fttS A&litCULfUnAL JOURNAL. 



?89 



The whole of that portion of Natal north of the Tugela River has been proclaimed an infected 

 area on account of Rinderpest. 



The whole of that portion of Natal north of the Tugela River and the Province of Zululand are 

 infected areas under the Lungsickness Act. Individual cases under license within these areas are not 

 published. Information as to any case under license may always be obtained at the Office of the P.V. 

 Surgeon, Pietermaritzburg, 



The following farms ara in quarantine for rinderpest : — 



Ladysmith Division —Farms : Riet Kuil, Kleinfontein, Vlaakplaats, Doomkraal, and Zwaartkloof. 

 Upper Tugela Division. — Farm : Earthcote. 



Newcastle Division.— Farms : Normandien District, Hope Farm, Lennoxton, Ingogo, and 

 Charlestown. 



Dundee Division. — Farms : Aviemore, Lincoln, and Swiss Valley. _ t» a i 



Kranskop Division.— Farms : Jammerdaal, Frogmore, Elandsvlei, Entombeni, Sutherland, Buaels 

 Hoek, Elands Kop, Drifonteia, Scottsdale, Woodlands, Paul's Rest, and Middle Hoek. 



M. J. HIME, for P. V. Surgeon. 



Principal Veterinary Surgeon's Office, 12th February, 1902. 



indigo Notes. 



By Alex. Pardy, F.C.S. 



j HE subject of indigo growing, with 

 • its possibilities, is being brought be- 

 fore us again, and the knowledge that 

 we possess seed-bearing plants of the 

 finest sought after variety for production 

 of the dye, show that it has every possibi- 

 lity of attracting attention, and attain- 

 ing the distinction of a valuable indus- 

 try, provided it can be shown that the 

 plants will thrive in our Colony. 



The indigofera is a leguminous plant, 

 and probably would form a good rotation 

 crop in the renewal of sugar lands. The 

 change would recuperate the land, and 

 the necessary and altered cultivation 

 would have its due beneficial effects, and 

 if there Avere any possibility of working 

 in the crop with sugar cane, or on cane 

 land.s, the same, or prepared, tanks might 

 be used if or the extraction of the indigo, 

 and the kbour diverted during the less 

 busy Hmeg to its manufacture. 



A few -notes in the "Journal of the 

 Imperial Institue," entitled "Extraction 

 of Indigo in Sugar Factories," suggested 

 these remarks. They read: — "At the 

 present time, when considerable atten- 

 tion is being directed to the indigo indus- 

 try in India, planters have been advised 

 to combine sugar cane planting with the 

 cultivation of the indigo plant. The 

 'Pioneer,' for July 18, 1901, contains the 

 letter of a correspondent who goes a step 



further, and suggests the erection of plant 

 which can be used for cane sugar manu- 

 facture, and equally well for indigo pro- 

 duction. 



"He puts forward a strong case in fav- 

 our of the diffusion process for the treat- 

 ment of the sugar cane, the only disad- 

 vantage being the need of more fuel for 

 the evaporation of the extra liquid; 

 while the process has the advantage of 

 producing a greater yield of white sugar 

 of a better quality than that obtained by 

 crushing the cane in mills; further, the 

 diffusion process is, much more than any 

 other, suitable for the manufacture of 

 sugar from beet, an industry which, he 

 asserts, will occupy a prominent position 

 among Indian sugar growers in the near 

 future. 



"Having drawn attention to this point, 

 in favour of the diffusion process for 

 sugar manufacture, the correspondent 

 considers that the diffusion batteries, 

 after they have worked off the sugar cane, 

 will be found to satisfactorily replace the 

 steeping vats in the indigo process. Not 

 much is known at present as to the cor- 

 rect conditions of steeping, etc.; in fact, 

 it is generally admitted that the total con- 

 tent of the plant is not all obtained by the 

 process as usually carried out. The dif- 

 fusion would be a continuous washing, 

 or steeping, carried out until the plant 



