Vol. XVI Xo. 384. 



I'HL AGKiCULTUKAL XEWfc. 



THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN. 



Of much interest to the West Indies should the Bulletin 

 of the New York Botanical Gardtn (Vol. 9, Xo. 3-t) prove, 

 not only because it comprises a descriptive guide to the 

 grounds, buildings, and collections of the Xevv York Botanical 

 Garden, but inasmuch as the collections in the conservatories 

 and flower gardens, which are ranged in difterent compirt- 

 ments designated and numbered as "houses", include many 

 species of West Indian origin, and introduced plants now of 

 common occurrence in the West Indies. 



For example, amongst the collection of palms of 

 numerous species from all parts of tropical and warm regions, 

 both of the Old and the New World: of West Indian palms, 

 the collection contains the royal palm of Cuba and Florida, 

 an elegant plant of the corozo palm {Acrocoinia media) oi 

 Porto Rico and the Windward Islands: the coco-nut palm, 

 planted in all tropical countries for its fruit, and for the 

 numerous uses to which its fibre, wood and leaves are applied 

 There is also in this collection a group of b miboos, which 

 belong to the grass family, the most noteworthy of 

 them being the Chines-; bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris). 

 Among the specimens illustrating monocotyledonous plants 

 of tropical regions are included the aniar3-llis family, 

 which is represented by a number of species of the spider 

 lily ( Hynienocallis) bearing large w hits flowers, the common- 

 est being Hymenocallis expansn from the sandj- coasts of the 

 West Indies. In this collection is also seen specimens of 

 maguey of the West Indies (a spiny-leaved relative of the 

 century plant, native of the West Indies, and used there for 

 hedges). In House No. 4, where are br 'Ught together many 

 kinds of large tropical plant.", the collection includes species 

 of fig {Ficus elastica) and cacao (Theobronia Cacao) native 

 of tropical America. Specimens illustrating the chocolate 

 industry are to be found in the economic museum: here too is 

 the papaya, or papaw, also of tropical America. A specimen 

 of the breadfruit tree (/I jvocajyw.s incisa) may also be seen 

 here. Agaves comprise the plant collection in House No. 6, 

 among which are many species grown in the West Indies: and 

 it is remarked that the collection of West Indian Agaves is 

 especially rich in species. The cactus family is represented 

 in another department, where may be seen the genus Cereus, 

 and its many related genera. An interesting economic plant 

 in House 8 is No/mlea roccinellifera. upon which the cochineal 

 insect breeds: it is from these insects that the dye cochineal 

 was obtained. House No. 10 contains specimens of the 

 aroids, represented by a large number of different species. 

 Species of Anthurium, known as tail flowers, it may be 

 remarked, are abundant in the West Indies and Tropical 

 America, as is the genus Philodendron. In House No 1 1 

 are brought together many plants belonging to the banana, 

 ginger, and canna families. There is also here, a collection 

 of pine-apple plants In the house allotted to the orchid 

 family is observed an interesting palm, the double coconut 

 (Lodoicea maldivica), a native of the Seychelles Islands, also 

 known as the coco-de-mer, and coco-des- Maldives, and one of 

 the rarest palms in cultivation. Plants of this palm have 

 been established in Botanic Stations in the West Indies. In 

 a section of this department is also installed the collection of 

 Sago palms or cycads. 



The museum of economic botany forms not the least 

 interesting feature of the Garden. Herein are brought 

 together collections of Sbres, including cotton, rubber, 

 and allied products; dye stuffs, including fustic, logwood, 

 and Brazil wood; tobaccos and masticatories, including 

 cured leaves of the tobacco plants (species of Xicotiana) from 

 different parts of America; beverages, represented by both 



the nou alcoholic and the alcoholic, including chocolate; 

 fix- d oils and volatile oils, including castor oil, and cotton 

 oil: starches, including arrowroot, sweet potato flour, 

 banana flour, etc.: and .sugars. 



PALM KERNEL CAKE AS A FEEDING 

 STUFF. 



The Journal of the Board, of Ayricullure of England 

 and Wales publishes the following results as to the success 

 obtained wiih this new feeding stuff' in Great Britian: — 



p.\L.\TABir,iTV. — (a) The initial difliculty of securing 

 a satisfactory consumption of palm kernel cake by cattle or 

 sheep is due less to unattractive flavour or aroma than to 

 physical difliculties of mastication and swallowing, which 

 arise probably from the characteristic 'grittiness' of the 

 cake. With reasonable care in introducing the cake into 

 rations this difliculty .soon ceases to be of practical significance, 

 although the rale of consumption is much slower than with 

 other commonly used cakes. 



(b) The difficulty cannot be avoided by moistening the 

 cake or by admixture of relatively small quantities of 

 molasses, 'spices' or other appetising ingredients. It 

 becomes insignificant, however, if the cake be mixed with 

 other foods in amounts such that the palm kernel cake does 

 not form more than one-third to one-half of the total mixture. 



KEEPING PROPEiiTiES. — (a) Palm kernel cake has been 

 kept alongside other cakes in the farm store for six months 

 and showed neither in outward characteristics nor in com- 

 position anj- sign of deterioration that was not equally marked 

 in the other cakes, with the exception of linseed cake and 

 possibly soya cake. 



(b) In laboratory tests in which the conditions of storage 

 were made as unfavourable as possible, the palm kernel cake 

 did not go mouldy, but, in common with the other cakes 

 tested, showed considerable decomposition of the oil. A rise 

 in the acidity of the oil during storage is common to all oil- 

 cakes. 



DiGE.STrBiLiTV. — (a) The direct determination of the diges- 

 tibility of palm kernel cake and extracted meal in an experi- 

 ment with two sheep showed these foods to be very 

 satisfactory in this respect. They must rank amongst the 

 most digestible foods at the farmers disposal. 



(b) Estimates ba.sed upon the results of the experiments 

 indicate that the |Mlm kernel cake used was worth 3-5 

 per cent, more, and the extracted palm kernel meal 23 

 per cent, more than the Egyptian undecorticated cotton-seed 

 cake used. 



INFLUENCE UPON MILK .SECRETION. — (a) In a small- 

 scale experiment with five cows indications were obtained of 

 a specific favourable influence of palm kernel cake upon the 

 production of milk-fat, leading to a slight increase in the 

 fat-content of the milk. 



(b) This increase was more marked in the everting milk 

 than in the morning milk 



(c) The magnitude of the increase varied greatly with 

 the individual cows, and in .some cases was within the range 

 of probable error. 



INFLUENCE UPON CHARACTER OF 5IILK-FAT. — The exam- 

 ination of samples of fat prepared twice weekly from two of 

 the cows used for the experiment referred to demonstrated 

 that the feeding of palm kernel cake exercised an effect upon 

 the compo.sition of the milk-fat such as might be obtained 

 by passage of some ingredients of the palm kernel oil into 

 the milk-fat. 



