60 



THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



Correspondencem 



To the Editor of the Agricultural Journal. 



HOESE-BREEDING. 

 nlK— Mr. Medley Wood informs me 



that the grass referred to by me iu 

 my letter of February 2nd is the 

 "Panicum laevi_olium/' and states that 

 "as the grass a comparatively new 

 species nothing has been published, or, as 

 far as I know, is known of its value as a 

 food for stock, but this is the sort of in- 

 formation we expect to get from farmers 

 and graziers in the districts where the 

 plants are foimd. Judging from its very 

 close relationship to the 'Guinea' grass, 



1 should say that it might prove an ex- 

 cellent food for stock, but it has the dis- 

 advantage of being annual, while the 



Guinea grass is ' perenniid.' " 



"En Passant," in his second letter, 

 hoped for "good, wholesome, argu- 

 ment, and an exchange of honest 

 opinion," and 1 only regret that 

 none of the prominent horse-breeders 

 of Natal have come forward to 

 express their views as to whether Natal 

 is or is not a suitable country for horse- 

 breeding. — Yours, etc., 



C. B. Lloyd. 



GRAPE BEUUIES BURSTING. 

 t.;ii.^_Grapes require a comparatively 

 dry atmosphere at time of ripening, 

 so I think excess of moistiii'c at that time 

 has most to do with the splitting of the 

 berries. 



Great heat, followed by dull, rainy 

 weather, is frequently a cause ; in fact, 

 generally so, but insufficient drainage has 

 often helped the trouble. 



Vines should never have too much 

 moisture at the roots when the berries are 

 turning colour, as this causes too great a 

 liow of saj) and consequent luxuriance of 

 growth, but on the other hand the roots 

 must never bo allowed to get dry. 



Thoroughly good drainage is essential 

 in grape growing, and if the soil is not 

 ' drained naturally, artificial means must 



i.il;be used. 



Mr. Delvin does not give any particulars 

 as to his treatment of his vines. If he 



did this I might be enabled to help him 

 more ; but I tbink he will find that 

 atmospheric influence, as stated above, is, 

 in the main, the cause of the berries 

 splitting, and that being a matter of 

 climate cannot be well obviated.— Yours, 

 &c., 



G. H. Wilkinson, 



Nurseryman, 

 per A.J.W. 



Maritzburg. 



In Mr, Win, Lister's letter on this 

 subject, which appeared in the last issue, 

 the word bunches instead of branches 

 should have been printed in lines 4 and 

 1'.). In the last two lines, owing to the 

 transposing of the words "not" and "all, 

 the sf nse is quite upset. The lines should 

 have read : " I met the owner, who had 

 a long face, saying his grapes were all 

 blighted." My reply was : " Not blighted, 

 but starved." 



WATTLE ASH FOR MANURE, 

 Sir,_The report on the above, by Mr. 

 Pardy, which appeared in the last issue, 

 should receive the attention of tobacco 

 growers. Wattle ashes should be a first 

 rate fertiliser, where easily procurable, 

 for obtaining mild good burning tobacco. 

 The ashes should be ploughed in, very 

 shallow, four or five months before plant- 

 ing.— Yours, etc., 



J. M. Van Leenhofp, ^ 

 Government Tobacco Expert. 



Beaumont. 



COMPOSITIOM OF DIFFERENT 

 PARTS OF SUNFLOWER. 



])e.,r sii._Will you kindly give in an 

 early issue an analysis of the Sunflower, 

 i.e., stalk, leaves, head, and seed ? 



Yours truly, 



James Thorrold, 



" Tlie Moorings," 

 Sunday's River. 



