200 



THE AOBI C U LT U RAL JOURNAL. 



A reception anything but cordial is likely 

 to be extended to the unauthorised indi- 

 vidual who, hearing of a case of sickness 

 in a Kafir location, arms himself with a 

 rifle and goes forth promiscuously " gun- 

 ning." It is satisfactory, however, to 

 observe that a fuller understanding of the 

 action of the Government has met with 

 the approval of the farmers generally, and 

 the same action, probably, will be taken 

 l)y the Department should the disease un- 

 happily manifest itself in other parts of 

 the Colony. In this way it is hoped that 

 the much-vexed question as to the best 

 method for general adoption of fighting 

 the disease will not arise. 



There can, however, be no doubt that 

 the system of bile inoculation as origin- 

 ally advocated by Professor Koch will be 



adopted only with hesitation ; the sab- 

 sequent modifications, however, furnish 

 us with an efficient weapon under certain 

 conditions for the check of the disease. 

 The original directions, as issued by Pro- 

 fessor Koch, from Kiiuberley, in February 

 of 1897, were to the effect that bile should 

 be taken on the " sixth day of die fever," 

 and that " one hypodermic injection was 

 sufficient." It was upon these instructions, 

 as given by Prolfessor Koch himself to 

 the representatives of the Natal Veterin- 

 ary Surgeons who visited him in March, 

 18'97,that the process was applied through- 

 out Natal. That it was found wanting 

 in some respects, and gave way sub- 

 sequently on becoming subject to the 

 modifications of experience, is, of course, 

 a matter of history. 



Paspaium Dilatatum. , 



A SMALL parcel of Paspaium Dilatatum 

 grass has arrived, and is available for 

 distribution in small quantities without 

 charge to applicants who may wish to 

 give it a trial. 



It will be remembered that this is 

 the grass of which the Hon. F. R. Moor 

 spoke so highly in the first of his com- 

 m'lnications to the Journal, after his 

 return from Australia. He said: — "All 

 my enquiries and all my personal obser- 

 vations go to show that paspaium will be 

 one of the best grasses for Natal farmers 

 to try." With regard to the planting, he 

 said : " The most successful method is 

 that of laying out small plots, and by 

 dividing or separating the roots, trans- 

 planting theiefrotn. The planting is done 

 in rows three feet apart, and the plants 

 two feet apart, or preferably, in the 

 opinion of some, three feet apart." We 

 have publisb( d a great deal with refer- 

 ence to this g ass, ant those who may wish 

 to refresh their memories on the subject, 

 more p. vac ilarly with regard to some 

 diffcult p ocess of the propagation, will 

 do well to refer to the following Numbers 

 of Volume IV : 1, 2, 4, and 5. 



The following item of news testifies to 

 the established popularity of the grass, 

 and to the apparent opening that there 



may be for nurserymen and others to 

 cultivate the grass for selling as plants. 



" At a recent meeting of the Agricul- 

 tural Central Bureau, South Australia, the 

 Minister of Agriculture called attention 

 to a letter from the Mayor of Adelaiie in 

 reference to this grass, in which it was 

 suggested that the department should 

 purchase 100,000 plants for distribution 

 throughout the State ; also that a report 

 on the grass should be obtained from the 

 adjoining states. 



"The Secretary said there was no 

 necessity to ask for reports as to the value 

 of the grass, as it had been proved to be 

 very valuable in suitable soils and locali- 

 ties. To distribute it throughout the 

 State as suggested would be waste of 

 money, as the grass must have a fair 

 amount of moisture in the soil during the 

 summer or it will not thrive. Apart 

 from this the grass was advertised by 

 many seedsmen in the adjacent States at 

 reasonable prices, and it was against the 

 pi'inciples of the Bureau to distribute 

 plants of proved character and readily 

 obtainable from the seedsmen. 



" Members agreed, and it was decided 

 that it was unnecessary to interfere in 

 private enterprise in this matter," 



