November r, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
329 
RICE AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD. 
This country, says tho Times-Democrat, is tho largest 
producer and one of the smallest consumers of rice 
among civilized countries. A comparison with the 
consumption of this grain in grain in Great Britain 
seems to show that its use is steadily extending in 
that country, and as steadily declining in the United 
States. Following are the figures of rice consumption 
per capita In ro and in Great Britain: 
1886'. 1H85. 1884. 
Great Britain, pounds 10.76 7.43 9.76 
United .States, pounds 3.55 3.G2 3.90 
The relative estimation in which it is held in the 
two countries is aptly shown by the fact that in 
Great Britain it is used mainly as an article of food, 
while in the United States a large portion is used 
in making beer. That prices have hut little effect 
upon the figures and, consumption is shown by the 
low price now ruling. Tho above paper also gives 
what it thinks to be the real roason of tho light 
demand for rice in the United States. It is that 
in the greater portion of this country the art of 
cooking rice is absolutely unknown. This is more 
especially the casd in the north and west. The con- 
sumption is greater in the south, where the mode 
of cooking it is understood. The commercial value 
of this cereal is well known. Louisiana is especially 
interested in rice culture, and an improved demand 
for rice as an article of food would help the rice- 
growing interest of that State. It is suggested that 
the public needs to be enlightened as to rice as an 
article of food in order that the demand for this 
home product may bo increased. — Planters' Monthly. 
■ — ♦ . 
EARTHEN FLOORS FOE STABLES. 
I had always been accustomed to a solid earth floor 
for my horses until four years ago, when I removed 
to my present location. Tho situation of my stable 
is on a hillside, thus making the rear stalls 3 feet 
abovo the ground. Tho floor I found to be a good 
one, and the gronter ease with which it could be 
kept clean reconciled me to the change, but it was 
not more than two months after occupyiug it that 
1 noticed that the feet of my main work horses were 
getting dry and horny. They showed signs of crack- 
ing, and the blacksmith who shod them complained 
of iho difference in tho way they handled. I 
at once concluded to blame the stable floor with the 
trouble, and was considering the advisability of taking 
out and filling up with earth, when it occurred to 
me to try oarth on top of tho floor, and 1 did so. 
At the time we were making a new road, we 
struck a vein of very ton :h yollow clay. My stalls 
arc 6 feet wide, and placing a 3-inch cross-piece 7 feet 
back from the manger I filled the intervening space 
with clay, ramming and hammering it very thoroughly, 
no that no lumps remained unbroken and no spaces 
wero left to fill up and get foul with liquid matter. 
I rounded tho clay up on top so that drainage from 
tho middle of tho stall would run to tho rear. Now 
after three years of constant use, my work horses 
never run out, for I find it just as good as the solid 
earth floor. It is easily cleaned. Tho horses' feet 
nigniuid their natural condition very soon. In lly 
time tho horses do not wear their shoos off and 
disturb the neighbourhood stamping. When the sur- 
face gets to hard, a sprinkling of water makes it 
all right again. If it wears into holes or becomes 
foul, it is easy to scrape off and level tho surface, 
and if necessary hummer in a little nioro clay. On tho 
whole, it is by far tho most satisfactory floor I have 
e\. r tried, ami I shall not soon go back to tho solid 
earth or the solid boards. — National Stockman. 
» 
FOREIGN COMPETITION ON COTTONSEED 
FKODI/CTS. 
• • » 
There i- a popular notion that cottonseed must 
M ma more of a rofuso in Egypt and tho Indies 
than it ever whs here, and it follows a* a natural 
00BMqaeO00| that tho looked for uxlortioun of the 
great monopoly will result iu the development of 
competition from the East and the eventual dwarfing 
of the domestic industry. To tho.->o who are in- 
fluencod by facts rather than fancies, and who may 
bo as uninformed as to the facts in this case as 
are those who conceive these new elements of danger, 
it may be well to give a few figures, showing the 
relative importance of the cotton production of 
America and the remainder of the world. The 
figures are for 1881, tho latest date for which com- 
plete returns are available, and show where the 
world's supply of cotton was grown that year. They 
are as follows : 
Pounds. 
British India ... ... ... 500,000,000 
Egypt ... ... ... ... 230,000,000 
Brazil ... ... ... ... 55,000,000 
Asia Minor... ... ... ... 7,000,000 
All other ... ... ... ... 15,000,000 
Total outside the United States ... 807,000,000 
The United States... ... ... 2,110,258,000 
Grand total ... ... ... 2,017,258,000 
Referring to these figures, the American Exporter, 
in an article directed mainly to the subject of com- 
petition between the American and foreign staple, 
says: — "This shows how completely the cotton manu- 
facturing world must depend upon the United States 
for existence, and the futility of all attempts at 
developing a cottou field to compete with ours. 
We possess all the natural conditions necessary for 
the growth of the finest cotton, and as to appliances 
we are years ahead of the most advanced producers 
elsewhere. " — Oil, I'aint and Drug Reporter. 
♦ 
AN EXPERT DESCRIBES THE METHOD OF 
(1IKAPENING SPICES. 
" Rice flour and white meal can be mingled with white 
pepper in reasonable quantities and experts in spices 
cannot detect it," said a leading grocer to a reporter. 
Iu fact there is no trade in which adulteration for 
pecuniary profit can be carried on more profitably 
and with less chance of detection than in spices. 
Terra alba, a fine marble dust, is exported from Italy 
to this country in considerable quantities to mingle 
with white pepper. Mustard mixes with sago Hour, 
rice flour and a bit of aniline coloring without de- 
triment to the appearance of the mustard. Treat the 
mixture with iodine aud you expose the adulteration ; 
hut the average consumer of mustard is not apt to 
apply that test. The German and Frouoh mustards 
an- an interesting mixture. They are a compouud 
of cracker dust, mustard, cayenne pepper, white vine- 
gar, oil and sugar flavoring. Old crackers were 
sometimes baked brown, then ground into dust and 
mixed with ground cinnamon and nutmeg, aud tho 
whole is sold for nutmeg at a price that drives 
pure nutmeg out of the market. 
"Ground pepper is frequently sold for less money 
than the uugrouud article, which makes the naturally 
aospioioas suspect at once that the ground goods 
aro loaded with popper dust, which is made from 
coconut shells or buckwheat hulls, charcoal, white 
meal and mustard bran. Lack of taste is as desir- 
able in an adulteration of spioes as adaptability of 
color. For that reason the coconut shell ground 
up very fine is desirable. Venetian red, salt and 
white meal can be ground together and made into a 
valuable addition to cayenne popper. A dull red 
pepper exported from Africa, is often heavily adulte- 
rated with that mixture. It is worth ouly about lit 
cents a pouud whon pure, but when well adulterated 
it can be sold to a green dealer aud a green trader 
for geuuino Natal pepper, worth from 20 to 35 ceuts 
a pound. You can buy ground ginger ut almost any 
storo for 7 cents a pouud, wheu tho uugrouud arti- 
cle commands 10 ceuts for tho same quantity. That 
means that the goods offered for 7 cents a pouud is 
a mixture of wluto meal, '.arch, cay< nne pepper .v.id 
mamla rope, flavored with ginger." — OiV, J'iiint und 
Driiy Repurtor. 
[Is not all this horrible and suggestive of the 
application of the lash t — Ed.] 
