y6o 



Miscellaneous Notes. 



[march, 



Apple Juice in Germany. — A factory exists at Mannheim for the manufacture of 

 pure apple juice, which is known by the name of Pomril." The wholesale price 

 is 2>\d. a bottle of .about a pint. The method of manufacture appears to be sinfple. 

 The apples are forwarded to the factory as soon as possible after picking, and first 

 thoroughly cleaned and washed. From the washing tank they are carried to a 

 machine where the apples are torn into small particles. These are then placed in a 

 hydraulic press. The apple juice when drawn from the press is placed in a large 

 air-tight retort where it is sterilized ; it is then allowed to settle for some days, 

 and then filtered so that the juice is absolutely transparent. It is then bottled, a slight 

 amount of carbonic acid gas is added, and after corking, the bottles are again 

 sterilized by heating to 150-158 0 F. The pure apple juice thus treated contains 

 perhaps \ per cent, of alcohol, and is said to have the flavour of pure apple cider. 

 (U. S. Consular Reports, No. 3,035 and 3,079.) 



Agriculture in the Province of Damascus. - The Board have received through the 

 Foreign Office a report by Mr. Consul G. P. Devey, from which it appears that the 

 methods of cultivation' in this district are still very primitive and traditional. There 

 is consequently very little opening for agricultural machinery. A few ploughs of 

 British manufacture have been sold to peasants during the last few years, but there i c 

 little demand owing to the ease with which the soil is cultivated. It is estimated that 

 there are 3,000,000 sheep and goats and 200,000 cattle, but at present there are no 

 openings for the import of live stock from the United Kingdom. 



International Horse-Jumping Competition at Rome. — The Board of Agriculture 

 have received through the Foreign Office, information that an international horse- 

 jumping competition and steeple-chase will be held at Rome from the 29th April to 

 the 5th May next. The programme includes competitions (1) for officers' chargers 

 ridden by their owners, who must be actually serving in the regular army, and (2) 

 for horses of any age or breed mounted by duly accredited gentlemen riders. 

 Applications must be received before the 15th April by the " Associazione Nazionale 

 Italiana per il movimento del Forestieri," 52, Via Colonna, Rome. Particulars as to 

 the rules, entry fees and prizes may be obtained at the offices of the Board of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries, 8, Whitehall Place, S.W., where plans of the course may also 

 be seen. Any horse sent to compete from this country will require to be accompanied 

 on its return to Great Britain by a certificate of a veterinary surgeon to the effect that 

 he examined the animal immediately before it was embarked or whilst it was on 

 board the vessel, as the case may be, and that he found that the animal showed no 

 symptom of glanders. 



Foreign Hay and Straw Order. — The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have 

 made an Order prohibiting the landing of hay or straw as from the 9th of March, 1908, 

 from the following countries: — Argentine Republic, Austria- Hungary (including 

 Bosnia and Herzegovina), Brazil, Belgium, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, 

 Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Ottoman Dominions, Paraguay, 

 Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Servia, Spain, Uruguay. The Order does not apply to 

 (a) hay or straw which at the time of importation is being used for packing merchandise ; 

 or {b) manufactured straw not intended for use as fodder or litter for animals ; or 

 [c) hay or straw which is landed at a Foreign Animals Wharf for the purpose of being 

 there destroyed or otherwise disposed of in accordance with any instructions given by 

 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries ; or [d) hay or straw which is authorised to be 

 landed for use otherwise than as fodder or litter for animals by a licence granted by 

 an Inspector of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, which licence shall contain 

 such conditions as in the opinion of the Board are necessary to prevent the introduction 

 of disease by the hay or straw ; or {e) hay or straw placed on board a vessel before 

 the commencement of this Order for consignment to Great Britain. 



