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686 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
seeds have occasionally been received from China and Japan, but so far as ascer- 
tained they have not vegetated. It is possible that they soon lose their germinating 
power, as, it is stated, the Japanese deposit the seeds in the ground as soon as'they 
are collected, in order to keep them fresh until wanted to sow. 
The Japanese cultivate the plant to some extent, and their method is to select a 
sheltered position and make a bed of leaf-mold in which the seeds are sown, and 
where the plants remain until they are ready for use. These beds are protected 
from the sun by a roof of straw ljaid on poles, which are supperted on posts. After 
growing four years the roots are lifted, carefully washed, scalded in boiling water, 
then dried in a high temperature until they become brittle. The best article sells 
for about $5 a pound in Japan. It is a plant which does not submit readily to cult- t 
ure, and its production as a profitable crop would be very doubtful. 
HORSE-CHESTNUT TREE. 
B. D., Oswrao, N. Y. 
I understand that Horse-chestnuts are raised in considerable quantities in France, 
and are used as food for horses, cattle, and hogs to fatten them. The nut has a 
bitter taste, and it is said that the French people use some kind of alkali to kill this 
bitter taste and thus make it palatable to their cattle. Iwish to find this out, and 
my reason is that in this city and county horse-chestnuts are grown for shade 
trees, and thus large quantities of the nuts are grown and go to waste, and we want 
to know how to use them. Also,the wood is white and could be used for faney 
work and finishing furniture. Have you data on the utilization of the Horse- 
chestnut tree? 
Answer,—The nuts of the Horse-chestnut tree, 4’sculus Hippocastanum, contain 
about 20 per cent. of starch, but contain a bitter principle, which makes them un- 
palatable to most animals, although it is stated that goats, sheep, and deer eat them. 
They are sometimes boiled, which reduces the bitterness, and are then fed to poultry. 
When the nuts are dried and reduced to a coarse flour, the bitterness is removed by 
simply washing the flour with water. A paste made with this flour before wash- 
ing is used by book-binders and pasteboard manufacturers, its bitterness saving it 
from the attacks of insects. The bitter principle is called esculin. ; 
The following products are obtained from the nutsin France: 
(1) An alkaline lye from the burnt-seed vessels. 
(2) A charcoal from the skin of the nut, which forms the base of different print- 
ing inks. 
(3) From the amylaceous pulp the fecula is extracted, which can be transformed 
into dextrine, glucose, alcohol, or vinegar. 
(4) A fatty matter, which serves to make a kind of soap, and which also is em- 
ployed to render certain mineral colors more fixed and solid. 
(5) A yellow coloring matter, which serves for various purposes of dyeing. 
(6) The ashes of the burnt nuts contain 75 per cent. of potash. 
(7) The bark has been used as a substitute for cinchona. 
(8) Tannin is found in all parts of the tree, leaves, bark, and fruit. . 
ie (9) Water in which the nuts are boiled is used for bleaching hemp, fiax, and other 
bers. 
INDIA GRAINS. 
M. B.N.; THxas. 
During a residence in India I became acquainted with several kinds of grain 
which are superior to anything grown in this country as teed for stock. These grains 
are grown in the dry regions, and for that reason I think they would be specially 
adapted to southwestern Texas. There is a kind called Gram grown in central 
India, and in southern India another kind also called Gram. Theseare ground before 
fed to stock. Then there is a grain called Bajery, which is used for making bread, 
of which the yield per acre is very large. 
The Department might procure these seeds through the consular service or from 
merchants in Bombay. If they can be secured I will have them tried in south- 
western Texas and make known the result. 
Answer.—The word Gram is used in India to designate various kinds of peas and 
beans grown for food, just as we tise the word grain to designate various useful 
seeds. Among the species known as Gram the following are noted: Cicer arietinum, - 
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