TEE AORICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



739 



fruit season for years. With the exception of 

 a few cases of gallsickness in young animals, all 

 kinds of stock have been free from disease for 

 the last three months, and in the best of con- 

 dition. The Agricultural Hall buildings have 

 come to a standstill through, I believe, a diffi- 

 culty in getting bricks for the building. Soma 

 of the walls will have to be pulled down and 

 re-built, the heavy rains having damaged them. 

 The additions to the Government Buildings at 

 Bulwer are being pushed on all round as fast as 

 possible. The new school house, I believe, is to 

 started shortly, and when completed th; appear- 

 ance of Bulwer will be more like a real town- 

 ship. The water scheme for the village is still 

 progressing, Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, the 

 eminent surgeon from London, visited the Dis- 

 trict on the 18th instant, and examined a 

 number of natives supposed to be suffering 

 from leprosy — most of the cases proved to be 

 the loathsome disease. Some of the victims are 

 unable to say how they contracted the disease ; 

 two especia'ly, who are the only lepers in their 

 respective families. The disease had never 

 been known in the families before. 



H. W. Boast, Magistrate. - 



INANDA DIVISION 20th January.— Con- 

 trary to my prediction when writing last, copious 

 rains fell a few days after ; in fact, before my 

 lines were in print. Altogether, the weather 

 has been most puzzl'ng this season. When the 

 glass has been low, and all the appearances were 

 in favour of rain, none has fallen, while the 

 heaviest rains of the season have been with a 

 very high barometer. On the whole, the rain- 

 fall has been below the average, though it has 

 been so well distributed — along the coast at any 

 rate — as never to have allowed a long interval of 

 drought, the consequence being that crops have 

 seldom shown signs of languishing for more 

 than a day or two at a time. Below I give a 

 few particulars of the meteorological observa- 

 tions made here during the month of December, 

 1901, and for the whole of the past year, De- 

 cember, 1901 : Rain, 578 inches, which fell on 

 15 days. Heaviest fall, 1-66 inches, on the 2l8t. 

 Maximum temperature in the shade, 99 degrees, 

 on the 6th ; minimum, 59 degrees, on the 11th ; 

 mean temperature for month, 77"5 degrees. 

 Rainfall for the year 1901 :— 



January ... 7 38 in. fell on 15 days. 

 February ... 2 53 ,, „ 9 „ 

 March.. ... 6 08 „ „ 15 „ 



April 5-21 „ „ 7 „ 



May 0-93 „ „ 5 „ 



June ... ... 2-19 „ „ 8 ,, 



July 0-00 „ „ „ 



August ... 2 03 „ ,. 4 „ 

 September ... 600 „ „ 10 „ 

 October .. 2-85 „ „ 14 „ 

 November ... 4 83 ,, „ 17 „ 

 December ... 5"78 „ ,, 15 „ 



Total 



45 81 



119 



The heaviest fall was 4'05 inches, which fell 

 on the 29th January. The total rainfall for 

 1900 was only 2679 inches, which fell on 112 

 days— the fall for 1901 thus showing an increase 



of 19"02 inches, or nearly 75 per cent., and 

 accounts for the fine mealie and tobacco harvest 

 of lasG season, and the splendid crop of sugar 

 now being dealt with at the various mills ; and 

 present appe»rances indicate a still better sugar 

 crop for next season, thou?h the standing 

 mealies and tobacco do not look as well as one 

 wou'd expect under the circumstances. The 

 maximum temperature in the shade during 1901 

 wa^ 110 degrees on the 28th November, and the 

 minimum 43 degrees on the 12th July — the 

 mean temperature for the whole year being 71'8 

 degrees. I have not the mean for 1900 to enable 

 me to draw a comparison, but the lowest tem- 

 perature for the latter year was the same, viz., 

 43 degrees on the 31st May, and the highest in 

 the shade 106 degrees (or 4 degrees less than for 

 1901) on the 6th November, 1900. It would thus 

 appear that though January and February are 

 the most trying months of the year on the 

 coast, the highest occasional temperatures are 

 reached during November. Stock of all kinds 

 is thriving throughout the division ; there are 

 at present no cases of disease of any kind known 

 to me, nor have I heard yet of any cases of 

 horsesickness. It may be of interest to fruit 

 growers to hear that Mr. Robert Morrison, of 

 Stuckridge, Lower Tugela Division, which is 

 portion of Victoria County, has succeeded in 

 raising pineapples from seed. I cannot give 

 particulars yet as to duration of time of growing 

 before fruiting and the like, as I have not had 

 an opportunity of conversation with Mr. 

 Morrison on the subject. One fruit was sent 

 me by a friend for inspection, and it certainly 

 was very fine in appearance. It was consider- 

 ably larger than the common kind grown in 

 Natal, though not so large as the Queen Pine. 

 The colour of the rind is russet, instead of the 

 usual yellow or golden colour of the common 

 pines. In taste ii seemed to me hardly so sweet 

 as the common variety, but of a more delicate 

 texture and flavour. Doubtless Mr. Morrison 

 is propagating it in the usual way from shoots, 

 and it should soon become plentiful. I have n® 

 hesitation in saying it will become a great 

 favourite, and command better prices than the 

 common kind, its fine appearance being of great 

 advantage. . 



John L. Knight, Magistrate. 



NEW HANOVER, 10th January.— I wish to 

 bring to the notice of the Veterinary Depart- 

 ment a disease of horses, which seems peculiar 

 to the Noodsberg andNoodsberg Road Districts. 

 I never heard of a horse recovering from it. 

 The farmers call it " Jaagsickness "; probably 

 from the symptom, that the flanks of the horse 

 heave hke those of a horse which has been 

 raced too much. The horse goes on feeding ; 

 there are days on which the owner hopes for a 

 recovery, as there seems to be improvement. 

 But relapses will come ; the horse lingers on for 

 more or less time until death. To me it looks 

 very much like what is called ' galloping con- 

 sumption " in mankind. It appears to bo an in- 

 curable inflammation of the lunss of the horse. 

 Perhaps the thick fogs of the Noodsberg have 

 something to do with this disease. 



A. RiTTER, Magistrate. 



