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of a variety of coffee known as " Maragogipe," and which has 

 been said to be immune from the coffee-leaf disease (Hemileia 

 vastatrix), or nearly so. Our plant, however, is badly infected 

 with the fungus, and its leaves in the season are covered with 

 its spores. A few feet only from this plant the East Coast 

 species is growing, and, so far, is quite free from the fungus, 

 though I have several times in favourable weather tried to 

 inoculate it with the spores of the fungus, but so far without 

 effect, and I have little hesitation in saying that if the 

 place of the plant had been filled by a plant of the ordinary 

 cultivated coffee it would long ago have been thoroughly 

 infected without any assistance from myself or the head 

 gardener. Under these circumstances it has occurred to me 

 that a trial should be made of grafting the ordinary coffee plant 

 upon stocks of the East Coast species, and also when oppor- 

 tunity occurs of attempting to raise a hybrid between the two 

 species, and I hope during the present season the experiment 

 may be tried We have reared a few of the East Coast species 

 from seed grown here, and some of them have been handed to 

 the Director of Agriculture for trial at the Experiment Station 

 beyond Maritzburg. 



Andropogon snccharatus, Roxburgh. " Broom Corn." — I am 

 not aware whether or not this plant has had a fair trial in this 

 colony, and as the demand for brooms and brushes in South 

 Africa must now be very large, it would seem to be worth a 

 trial. One person to whom I applied for information told me 

 that some years ago he obtained seed of the plant locally, that 

 the plants grew fairly well, but that the soil was poor, and the 

 " broom " short, stiff and worthless, and it seems to me probable 

 that the seed that he obtained was not of the best variety, and 

 also that the soil on which he grew the plants was not suitable. 

 As this crop appears to be one especially suitable for small 

 farmers, I have written to America to obtain seeds of the best 

 variety, and if I succeed in getting them the plants will be 

 tried here. The following notes on this matter were read at a 

 meeting of the Antigua Agricultural and Commercial Society, 

 February 6th, 1903, by Mr. W. M. Sands, and published in the 

 " Agricultural News of West Indies," April 25th. I omit part 

 of the notes, which are more of local than general interest : — 



" The so-called ' Broom Coin ' is a millet closely allied to 

 Guinea corn (Sorghum vulgare). In fact, up to the flowering 

 stage, it is difficult to distinguish one from the other. Seed of 

 American broom corn was obtained from Messrs. Peter Hender- 

 son and Co., of New York, and sown on October 11th, 1902, in 

 rows four feet apart, at a distance of two feet from hole to hole 

 in the rows. The plants made strong and healthy growth, and 

 were free from insect attack. Had the weather been favourable 



