223 



many other Americans would have been glad to share in that 

 plum — and by the way, why don't they? Read Professor Lewis 

 for the "how to do it." He is poultry husbandryman in the New 

 Jersey agricultural experiment station, and knows all there is 

 10 know about it. 



"/ KNOW A BANK WHEREON THE WILD THYME 



GROWS." 



There is a woman who so loved the flower descriptions in 

 Shakespeare's plays and poems that she devoted a sunny garden 

 space to all the dear, fragrant blossoms celebrated in his im- 

 mortal verse- Lovely indeed was that garden, and redolent of 

 poesy as well as flower scents. Yet who shall say that our own 

 fair land, with its wild cyclamens, Mariposa lilies, wild forget- 

 me-nots, scarlet sage, and hundreds of other rare blossoms, could 

 not outvie all the blossoms that Shakespeare knew? Those who 

 walk abroad under the happy guidance of George Lincoln Wal- 

 ton's "Flower Finder," (Lippincott) need no Latin and less 

 Greek to identify every flower that blooms by stream, hillside 

 or wayside, and find in their friendly recognition all the tender 

 charm expressed in Shakespeare's poetry. 



SWEET POTATO AND COW PEA VINES AS FEED FOR 



STOCK. 



Some investigations have been made in Japan, and reported on 

 in the Journal of the Department of Agriculture of Victoria, 

 which seem to show that the dried vine of the sweet potato 

 aflfords an excellent fodder for live-stock. In discussing the 

 work it is said that the aggregate weight of stem and leaves per 

 hectare is 13 tons. The green vine is considered rather a watery 

 food resembling in composition the leaves of the sugar beet, con- 

 taining tannin, however, instead of oxalic acid. Although this 

 green stuff may with caution be fed as such, it is the dried mate- 

 rial which has proved more satisfactory. In the experiments, 

 the stems and leaves were exposed to the sun for a few days, 

 but at a temperature much lower than occurs in the tropics, and 

 eventually an air-dried herb was obtained with a fine aroma, 

 which was gladly eaten by stock. The green vines and leaves of 

 the sweet potato were also shown to serve as useful material for 

 the manufacture of ensilage. Animals fed on this material thriv- 

 ed satisfactorily. Although it is observed that there was a loss 

 in nutritive material during its manufacture into ensilage, this 

 amounted only to about 6 per cent. 



In another publication (Tropical Life for April 1915) atten- 

 tion is given to the value of cowpea vine as a cattle feed. After 

 referring to the great value of this material as a nitrogenous 

 fertilizer and weed destroyer, it is stated that cows getting cow- 



