Miscellaneous Notes. 



375 



largely reduced by spraying or watering the plants with a 5 per cent, solution of pure 

 carbolic acid in water. Fuller information on the subject will be found in the Journal 

 of rhe Royal Agricultural Society of England, for the years 1900, 1901 and 1902. 



Ensilage. — In connection with the making of silage stacks, some account of which 

 is given in the Board's Leaflet No. 9 {Ensilage), it may be pointed out that success in 

 making silage depends upon attention to certain important factors. (1) The entrance 

 of much air into the stack must be prevented, this being accomplished by means 

 of heavy pressure. Soil is one of the most convenient materials for weighting. 

 (2) As little surface as possible should be exposed to the air, and as the greater 

 the diameter of the stack the less the waste, the diameter should not be less than 

 16 to 18 feet. (3) The cost of building the stack must be kept as low as possible. 

 The higher the stack the more expensive it is to " weight," but the height may be 

 as great as is found convenient. Silage stacks should have the same diameter all 

 the way up, and the top should be flat, or nearly so, in order that the weighting 

 material may lie safely on it. 



Failure of Walnut Crop. — Several instances of the failure of the walnut crop 

 have been brought to the notice of the Board, and the Director of Kew Gardens 

 states that the failure of walnuts this year is rather wide-spread, and is due to the 

 ovules not having been fertilised. This defect is not improbably due to the pollen 

 having been almost continuously damp and therefore not dispersed by wind. 



Dyers'' Greenweed. — Specimens of a leguminous plant, which was causing nsucb 

 loss in the Malvern district, were identified as the Dyers' Greenweed {Genista 

 tinctoria). When growing in pastures it spreads very rapidly, and stock appear 

 absolutely to refuse to touch it. Unfortunately the only known means of eradication 

 consists in ploughing it up. 



Short Docking of Sheep. — The attention of the Board has been directed to certain 

 cases in which the docking of sheep has been carried to excess, the tails having been 

 removed practically back to the spine. The " dock " being in such cases unprotected, 

 the sheep are very liable to be attacked by the Sheep Maggot Fly (see Leaflet 

 No. 126). It can hardly be claimed that this extreme short docking improves the' 

 appearance of the sheep ; it would rather appear on the contrary to render thenr 

 unsightly, and some dealers recognize this by paying less money for them. It is 

 understood that many sheep-breeding societies have done their best to dissuade owners 

 from the practice of short docking, and the .Board entirely concur in the view that it is 

 unnecessary, and may be the cause of needless suffering. 



Agriadtttral Statistics , 1906. — The third part of the Agricultural Statistics for 

 1906 (Cd. 3653, price 8|d), which has now been issued by the Board of Agriculture 

 and Fisheries, comprises detailed information of prices of agricultural products,- 

 supplies of live stock at markets, and imports and exports of agricultural com-'- 

 modifies. It contains an introductory report by Mr. R. H. Rew, in which the' 

 principal changes in prices and imports are discussed and illustrated by a number 

 of diagrams. 



Export of Cheese from Denmark. — In the Report 01 the British Consul at 

 Copenhagen (Annual Series, No. 3862), it is mentioned that in the course of the last 

 few years cheese has attained some importance as an article of export ; in 1903, 

 the export to the United Kingdom was about 1,000 cwts. ; in 1905, the quantity 

 increased to about 2,600 cwts. ; and in 1906 to about 8,700 cwts. The prices that 

 can be obtained in the United Kingdom are very profitable, but there are still 

 difficulties as regards producing a uniform quality. A weekly quotation of cheese by 

 the Chamber of Commerce at Copenhagen is contemplated on the same principle as. 

 the butter quotation. « 



Admission of Grain Residues and Agricultural A/achinery to Costa Rica. — 

 According to a Decree dated 10th July, 1907, grain residues used as cattle food, and 

 agricultural machinery and implements are declared free of all fiscal duties, including 

 " wharfage." 



