July 



1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



ly 



the same dose of aeiil and double the quantity of azote. 

 Dr. AVildt, of Posen, recommends nearly the same foi-mxJa. 



Brewerj- mash or refuse constitutes a valuable source 

 of feeding for milch cows, especially when fresh ; the 

 difficulty is to keep it from becomins acid, as, when 

 in this state, it aiiects the millt. Several processes are 

 employed to preserve it, as dr.-ving and compressmg 

 into cakes, conservation, when well salted, in trenches, 

 (fee. At Berlin, a linn has been established which mixes 

 the refuse with Iran, flour, jioas, beans, &c., making 

 the mass into a paste and baking as bread ; the loaves 

 recall in taste and odour fresh vye bread. The prepar- 

 ation readily dissolves in water, or can ho mixed with 

 chopped food. ^Ul animals relish it, and the miUc from 

 cows fed on it is excellent. 



M. Roeber, a Sniss gentleman, has improved a win- 

 nowing machine for separating clover and lucerne seed 

 from dodder, and which is higlUy spoken of by inde- 

 pendent persons who have witnessed its worldng. The 

 seed passes through a series of movable di'awer screens, 

 and is brought up into a dram after passing through 

 a regulated current of ail', which carries oft' the lighter 

 seeds of the parasite. The machine can he adapted to 

 purify other seeds. A machine has been produced in 

 Hamburg for making " wood wool," suitable for litter- 

 ing, purposes, and claiming superior advantages over saw- 

 dust. It converts chips of every kind of wood used in 

 workshops into a sort of fibre or flock. 



In the south-west of France the sainfoin is attacked- 

 with a malady caused by a fungus ; applications of 

 sulphm' after the fii'st cutting ai'e recommended. M. 

 Chevreul suggests a study of the changes effected in 

 the composition of the soil. 



The prospects of the beet crop are very brilliant, 

 and the area of land imder the root is this season largely 

 in excess of previous years. For the success of sugar 

 beet, the selection of good seed has become an axiom. 



The vines commence to bud and leaf, so that in a 

 few weeks we wiU be in a position to determine the 

 new progress made by the phylloxera. Vineyard pro- 

 prietors straggle energetically against the malady. It 

 is proposed to .apply the 300,000 fr., voted by the govern- 

 ment some years ago for the discoveiy of a perfect 

 cure, to suppljTng sulphuret of carbon, &c., at a reduced 

 price. It has been remarked that, when American stocks 

 ai-e employed, care shoidd be taken that then' origin 

 will coincide in point of climate with that wherein they 

 are to be employed. The wheat crop is excellent ; the 

 only danger to be ajiprehended is a too rapid vegetation. 



TKADE BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRALIA. 



According to some figures given in a recent number 

 of the Cakiilla Englishman, the trade between India 

 and Australia is stearlily if slowly on the increase. 

 The fact that it is so is no doubt traceable to some 

 extent t<> the holding of the Sydney nnd Melbourne 

 Exhibitions. For several years before the Exhibitions 

 were held tlie little trade tiii-re was between the two 

 countries was on the decline. The number of vessels 

 that reached Indi'i from Australia iu 1S77 was 149 ; in 

 1879 the numb'T had dwindled to 111. Since that 

 year, however, the tendency has apparently bren in 

 the other direction. In 1880 the Indian exports to 

 these C'doiues were v.alued at 4.5 million rupees, while 

 in ISSl their value was 52 millions, and during tlie 

 last nine months of the official year the pstimated 

 value was 71 millions. It of cour.se remains to be seen 

 to what extent this increase Ih attributable to the temp- 

 orary excitement caused by the Exhibitions, • but it 

 will be the f.ault of the colonics if tb- new commercial 

 relationships to which these events gave rise are not 

 fostere I and made permanent. 



It need hardly be said that the chief Indian ex- 

 port to thesf colonics is tea. , Of this article the 

 exports for 187SI-S0 were valued at 64,000 rupees, 

 while for 1880-Sl it was 51.5,0U0, for the nine montlis 



ending December last year the value was .518.000. 

 The next item of export is gunny l)!kgs, the value of 

 which went up from So niillion rupees in 187980 '\> 

 56 millions foi the last uini' months of last year. Th^ 

 value of the raw jute exports also went up fiom 

 71,000 rnpees iu 1879-80 .ind 94,000 in 1880-81 to 

 132,000 for the last nine months of last year. .5,491 rupees' 

 worth of myrobaUiins wjs also exported during the last 

 nine months of last year, whereas during the pr.'<- 

 vious year tliere was uo such export at all. ihe 

 other articles which seem to be making headway are 

 shellac, castor oil. saltpetre, linseed, cordage, and 

 rope of veget.-i'ole fibre. The exports of coffee and 

 rice seem to been the decline. In 1879 80 those of 

 the former w'ere valued at 264,000 rnpees, while for 

 the first nine months of the current official year 

 their value only amounted to 208,000. The value of the 

 exports of coffee also fell from 84,000 rupees in ISSO- 

 81 to 12,000 for the (ir^t nine months of last year. 

 It seems also that indigo to the value of 2,240 rupees 

 was exported during 1880-81, while the statisucsfor the 

 first nine months of last year mention no such export. 



From the figures referred to, it will be seen that the 

 trade between India and Australia is an exceedingly 

 fluctuatiuj; one, but its tendency, upon the whole, ii 

 in an upward direction, and there is no reason w-hy 

 this tendency should not be maintiiiucd. The chief 

 difficulty, of course, in the way of aov ciaisidenible trade 

 between the two countries lies i'l t je fact that these 

 colonies do not produce a great deal tijat India wants. 

 Our chief export is wool, and Inda imports very 

 little of tliat article. It is as a manufacture, and not 

 6S the raw material, that India has been in the habit 

 of importing wool, and «e find that the total value 

 of the woollen manufactures imported into India during 

 a recent year did not amount to more than almuc 

 three-quarters of a million steiling. The principal 

 import iiit" India is cotton. More than one-thini of 

 the imports of the peninsula consists of articles of 

 this description. It fcaa been stated, however, 

 that an order has been received in Sydney for 

 50 bales of wool to be worked up into blankels 

 and carpets ; and, thougli with a country, with a 

 climate, and with manufactures like those of India, we 

 may never exptct to do a large wool trade, we ni .y 

 open up a trade which it will be our duty to cultivate.' 



If we are to take the figures of our "Statist), al 

 Register," the total value of the trade between this 

 colony and India for the ye,ar 1880 was about £20,000, 

 £19,611 of this consisting of exports to India, anil 

 only £653 of imports from that country. Of the ex- 

 ports to the value of £19,611. more than £18,0!'0 

 worth went to Bombay. Hitherto, our contempoi'arv 

 remarks, the dealings of India in the Australian 

 market .are limited to a moderate dem.and for horse?, 

 a little C'lppcr, and a small demand for fruit. We 

 find, however, that during 1879-80 India took 76,000 

 tons of our coal. Nor in there any reason why not 

 only our tin and copper, but our frozen meat and 

 our wines, should not find a market in India. At 

 present the most serious obstacle to the trade be- 

 tween the two countries is the cost of freight. Be- 

 fore much is done there will have to be cheaper 

 and better communication. In a maritime review, 

 publislied a short time ago, it was stated that more 

 than 50.000 cwt. of copper was brought from Austra- 

 lia to Inula via England. Such roundabout methods 

 of communication as these are fatal to the growth 

 of trade — li'jdjify Morning HeraW. 



HORSE-BREEDING IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA. 



TO THK EDITOR OF THE SYDSEV "ECHO." 

 Sir, — In your issue of the 13th you republish from 

 Vna South Aitslralian Adivrtisp.r a very pertinent and 

 telling letter on the above subject. In an official re- 



