



Cactus Spieit.— Ik Spain Don Fernando de la 

 Camara recommends the employment of the fruit of 

 the Prickly Peai — Opuntia vulgaris— for the manu- 

 facture of alcohol. As this plant is very common in 

 m'Any of our tropical and subtropical dependencies it 

 may be worth the consideration of some of our Colo- 

 nial iriends.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 



NovA-ScoTiAN Apples.— Some idea of the immense 

 consumption of Apples from across the Atlantic may 

 be gathered from the fact that frequently in a 

 single day one auctioneer in Covent Garden Market 

 sells under the hammer 10,000 or more barrels of 

 fruits from Nova Scotia. And the same may be 

 said of other salesmen.— G'ai-cte-Hers' Chronicle. 



Fruit Development.— The cause of the fertility pro- 

 duced in fruit trees by bending the twigs at an acute 

 angle has been investigated by Professor Sorauer. He 

 finds that the bark on the lower surface of the twig be- 

 low the bend is thrown into transver>e folds, here and 

 there detached from the wood. In these cavities new 

 woody tissue is formed, filled with starch grains and 

 afterwards new woody tissue of a normal character, but 

 always thicker there than elsewhere, and especially 

 on the convex upper surface. The mass of woody 

 tissue checks the flow of water towards the tip of 

 the branch to the great advantage of the bud imme- 

 diately beneath, which is thus more likely to deve- 

 lop as a fruit bud. Pressor Sorauer does not appear 

 {Gard. CiLroii., Dec. 18, p. 785) to have taken mto 

 cosideration the obstruction to circulation of the sap 

 caused by the partially broken or compressed wood 

 cells at the bent portion. In bending poppy head 

 stems to ripen the heads, this is probably the chief 

 factor in the case, by arre^iting more or less the 

 upward flow of the s&^.— Pharmaceutical Journal. 



AsiMiNE. — The " North American papaw," or 'custard 

 apple "(Asimina triloba, Dunal.) is an anonaceous 

 shrub that occurs on the banks of streams in the 

 middle, southern and western states of North America, 

 and probably received one of its names on account 

 of its edible fruit, from negroes who were acquainted 

 with the papaw of the tropics {Carica Papaj/a). The 

 plant is not at present used in medicine, but as the 

 bark and leaves have a disagreeable smell and bitter 

 taste different parts of it have bsen submitted to 

 examination by Messrs. Lloyd {Pliarm. Bunds., Dec, 

 p. 269). Only the ordinary constituents were found 

 in all the parts except the seeds, from which an 

 alkaloid was isolated that has been named "asimine."' 

 The pure alkaloid is described as being colourless, 

 odourless and tasteless, insoluble in water, readily 

 soluble in alcohol and ether, and less soluble in 

 chloroform or benzol. It could not be obtained in 

 the crystalline form, but the hydrochlorate and some 

 other salts were easily crystallizable. In some of its 

 reactions asimine closely resembles morphine, and it- 

 will probably b" made the su'^jesfc of physiological 

 experiments. — Pharmaceutical Journal. 



A New Medicinal Plant. — A new medicinal plant 

 is referred to in a recent number of the Tlierajpeutic 

 Gazette under the name of Cacur, and is said to be used 

 by the Kaffirs in Southern Atrica as an emetic. The 

 plant is said to be Cucumis myriocampe, and the 

 green or yellowish-green fruits are the parts used. 

 The form of administration, as pursued by the Kaffi a^ 

 is to heat the fruits, and squirting the contents intc 

 their mouths, to swallow them. The contents of two' 

 fruits are coiisidf'red a dose for an adult, aud one for a 

 child. The plant grows lar*;ely in gardens as a weed, 

 especially where Melons and Pumpkins are cultivated, 

 and it produces its fruits very abundantlj'. These fruits 

 are about the size of a large Gooseberry, at first green 

 but turning yellow on ripeniuij, and covered sparsely 

 with short soft prickles. The soft viscid pulp has a 

 faint odour of Cucumbers and a decidedly bitter taste. 

 From experime its ma<le with the pulp of the fruit it 

 seems to be decidedly emetic in its action and 2Hirgativo 

 in non-emetic doses. The chemistry of the plant has 

 not yet been satisfactorily ascertained ; so far as it has 

 been done there seems to be "no trace of any alkaloid, 

 the activity seeming to depend upon a bitter neutral 

 principle readily soluble iu water or. in 80 per cent 

 alcohol."— G^w^ff ners' Chronicle, 



