PETER MACOWAN. 77 



1S96. The relative proportion of invert sugar and sncrose in the ordinary 



fruits and the consequent dietetic relations. 

 1896. The sterility of strawberries and its causes. 



1896. The tan value of the 'Ntolwane, Elepliantorrhiza Burchellii, Bth. 



1897. ihe production of castor oil for machine purposes at the Cape. 



1897. The distillation of the essential oils of buchu and the Cape Pelargonia. 



1898. Some points in tobacco culture. 



1898. Prospects of oilv? growing at the Cape. 



1898. The modes of evaluing the solid contents in the juice of Cape Aloes 



by gravimetry. 



1899. The resin produced from Sarcucaulou Bitrinanui . DC and proposed 



to be used as a substitute for sandarac. 



1899. The culture of the Cape Gooseberry {P/iysalis ptibesceu^, L.). 



1900. The Intlamyembe poison [Acocanthera venenata. Don.). • 

 1900. On schemes for paper-making at the Cape. 



1900. The Tsama melon of the Kalihari. 



1901. On the high food-value of Povtulacaria afra, Jcq.. the spekboom, 



and its special adaptability to a stony, arid country. 



1902. Lathyrism, or poisoning with certain Leguminos.T' in pasture veld. 

 1902. Certain fibrous Cape grasses capable of replacing Esparto in the 



manufacture of paper. 

 1902. On the culture of chicory. 



1902. The amount of hygroscopic moisture absorbed by various soils. 



1903. On the several plants used at the Cape as substitutes for tea. 



1904. On the improbability of any profit being made at the Cape out of 



kelp from sea- weed. 



1904. The millets and their place in Cape Agriculture. 



1905. Personalia respecting the botanical work done bv Oldenland and 



P. J. Bergius. 



One paper has so droll a title that it merits a place all to itself. 

 The title spea.ks volumes of indignation and scorn. This paper 

 was issued in 1898 and was entitled " On the offer of a wine- 

 expert to come over from Europe and teach us things." 



It is always difficult for a master of satire to restrain his natural 

 bent, and so it came that even the familiar blue wrappers that 

 usually form the exterior of Government publications covered 

 far more entertaining reading in the Government Botanist's reports 

 than is as a general rule to be found in blue books. The many 

 with whom he corresponded through the pages of the Agricultural 

 Journal of the Cape Colony will also treasure lively remembrances 

 of the chatty, but often incisive, nature of his replies to their 

 queries. Of enquiring correspondents Professor MacOwan ever 

 had a large circle, but the influx from abroad that occurred just 

 after the war entirely reversed the order. Instead of thirsting 

 for knowledge these new arrivals were consumed with eagerness— 

 to adopt the Professor's earlier phrase — " to teach us things," 

 and thus did he express his mind concerning them : 



" Some amateurs, not previously engaged in any sort ot farm culture, 

 were sanguine in their expectation of being able to do the Cape a good turn 

 and themselves make a fortune by tlie introduction of new staples. They 

 proposed to grow olives, sunflower seed, ground-nut, and palma christi for 

 oil pressing, to produce hemp, fla.x and rhea fibre, cultivate rice, sugar-beet 

 and cane, indigo, and what they called ' India rubber trees.' It was quite 

 oppressive to be taught so much at once. My advice 'to all and sundry, 

 however, was very homeh^ and perhaps discouraging, viz., to bank then- 

 money so as to be out of reach and l)ear interest, and then go as improvers 

 and general helps on some well-kept Cape farm for a year or so, even without 



salary I know of some instances in which this blunt counsel has 



been taken to the letter, with excellent results, but the prescription is not 

 acceptable to everybody." 



