308 



fAPRiL 1908. 



EDIBLE PRODUCTS. 



CABBAGE GROWING FOR STOCK 

 IN CUBA. 



A late number of the Boletin de la 

 Secretariat de AgriCidtura contains an 

 article dealing with the growing of cab- 

 bages as a food for live stock in the 

 island of Cuba, wherejthis cultivation has 

 been introduced fromthe United States. 



The cabbage which has been acclima- 

 tized in Cuba is a well-known variety of 

 English origin, known as the Dwarf 

 Essex cabbage. It yields a large quan- 

 tity of nutritious and succulent food, 

 which is much appreciated by all kinds 

 of live stock. 



This cabbage is stated to flourish on 

 all kinds of soil in Cuba, except on very 

 moist clay soil. The seed is sown during 

 the later months of the year, or in 

 January, February or March of the fol- 

 lowing year, in furrows from 36 to 40 

 inches apart, this distance leaving ample 

 space for the passage of tillage and 

 weeding instruments between the rows 

 of cabbages. 



When the cabbage seed is drilled in 

 rows, about 2i lbs. are used per acre; 

 when sown broadcast twice this quan- 

 tity is required. 



Growers in Cuba who raise this crop 

 as a stock food cut, each morning, just 

 the quantity required for the day's food 

 of the live stock. If cut and not con- 

 sumed till the following day, the cab- 

 bages become dry and unpalatable. 

 The practice followed is to cut the cab- 

 bages about 4 inches above the ground ; 

 the stumps bud again and a second crop 

 is obtained. The enormous amount of 

 stock food yielded by this crop in Cuba 

 will be understood when it is stated 

 that a weight of nearly 150 tons per acre 

 per annum was obtained on land' which 

 had only received a small amount of 

 farmyard manure together with a light 

 dressing of potassium chloride. 



When fed to sheep and pigs, the cab- 

 bages can be simply placed in the open 

 field, the animals being allowed to eat 

 them at will. It is mentioned, however, 

 that in feeding to cattle the best results 

 are obtained by giving the cabbages in 

 conjunction with other green food, or 

 with corn. In connection with milking 

 cows, it is well known that if fed in any 

 quantity, cabbages impart an unplea- 

 sant flavour to the milk of these animals. 



The writer of the article states his con- 

 viction that, with improved knowedge 

 on the part of stock owners of the 

 value of the crop in raising and fatten- 

 ing cattle and other kinds of live stock, 

 cabbage culture will be largely extended 



in most countries where stock keeping 

 is carried on, and the results which are 

 reported from Cuba should certainly 

 encourage stock owners to at least 

 devote a small area to an experimental 

 cultivation of the crop.— Agricultural 

 News, Vol. VII., No. 150. 



THE COCONUT WITH REFERENCE 

 TO ITS PRODUCTS AND CULTI- 

 VATION IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



Introduction. 



The following pages are written 

 chiefly in the interests of the planter, 

 but the writer feels that the great 

 agricultural importance which the 

 coconut palm is bound to assume in 

 these Islands is sufficient to justify the 

 presentation of some of its history 

 and botany. 



For that part of the bulletin which 

 touches upon the botany of the coco- 

 nut I am indebted to Don Regino Garcia, 

 associate botanist of the Forestry 

 Bureau ; for that relating to its product 

 and local uses, to the courtesy of manu- 

 facturers in Laguna ; and, for the rest, 

 to personal experience and observations 

 made in Laguna Province and in the 

 southern Visayan Islands where, as else- 

 where in this Archipelago, the coconut 

 may properly be considered a sponta- 

 neous and not a cultivated product. 



HISTORY. 



The legendary history of the " Prince 

 of Palms,"* as it has been called, dates 

 back to a period when the Christian era 

 was young, and its history is develop- 

 ing day by day in some new and striking 

 manifestation of its utility or beanry. 

 [t seems not unreasonable to assume 

 that much of the earlier traditionary 

 history of the coconut may have been 

 inspired as much by its inherent beauty 

 as by its uses. Such traditional pro- 

 verbs or folklore as I have gathered in 

 the Visayas recognize the influence of 

 the beautiful, in so far as the blessings 

 of the trees only inure to the good ; for 

 instance, " He who is cruel to his beast 

 or his family will only harvest barren 

 husks from the reproving trees that 

 witness the pusillanimous act ; " and, 

 again, "He who grinds the poor will 

 only grind water instead of fat oil from 

 the meat." 



To this day the origin of the coconut 

 is unknown. De Candol (Orgin of Cult. 

 Plants, p. 574) recites twelve specific 

 claims pointing to an Asiatic origin, and a 

 single, but from a scientific standpoint 



* The Prince of Palms," Treloar. 



