THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



601 



habits, from 50 to 90 feet high, and 3 or 

 4 feet in diameter at base, when growing 

 on hilly country in South Australia. 

 Found also in Victoria and New South 

 Wales, where it reaches larger dimensions 

 in more humid districts. In Soutlr Aus- 

 tralia it occurs principally on the Flin- 

 der's Range, and is easily distinguishable 

 from other gums by its pei'sistent bark 

 on trunk and lower limbs, though it sheds 

 the bark on the higher limbs, whence 

 originates its name of " half-barked." A 

 most valuable timber, dense, hard, and of 

 great strength, with close interlocked 

 grain ; it is admirably suited for many 

 and varied uses, such as naves, felloes, 

 shafts, spokes, railway sleepers, fence 

 posts and rails, and mauls. It is pale 

 yellow in colour generally, though some- 

 times of a browner tinge, and when 

 seasoned weighs from 60 to 70 lbs. per 

 cubic foot. 



Eucalyptus obliqua (L'Herit), verna- 

 cular name " Stringy-bark Gum." Re- 

 ferences : Benth Fl. Austr., Vol. III., 

 f. 204. Mueller's Extra Tropical Plants. 



141. Mueller's J>:ucalyptographia, ord 

 Decade. A tall tree with persistent bark, 

 attaining a height of 100 feet and over, 

 with a diameter of 3 or 4 feet ; found in 

 the Mount Lofty Ranges and the south- 

 eastern part of South Australia, generally 

 ou poor ironstone and sandy rises. A 

 useful timber of 50 or GO lbs. weight per 

 cubic foot when dry ; of good tensile 

 strength, very fissile, light in colour, and 

 adapted for fencing posts and rails, 

 shingles, palings, ratters, and scaffold 

 poles. Though not the best of timber for 

 fencing, it possesses one advantage 

 peculiar to itself, in that it does not 

 readily burn when exposed to bush fires, 

 often escaping with a slight charring 

 where other posts burn to the ground. 

 The bark is used roofing huts, and is like- 

 wise well suited for paper making. 



[The Conservator of Forests has been 

 asked to have the kindness to procure 

 and forward seed of the above-mentioned 

 trees. Ou arrival of the seed notice as to 

 distribution will be published in the 

 Journal.'] 



Dairying, 



MILK AS A FEEDING STUFF. 



SINCE milk is a substance (says the 

 "Ruial World") designed wholly by 

 nature for the sustenance of young 

 animals, we may suppose it to l)e pro- 

 perly constituted in all particulars for 

 that purpose. Each 100 pounds of cow's 

 milk contains about seven-tenths of a 

 pound of mineral matter, which is essen- 

 tial to the upbuilding of the bony frame- 

 work of the body. Then it contains 

 about 3.5 pounds of protein, consisting 

 mostly of casein, with some albumen. 

 This group of substances is designed by 

 nature for the construction of the muscu- 

 lar portion of the animal's body, as well 

 as the bones, nerves, skin, tendons, hair, 

 horns, etc. Another of the solid con- 

 stituents is milk sugar, of which there 

 are between four and five pounds in each 

 100 pounds of milk. The sugar found in 

 milk is not particularly sweet, but it is 

 as nutritious as other sugar. Lastly, 

 there is fat, which ranges from 3 to 5 or 



6 per cent., according to the breed of the 

 animal, etc. Both the fat and the milk 

 sugar are designed for supplying heat to 

 the body as well as the energy exhibited, 

 and finally any excess may be stored as 

 fat in the tissues against a time of need. 



In the manufacture of butter only the 

 fat is removed from the milk, and the by- 

 product, skim milk, has a low selling 

 value when it can be sold at all. Stock- 

 men will ordinarily use skim milk rather 

 than full milk. Skim milk can be fed to 

 all classes of young farm animals with 

 success, and usually with profit. It is 

 not well to feed a large quantity of milk 

 of any kind to a growing animal, for it 

 may make it coarse, clumsy, and too fat 

 if given in excess. Experience has shown 

 plainly that skim milk fresh from the 

 farm separator is an admirable food for 

 calves, even when designed for beef pur- 

 poses, provided that there is a proper 

 addition of maize meal, oats, or oil meal. 



