XXVIII REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 



A REMEDY FOR STOCK POISONING. 



The loss of stock in Montana, caused by poisonous plants, has been 

 estimated at from fifty to one hundred thousand dollars per annum. 

 Prior to the present fiscal year there was no simple and reliable way 

 of saving stock when poisoned, but now, by a series of careful experi- 

 ments conducted at the request of the Montana authorities, the Depart- 

 ment has shown that if a small tablet consisting of permanganate of 

 potash and sulphate of aluminum be promptly administered the greater 

 part of this loss can be averted. The action of the permanganate is 

 to oxidize and destroy the poison still remaining unabsorbed in the 

 stomach, and this action is intensified by the sulphate of aluminum. 

 The poisonous plants that respond to this treatment are, so far as ascer- 

 tained, larkspur and poison camas, the two plants that cause most of 

 the losses in Montana. 



STUDIES OF AMERICAN FIBER PLANTS. 



The Department's work with Egyptian cotton, outlined in my pre- 

 vious report, has produced very encouraging results, and it is now 

 believed that it can be successfully grown in this country. As early 

 as 1892 the Department imported and distributed seed of some of the 

 choice Egyptian sorts, but owing to lack of money the matter was not 

 followed up. Recently, however, considerable seed has been imported, 

 and the outlook for the growth of this cotton is much more encourag- 

 ing. Additional facts in regard to what has been accomplished in this 

 line will be given under " Introduction of seeds and plants from for- 

 eign countries." Some very encouraging results have also been ob- 

 tained through our studies of hemp, especially in regard to imported 

 kinds, and particularly those from Japan. 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE. 



The acquisition of tropical territory by the United States has made 

 it important and necessary that the Department become thoroughly 

 familiar with the agricultural conditions prevailing in these lands, and 

 their possibilities in crop production, (1) for the purpose of supporting 

 the present population; (2) for supporting the population which will 

 result from the new and changed conditions, and (3) for bringing in reve- 

 nue from outside sources. The United States pays out millions of dol- 

 lars annually for tropical products which we ought to grow, and which 

 we can grow without interfering in any way with well-established indus- 

 tries. Coffee, rubber, bananas, cacao, and man} r other tropical crops 

 not hitherto grown by us can now be produced, and attention has been 

 turned to the best methods of succeeding with such crops. 



It is evident that for many years the Department will have to keep 

 in close touch with whatever work may be inaugurated in these outly- 



