64 



GENEKAL AGRICULTURAL NOTES. 



[Sept. 18y4. 



known, the French Government has a monopoly in the manu- 

 facture of tobacco, from which it extracts the nicotine before 

 delivering the " weed " to the consumer. This nicotine, in the 

 form of a juice, was not sufficiently pure to allow of its being 

 used for industrial purposes, but the Government is reported to 

 have now found a means of obtaining an essence of nicotine 

 by concentration of the juice. This can be used not only by 

 agriculturists as an insecticide, but it is apparently very effica- 

 cious for the treatment of sheep suffering from scab, and as 

 this disease is prevalent in Argentina and Uruguay, the French 

 Government hopes to supply large quantities of nicotine to 

 South American sheep farmers. It appears that an agent has 

 already been appointed for the sale of the liquid in Argentina. 



Woodlands in Sussex. 



The Timber Trades' Journal has recently published an inte- 

 resting article on the woodlands in Sussex. 



Plantations in Sussex are formed, it appears, almost invariably 

 for the growth of underwood, and seldom for that of timber. 

 Oak, being indigenous to the soil, freely reproduces itself from 

 self-sown acorns. Care in preserving the tillers as they come up, 

 and their proper thinning as they increase in growth, would 

 seem to be nearly all that is necessary to ensure a crop of timber. 



The woodlands may be divided into three classes : 1st, land 

 wholly under timber ; 2nd, lands partly under timber and partly 

 underwood ; and 3rdly, plantations wholly underwood, the 

 second class forming the principal portion. The underwood on 

 these lands being formerly composed almost entirely of hazel, 

 has of late years been much improved by filling up the bare and 

 vacant spaces with ash, birch, or Spanish chestnut. Plantations 

 that are of comparatively recent date are formed, in some cases, 

 altogether of Spanish chestnut, where the soil is found suitable 

 to its growth, or of a mixture of ash, birch, and chestnut ; willow 

 and alder are also planted in damp or boggy situations. 



The underwood is sold chiefly by auction, the sales taking 

 place from the middle of October to the end of November in 

 each year, in lots of about two to six acres, although frequently 

 larger and smaller lots may be put up, depending on the size of 

 the plantation or the quality of the wood, the price being gene- 

 rally at so much per statute acre, but sometimes by the piece. 

 The age at which the underwood is cut varies from eight to 

 twelve years' growth, plantations being cut at an earlier age 

 than underwood grown beneath timber. It is stated that good 

 planted stuff realises from 21. to 4^. per acre per year's growth, 

 30^. to 35^. per acre being generally the highest price, average 

 planted stuff of eight or nine years' growth selling at from IQl. 

 to 251. per acre. 



