June i, iSSe.'j 



THK TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



§59 



is uo doubt more agreeable to receive ft well-educated 

 young Englishman, icilli a cash premiinii, iuto the bo- 

 som of their f nmilies, than to have to pay S^O per month 

 to a negro labourer. The one will soon be as cnpble as 

 the other, ami will have the additional attraction of 

 giving his work gr.ituitous'y. Hence the williugucsa of 

 these philanthropists to impart their secrets. Unfortun- 

 ately, however, for their schemes, there are hundreds 

 of reputable orange-growers, equally knowing and 

 equally capable of teaching, who will not only waive 

 the premium questimi, but will gladly give bnani and 

 lodging, and a s.»lary to boot, to any d>;ccut white man 

 who wants to gain experinuce, and is willing to gain it 

 practically. -Vu advertisement in any of the Florida 

 newspapers would speedily find such an opeuing for the 

 beginner ; and his cash in hand will be more saisfactor- 

 ily invested in the purchase and clearing of laml than in 

 the pocket of his would-be preceptor. — liEUN.MtD 

 Hastib, Do Lance, Florida. — Field. 



YATIY.AA'TOTA AS A TEA DISIEICT. 



Sir, — Enclo.'ied I scud yoit Weather Report for 

 April. The temperatiu'e was taken by a self-registering 

 thermometer placed in a verandah with a north 

 aspect and protected from the direct rays of the sun. 

 The rainfall waa taken by my neighbour on Balgowjiie, 

 but, as the estates are quite close to one another, 

 the report may be considered correct for both pl.ices. 



I think we may challenge any district in Cej-lnn 

 to show a better leaf-producing climate . — Yours faith- 

 fully, 



W. B. HOPE. 



Morton Estate, Yatiyautota, Jlay 5tU. 



WEATHER REPORT I'OR APRIL, 1886, IIOETON, Y.VTIYANTOTA. 



Ts_, Temperature. Ralu- tinto Temperature. Kain- 



"^^^- Jlas. Slin. fall. "^^'^- JIa.\. Min. fall, 



1 91 73 — -2 16 88 74 —-57 



2 92 74 —-90 17 90 74 —-30 



3 91 74 — -3 18 88 74 — 4 



4 92 75 — •— 19 90 75 -- 2 



5 90 70 —-53 20 92 75 — •-- 

 6 92 72 — -2 21 93 75 —07 



7 91 72 — ■— 22 91 74 125 



8 9D T4 — — 23 88 74 270 



9 92 72 — — 24 9<) 72 — fi 



10 90 74 —73 25 90 74 115 



11 86 72 2-53 26 86 74 117 



12 96 70 — •— 27 89 72 —-74 



13 92 73 — -6 23 !>7 74 1-40 



14 91 73 —-62 29 88 73 135 



15 90 74 —11 30 89 75 —-2 

 TEirpERATUBB. — Mean Mo.ximum, 89-66; Mean Mini- 

 mum, 73-33; Mean Temperature, 81-70; Highest 

 registered, OS'Tb; Lowest registered, lO'TC. 



Kainfai-l. — Total for month, 16-99; Ifumber of days 

 on which rain fell, 24 ; (^'reatest rainfall in 24 hours, 

 2-70. 

 —Local ■■ Times. " 



AGKICULTUEE OX THE CONTINENT OF 



EUROPE. 



(Special Letter). 



Paris, April 17. 



The daily annual average milk from a cow varies 

 from 4J to .•< r|iiarts ; till i|uarts of milk will produce 

 1 lb. of butter and 4 lb. of cheese. In some parts 

 of France, 26 quarts of milk are required for one pound 

 of butter, while half that quantity in the case ol a 

 Jersey cow, siiftices for the same amount of butter. 

 It is a maxim in French dairies, that " young '' cream 

 will produce butter of the finest i|uality, but less in 

 quantity; while " older " cream gives" the opjiositc 

 results. Thus, in Isigny, the fanners churn twice a 

 week, and forward direct, not to the I'aris butter 

 market, hut to the wholesale-dealer — juntas they consign 

 direct to London and New York. 



Churning has the effect of breaking the membranes 

 of the little sacs iu the millc or cream, eoclosiug the 



fatty or butter ingredients, and these agglomerai^e like 

 the rolling of a siiow ball. In Normandy, the hnud> 

 dash turns at the r.ite of 35 to 40 strokes pur minute ,•■' 

 when driven by steam or borse-powcr, fifty revolutions 

 ii'-e the rule. Isigny farmers prefer a temperature of 

 57 degrees Fah. at the time of j)utting th« cream and 

 milk into the churn — the temperature is raised 10 

 degrees by tho churning, and 15 minutes in summer, and 

 often 60 iu winter, are necessary before the butter 

 can be taken off. The "Normandy" is the favorite 

 churn, barrel-shaped, 33 inches long aud 32 iu diumeter, 

 working on supports. The butter is kneaded both with 

 hand aud spatula. Iu summer the milk is creamed 

 every 24 hours, aud in winter every 48 hours. Natur- 

 ally, the best butter will be obtained from pure cn-am, 

 and next, from whole milk. In the latter case, a slight 

 aciility is considered essential before churning. 



In Germany, brewers' grains are beiug more and more 

 extensively employed for pig feeding. They must uot 

 be sour and should have the chill taken oJT them. It 

 acid, they cause scour ; to remove the excess of sour- 

 ness, the grains are often washed. They are best 

 employed when mixed with other food ; this will also 

 make up for any deficiency m the grains of albu- 

 men. 



Iu Hauover, a Theiseu apparatus exists for the drying 

 of brewers' grains for cattle feeding. Professor 

 Heuncberg, of the Oottingen Agricultural station, un- 

 dertook to test the comparative value of the grains iu 

 the onUnary or fresh state, aud the dry. In the former, 

 they contain 77 per cent of water, and in the latter, 

 14. Briefly: the Professor Jfound, that in pomt of 

 nutritive and assimilative value, the dried were four 

 times more valuable than the fresh grains. 



In the Kast, sorghum is extensively employed as 

 fodder. In other places, it h.is been cultivated for its 

 sugar. For neither object has it met with favor on 

 the Continent. It had, as a fodder, the reputation of 

 irritating the kidneys. The cause of the latter appears 

 to have been found. Berlelot discovered that nitrate 

 of potash or saltpetre e.xisted in all plants in all plants 

 more or less abundantly. It was not drawn directly 

 from the soil, but formed directly in the tissues of 

 the plant itself. The soil supplied the potash, but 

 the plant worked up the nitrogen, partly from the 

 soil and partly from the atmosphere— the latter a 

 disputed point sti I with scientists— iu the form of 

 ammonia and its salts and nitric acid. 



Professor Deherian has detected notable quantities 

 of saltpetre in the pith of maize sti-ms, l>ut more so 

 in .sorghum. Stalks of the latter whenstripprd, contained 

 over 2 grains of saltpetre per lb.— Now 88 lbs. of 

 sorghum per day means au absorption of 6 ounces of 

 nilre and two oimecs of saltpetre, form at any limo 

 a very powerfid dinrectie. Thi."; may explain the grave 

 maladies— .ind .some reported deaths of stock fed on 

 sorghum, due to its richne.-is in nitrate of soda. Netiles 

 are often consumed in spring by many people as a 

 substitute for a scarcity of " greens," cases of sickness 

 have been reported from this peculiar way of " grasping 

 your netth!."' May not the cause be attributed to the 

 known richness of the plant in saltpetre ? Professor 

 Deherain states the stems of sorghum can be recog- 

 nised as dangerous, if on being dried and then burned, 

 they crackle or spit. It is the base of the stem which 

 is richest in the nitrate ; hence, not a bad plan is to cut 

 it within 8 inches from the soil. 



In dry. sandy, aud hilly districts of France, furze 

 when bruised, is given as feed to cows, and occasion- 

 ally to horses. Dr. Maercker has instituted in (!er- 

 luany experiments to test the comparative feeding 

 qualities of furze reisiin oats for horses. During 95 

 days, four horses, instead of oats received crushed 

 furze or whins, plus chopped straw. The latter was sup- 

 plied to four other horses hut with 9 lb. of oat« to 

 each, instiail of the furze. All the horses had 21 miles 

 or more of less hilly roads to traverse daily, and with 

 carts more or less laden. The ainmals fed on the furze, 

 improved rather than fell away, and 87 fr. were saved 

 under the head of oata. 



There is nothing exactly new in resorting to saline 

 solutions, as a means for separating souud from dubious 

 Kede, Only the practice is becomiug uioK esttrntively 



