43 
bloody urine. As this disease is almost always fatal here, the cure is valuable, if it 
should prove so in other instances. 
EXPERIMENTS IN SILK CULTURE.—Mr. V. P. Hoffman, secretary of 
the Egg Harbor City (New Jersey) Agricultural Society, writes to the 
Department as follows: 
This society ordered a quantity of silk-worm eggs from California, and distributed 
the same gratis among the members, and others who were willing to experiment therein. 
With the exception of two, all had no previous knowledge of the rearing and culture 
of the same. As there were but few mulberry trees on hand the greater part of the 
worms were fed with Osage-orange leaves; but little difference was noticeable in the 
appearance of the cocoons and reeled silk; the reeled silk from the Osage-orange was 
said, by adepts, tobesomewhatbrittler than that of the mulberry. Specimens of cocoons 
and reeled silk were exhibited in the annual agricultural fair of this society by three 
parties, and they were all awarded some of the best premiums at our disposal. It is 
our object to foster this branch of industry as much as possible, resting upon the sup- 
‘position that it will, in a not very distant time, prove one of the most remunerative 
pursuits, as our climate, during the culture of the worm, is very favorable. 
“NEW ZEALAND FLAX.—A New Zealand correspondent of the Lon- 
don Times states that an important discovery has been made in connec- 
tion with the New Zealand flax, (Phormium tenax) the value of which 
has been tested by experiments made by Dr. Hector, chairman of the 
Flax Commission. Dr. Hector’s attention, it seems, had been attracted 
to the durability of the fishing-lines of the natives, which were not 
rotted by the wet, as were other articles of the hempen manufacture. 
Meeting an old Maori woman one day, he inquired how these fishing- 
lines were prepared, and was told that the hands of the makers were 
always kept anointed with the oil of the weka (the New Zealand wood- 
hen) while they were plaiting the lines. Dr. Hector, upon this hint, 
proceeded to investigate the matter, and instituted a series of experi- 
ments, the result of which was the discovery in question, that oiled 
phormium, in the form of rope, was vastly stronger and more durable 
than the common phormium, or even the manila. The experiments 
consisted in running over a revolving shaft three pieces of rope of the 
same size, made respectively of common phormium, manila hemp, and 
oiled phormium, with weights attached to them, wetting all of them oc- 
casionally with both fresh and salt water. The result was that the 
common phormium ran 22 days, the manila 45 days, and the oiled phor- 
mium 95 days, the latter becoming more supple, and, as Dr. Hector ex- 
presses it, more like catgut in its wear, after running for a time. 
AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST PROVINCES OF 
INDIA.—The following is an analysis of official statistics of these 
provinces, (which include twenty-two districts,) for the year 1869-70: 
Total area, 53,431,188 acres; cultivated area, 24,543,841; barren, -17,- 
$29,919; fallow, 1,690,789; old fields, 7,024,037. Of the total area, 
33.37 per cent. is reckoned as “ barren,” 4.38 per cent. ‘ revenue-free,” 
3.16 per cent. “fallow,” 13.15 per cent. “old culturable,” and 45.94 per 
cent. “ cultivated.” Of the total ‘“ culturable,” 73.80 per cent. is eulti- 
vated. The total area bearing two crops the same season, (“‘ dofus 
lee” area,) is 1,714,964 acres, which is 6.99 per cent. of the cultivated. 
The total product, in pounds, of rice was 1,521,859,566; of cotton, 
75,767,590; of wheat and barley, 4,384,225,284. Of these, 20.46 per 
cent. of the rice, 49.85 per cent. of the cotton, and 17.84 per cent. of 
the wheat and barley were exported, the remainder, in each.case, 
being retained for home consumption. 
