32 



" springing up with wonderful rapidity since the hot weather 

 " set in. All the other grasses in the vicinity are becoming 

 " bleached, and are dying off, hut this plot of paspalum, which 

 "has never been watered, and never i ended with special care, is 

 "as g'een a> h leek, and as succulent as any fodder can po sibly 

 "be". The article concludes by saying: " What is required i<> 

 " induce farmers to grow this grass more extensively is not 

 '•' exhaustive experiments ", but an exhaustive drought. This 

 lk would drive them to this drought resisting fodder plant, and 

 " if it did this, the drought would indeed eventually prove to 

 " have been a blessing in disguise." 



From our experience with it here I believe it to be the 

 best fodder plant for the coast districts that has yet been tried, 

 and I should recomneud eveiy farmer who has cattle or horses 

 to feed, to have at least a .-mall patch of it, more especially for 

 winter feeding, " Guinea grass" is good for the summer, but is 

 not available in the green state in the winter months, while 

 paspalum is available all the year round with ordinary cate. 



Mauihot utilissina. — " Cassava." In my annual report of 

 1892 I alluded to this plant, and gave an extract from the 

 Florida Despatch showing its value as a food plant, and again 

 in my annual report for 1896, I stated that cuttings of nine 

 different varieties of it had been obtained from the Botanic 

 Gardens of Mauritius, some yielding heavy crops and being 

 used for cattle food, others yielding lighter crops, and being 

 more suitable for human food, and I also gave a description of 

 the manner in which the roots are prepared for- food in 

 Mauritius By the kindness of a friend in Mauritius I obtained 

 a box of biscuits made from the tubers of these plants, and 

 these if produced in the Colony would I think find a ready salt', 

 I regret, however, to say that but very few applications have 

 been made to us for- cuttings, though a few have been sent out, 

 and we still have them in stock. 1 note that in a local paper 

 the cultivation of the plant is again advocated, and 1 therefore 

 take the liberly of quoting largely from, two artic es in the 

 Tropical Agriculturist, one appeared in the issue for May last, 

 and this one I take entire, the second appeared in the June 

 issue, and as this is a lengthy article by Mr. Robert Thompson, 

 formerly Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens of the Govern- 

 ment of Jamaica, and has special application to Jamaica, I do 

 not quot ■ entire, but make somewhat copious extracts as 

 follows : — 



" About three years ago an American tourist in Jamaica, 

 "Mr. Perkins, wa« struck with the value of Cassava as a 



