445 
bore alarge number, but did not ripen perfectly. Sugar-corn grew only two feet high 
and produced nothing. Several varieties of northern beans yielded only a small crop. 
Peas ditto. Northern | ege-plant seed nearly all failed to germinate, and the few growing 
bore only small, poor fruit. Tomatoes (Trophy) did better, but not equal to those at 
the Norther Peach- -pits failed to sprout. Generally the change of climate seemed to 
produce a more diminished growth, a premature ripening, and a short crop, with 
smaller and more imperfect fruit or seeds. Withsuch as Were saved we intend to re- 
plant the coming season, to see if they will improve. 
These trials being near the level of the sea, others, in the interior, at a higher eleva- 
tion, may show better results. 
PEANUT OIL-CAKE AS A FOOD FOR ANIMALS.—It has long been 
known that the greatest value of the ground-nut, (Arachis hypogea,) or 
peanut, as it is familiarly called, is in the oil which it contains. Analy- 
ses made in this Department have demonstrated that the nut, under 
favorable circumstances of cultivation, will yield at least 16 per cent, of 
oil; and it has been found that for alimentary, mechanical, and illumi- 
nating purposes, the oil is scarcely inferior to that of the almond, the 
olive, or the’ linseed. The amount of oil varies according to latitude. 
The nut is grown in almost all the warm climates of the world, and es- 
pecially in Al geria, where it is indigenous, and where the plant appears 
to thrive more vigorously than elsewhere, and to afford much more oil. 
While in Virginia, for instance, the average yield of oil is 16 per cent., 
the Algerian growth is said to afford 25 to 27 percent. It has been 
shown by experience in this country, in different sections of which the 
nut has been cultivated, that under judicious management it will pro- 
duce from 50 to 75 bushels to the acre. But although it is susceptible 
of easy and cheap cultivation, and is grown in this country in very large 
quantities, the chief value of the production is almost entirely over- 
looked, and the crop is monopolized by the fruit-stands at the corners 
of our ‘city streets. In the East Indies, and in the south of France and 
the countries of Mediterranean Europe and Africa, the nut is grown 
almost exclusively for the sake of the oil; the seed is pressed to obtain 
the oil, and the pressed cake, or mare, is used as a food for cattle, and 
in some instances is exported to Great Britain to be employed as a 
manure. 
A series of experiments in feeding cattle with peanut oil-cake has 
recently been made upon the government experimental farm in Madras, 
British India. The official report of these experiments is both interest- 
ing and instructive. The experiments were peculiarly satisfactory in 
respect to draught cattle, which were found to thrive much better upon 
the peanut oil-cake than upon the ordinary food, and at a reduction of 
one-half in the cost of feeding. The cake is steeped before being fed 
to the cattle, and four pounds per head are allowed daily. 
The following analysis of the peanut oil-cake will show its properties: 
Per cent. 
WEGIS HENS Ss eeee eats eet ct eS cs So wad eta reese elon cccrocce as ocee 10. 80 
CU eS). SEE Se ae eet ei: ono Jel Le SPIES 2 os 282 Es 8. 12 
* Albuminous or flesh- forming Compounds: .....)-seaeeee ase anes ss aa see Meee oe lan 28. 62 
JMOL Rares ralph aniaces(t, O80 oa oo Gece Saad CER BEBO BOs Fas 0260 OAD en gneoGaess aoObe 18. 86 
Clin at) HPL: 2 ca 2 yee ee eens. 2 tis Sane arate ee oe et oe eee E 29. 09 
Tee ent. 5k ee ne nae ei oS oS Ue Rea cele icc ote cack aes 4.51 
1 2) Re Sete LS hd LO eo 1 A a eae 100. 00 
For the sake of comparison the following analysis of the linseed oil- 
cake is given: 
* Containing nitrogen, 4.50. + Containing sand, 1.40. 
