32 Journal of the Department of Agriculture.- — July, 1922. 



It is surprising to see how little kaffir corn is grown. The 

 reasons for this appear to be the bird menace and the lateness of 

 the arrival of the spring rains during the last couple of years. A 

 small Avhite trailing bean, as well as pumpkins, are sown on the 

 same land as the maize. Hardly any kaffir beans — the staple crop 

 of the natives in other parts — are sown. 



The coastal area is very well suited for the production of tobacco 

 and cotton, and while a fair amount of the former is grown, the 

 growing of the latter has not yet been taken up by the natives. Pea- 

 nuts appear to thrive well along the coast, where the growing 

 season is longer, the temperature higher, and the rainfall greater 

 than in the more inland districts; but very little is grown at present. 



At Port St. Johns and along the banks of the TJmzimvubu 

 River, tropical fruits such as citrus, bananas, papaws, pineapples, 

 etc., are grown very successfully by some white settlers. Maize does 

 also exceptionally well here, and yields of 20 bags per acre are 

 nothing uncommon. To solve the maize transport difficulties, the 

 nearest railway station being 63 miles distant, a number of farmers 

 have started pig-raising on a lai'ge scale. These animals, after being 

 fattened on maize, are shipped by boat to Durban or East London. 



While the agricultural practices in vogue by the natives are 

 still crude and primitive, signs of improvement are in evidence 

 everywhere, and the time is perhaps not very distant when the 

 native territories will prove to be of great economic importance to 

 the Union. 



Sterility in farm animals is widespread and of much more 

 frequent occurrence than is commonly supposed. It occurs in both 

 sexes, and its causes are manifold. It seems to be most common in 

 those animals which are closely confined, and hence is more often 

 observed in dairy and stud cattle. Failure to breed on the part of 

 valuable animals, of course, leads to heavy financial loss. It is 

 not intended to examine all the causes of sterility, but noAv that the 

 show season is over and matters concerned therewith are fresh in 

 breeders' and exhibitors' minds, certain observations on stock 

 exhibited at the various shows relative to the subject of sterility 

 will not be out of place. 



The outstanding feature of the cattle exhibited at the leading 

 shows this year, was the splendid condition of almost all animals 

 exhibited, males and females alike. One is often tempted to inquire 

 what the breeding capacity of these magnificent animals is, because 

 such high condition is not conducive to the normal functioning of 

 the reproductive organs; in fact, it is one of tlie causes of sterility. 



Overfeeding and Idleness. — In order to prepare animals for show 

 purposes, they are generally very comfortably stabled, fed heavily, 

 and denied proper exercise. Some animals so treated take on fat 

 readily, and often fail to show any signs of sexual desire. This 

 tendency to loss of sexual vigour on account of overfeeding and 

 idleness increases with age. ShoAv bulls, cows, and heifers, conti- 

 nuously kept in a presentable show condition, invariably become 

 sterile with a continuance of this high show condition. It is true 

 that the tendency to loss of sexual vigour is of a purely functional 

 nature, and can be rectified by proper management, provided that 

 such management is applied sufficiently early. 



