August i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



159 



deed it may be a questiou, if, from the industrial 

 point of view, Denmark is up to the mark in the 

 commercial preparation of cheese. 



In Germany, Milk Societies are the order of the 

 day. They arc eonstiluted according to important 

 legal formalities, and severe penalties are imposed on 

 such memljers as transgress the statutes. The general 

 lines of these Milk Associalious are : the members 

 accept unlimited responsibility ; each farmer under- 

 takes to supply daily a fixed quantity of milk, over 

 and above that required for home and young stock 

 consumption. Milk from a diseased cow, the mouth- 

 and-foot malady e.xcepted, cannot be received, end 

 the milk from cows after calving must be delivered 

 separately, pending a period of 15 days, if tlie miik 

 arrive late, the farmer is fined, and, if the cart be not 

 locked containing the tins, the latter must be ; the 

 sender and tlie reeeiver have duplicate keys ; the carter 

 is never entiusted with the key. In winter these cans 

 are covered with straw during the journey; in sum- 

 mer, with damp cloths ; the van too nnist be hung on 

 springs. Some of the societies include ItiO members, 

 each furnishing on an average the milk of five cows. 

 As there must be different qualities of milk, how are 

 the farmers paid ? They are paid alike ; 10 per cent 

 of cream beiug accepted as a minimum staudard of 

 richness. Every mechanical appliance has been tried 

 to test the measurement of the cream in the milk, 

 but without success. Personal and unexpected visits of 

 officials to the farms at milking hours, and taking away 

 them and their samples, are the only practical tests. 



But while the percentage of cream in the milk allows 

 of the yield of butter being estimated, there ia no 

 test to determine the production of cheese. The richer 

 the milk in butter the loss dense the milk, while the 

 contrary is the ease for cheese, because the matteis 

 rich in cheese are held in dissolution. One of the 

 rules of the Milk Association is that any milk which 

 becomes 6our in six hours after delivery will be re- 

 duced in price 60 per cent. The milk is paid for every 

 month, never in advance ; but the accounts arcfinally ba- 

 lanced once a year, and dividend declared when the sales 

 for cheese and fatting of pigs shall have been realized. 

 The societies also undertake to supply pure milk to 

 children, imd it is becoming the practice to select the 

 neighbourhood of these societies for " nursing stations." 



Milk and cheese farming naturally bring in their 

 wake pig-rearing. This is not only the case iu France 

 and Switzerland, but notoriously in Denmark. The 

 small pigs in that country are shipped to Hamburg, 

 where they are killed, cured, and exported to Eng- 

 land as bacon. The coarser animals are sent to Hol- 

 land iind the Rhenish provinces ; indeed some of the 

 hams find their way to France as "Yorkshire" and 

 " Westplialian." Tbe trichine is closely connected 

 with pork. The Academy of Sciences has been dis- 

 cussing the vitality of that parasite. M. Fourmaut 

 asserted that a morsel of pork affected with trichine 

 was kept in brine pending fifteen mcnths ; it was 

 thfu left to some mice that died from trichine after 

 eatiug it. In the uncertainty which reigns, there the 

 popular ri-medy is the safest, that of well boiling 

 the meat, and which the French ever do, whether 

 it be healthy or diseased. 



The Pasteur process of vaccinating cattle continues 

 to make enthusiastic progress. Russia and Italy have 

 sent veterinary surgeons to be initiated into the mwrfus' 

 opernmli, and have liad everywhere to note but success. 

 There ai-e two kinds of charbon malady ; that accom- 

 panied by fever and the other by tumois. M. Pas- 

 teur confined his discoveries to ti.e first, while Messrs. 

 Arloiug, Corneviu, .and Thomas have applied vaccin- 

 ation to the second, and with equal success. 



The beet crop lias taken a considerable extension 

 this year in France, and io destined still fai-ther to 

 extend, viheu the legiolature settles the vexed ijuestiyu 



of distillation and the sugaring of wines. When 

 wines require body, or to be "cured," beet sugar — 

 never any syiup from grain — is added, which is duly 

 conveittd into alcohol. Indeed, with beet sugar, a 

 special aroma, a prepared color, and unlimited supply 

 of water, wine can be manufactured at will. The 

 viueyard proprietors allege that, it the law does not 

 check the iJieparation of artilicial wines, the days are 

 counted for classed natural brands. 



The reports on the stale of the crops cannot be 

 more favorable, and this year promises to be one of 

 plenty. If the yield of hay be light the quality is 

 good, and this is shown in the superior condition of 

 the stock sent either to the shows or to the markets. 

 The season will be a dry one, but taken with all its 

 drawbacks, a tendency to drought is preferable to a 

 constant dripping. In dry weather plants perspire a 

 good deal, and give ott' their watery vapor to the 

 atmosphere : but in many cases we can correct a 

 little the drawback irrigation where practicable, green 

 manuring, and especially that of the farmyard. 

 For light soils, cow and pig-stye manure is most 

 suitable : it is cool and retains humidity. If there be 

 less consumption, or less waste, during a dry sum- 

 mer of the elements of plant-food, more will be left 

 for the following season. 



M. Rodiuoff draws attention to the use of calcined 

 earth as a litter. He covers some branches with clay, 

 sets them on fire and the earth is baked ; it must 

 then be kept under a shed to prevent absorption of 

 humidity. In the calcined form, tI.e absorbent 

 power of clay is naturally augmented : in that state 

 it is better fitted also to fix gases. It is more suit- 

 able for a sheep than a cattle shed, and, when employed 

 in the latter case, a slight sprinkling of straw will be 

 an improvement. The best litter is that which will 

 absorb most urine, &c., in this sense, following: — 

 Boiissingault, bean, buck-wheat and pulse straws are 

 first, as they absorb 3 times their weight of liquid : 

 wheaten straw, but twice its weight, and dried earth, 

 but oue-half. The latter then is only four times inferior 

 to wheaten straw. 



There is nothing special to recoid respecting the 

 phylloxera; the enemy is being bravely fought every- 

 where, and the means, sulphuret of carbon, etc., aut- 

 umnal irrigations, and la-t, not least, strong manurings. 



M. Joulie gives some very sensible explanations 

 respecting the laying of grain. It is poptilarly, but 

 erroneously, believed tliat the laying of wheat, &.C., 

 is due to a deficiency of silica in ilie stem. Analysis 

 however, has shown that this is not so, there being 

 no perceptible difference between the laid and the 

 stalwart stem. Corn lies, because the stem or the 

 foot is weak, and this weakness is the consequence 

 of moist, warm weather, and the absence of sunlight ; 

 the latter prevents the elaboration of carbonic acid 

 to enable the i^lant to ' form cellulose, or sinew, and 

 whicli imports solidity. The stt.m becomes not ligneous 

 but herbaceous and etiolated ; it breaks at the base, 

 from want of regular nutrition ; it has "rickets ;" it 

 is unable to support the upper piirt and ears ; con- 

 sequently the crop is laid and destroyed. This is not 

 the same with grain laid from wind aud heavy rain. 



Wax Palm Seed. — We are glad to be able to 

 report that this seed sent here from South America 

 ami which has been neglected so long, because it was 

 nearly all supposed to have lost its genniuating power, 

 has been most successfully germinated at Hultsdorf 

 Mdls. The seed experimented mth there is germinat- 

 ing steadily and it is very satisfactory to know that 

 this useful tree will now be introduced into the island. 

 Every one interested in land sliould have a few trees of 

 this new product, if for seed alone. By and bye the trees 

 will be very valuable. Germinated seed will shortly be 

 available, 



