August, 1911.] 



117 



Edible Products. 



At Pagsanjan, the native oil mills and 

 Senor Navarro's copra dryer were in- 

 spected. There is no question that some 

 form of artificial dryer is very urgently 

 needed in the Laguna coconut districts : 

 first, because the smoke (creosote) per- 

 meating entire chunks of copra must 

 render them unfit for higher uses such 

 as making coconut butter, etc.; secondly, 

 because the present method of drying 

 over the husk and shell fire of the 

 " tapahan " does not sufficiently reduce 

 the moisture, and in consequence several 

 forms of mold are noticeable on the 

 product when it is ready for bagging, 

 and this undoubtedly results in the 

 loss of a considerable amount of the 

 oil from the copra while en route to 

 Europe. The native oil press does not, 

 of course, remove all of the oil, as would 

 a modern hydraulic or even a metal 

 screw press ; however, the quality of 

 "cake" should be very high for feeding 

 purposes because of its freshness and 

 high oil content. I would suggest that 

 one of the Hamel Smith patent rotary 

 machines, which are claimed to com- 

 pletely dry copra in from two to three 

 hours without a trace of smoke in the 

 finished product be tried ; one of these 

 machines if set up either in Manila or 

 Pagsanjan to demonstrate its usefulness 

 to planters would, I believe, revolu- 

 tionize the business in these Islands. 



Considering the status of the coconut 

 business in the Laguna districts, and 

 comparing it with the same status in 

 other countries in which I have had 

 experience, 1 do not hesitate to say that 

 the coconut planters in the districts in- 

 spected on this trip are getting only 

 about 30 to 40 per cent, of the proper 

 income from their plantations. And 

 since there appears to be very little or 

 no loss from insects or fungus pests, and 

 since the soil and the climate appear- 

 especially well suited for this culture, I 

 firmly believe that the said loss is due 

 to the faulty system of planting, and to 

 the lack of cultivation and live legume 

 mulching in the plantations. 



BROOM MILLET.* 



By G. Marks, 

 Instructor of Agriculture, Hawkesbury 

 Agricultural College, N.S.W. 



(Prom the Queensland Agricultural 

 Journal, Vol. XXVI., Pt. 5, May, 1911.) 



The cultivation of broom millet in 

 Queensland is largely extending, the 

 industry having received a considerable 

 impetus in consequence of the increased 



* Tamil Cholam, a little cultivated in Ceylon. 



prices due to the demand for good fibre 

 withiu the State, where up to the 

 present the supply has been utterly 

 inadequate to the wants of the broom 

 manufacturers. In order to give all 

 information on the subject to present 

 and iutending growers, we have, from 

 time to time, published articles on the 

 cultivation and subsequent treatment 

 of the fibre, Lately a most excellent 

 and exhaustive bulletin on broom millet, 

 profusely illustrated, written by Mr. G. 

 Marks, Instructor in Agriculture at the 

 Hawkesbury Agricultural College, New 

 South Wales, has been issued by the 

 Department of Agriculture in that 

 State, and we are permitted to repro- 

 duce it, together with the illustrations, 

 in the Queensland Agricultural Jour- 

 nal. A thousand copies of the paper 

 have been issued in New South Wales, 

 and we feel sure that equal interest will 

 be taken in the subject in this State. — 

 Ed. Q.A.J. 



Prom time to time numerous inquiries 

 are received from different parts of the 

 State asking for information regarding 

 the cultivation, harvesting:, and market- 

 ing of broom millet. During recent 

 years the price has fluctuated consider- 

 ably, according to the supply and 

 demand, and in the seasons which follow 

 an unusually high market, many far- 

 mers attempt to grow this crop who 

 have but a slight knowledge of the 

 requirements of the plant, and of the 

 practical details from the selection of 

 the seed to the harvesting, curing, 

 baling, and marketing of the brush. 

 The result is, that the market is glutted 

 with millet of inferior quality, and the 

 returns give little, if auy, profit to the 

 grower. We have in New South Wales 

 soil and climate admirably adapted for 

 the production of the best quality 

 brush, and it is significant that those 

 growers, whose practical knowledge 

 teaches them to produce only the very 

 best, are handsomely repaid for their 

 outlay. 



Requirements op the Trade. 



In the manufacture of brooms three 

 classes of brush are required, which are 

 popularly known as "inside," "cover," 

 and " hurl." 



"Inside" millet is used for forming 

 the inside of the broom, and is generally 

 not more than 17 in, long. 



" Cover " is the class used for covering 

 the inside and also for forming the 

 shoulders. It is longer than the former, 

 and must be from 17 to 20 in. in length. 



"Hurl" is the longest brush, ranging 

 from 20 to 25 in, It must also be fine 



