360 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov.  1,  1892. 
to  those  who  have  inourred  the  cost  of  opening 
up  and  planting  new  land.  Therefore,  we  hold 
that  the  recent  advance  in  price  founded  upon 
a restriction  of  export  affords  corc'ueive  evidence 
of  the  wisdom  of  those  who  hold  that  we  should 
wait  the  development  of  new  n arkets  before  we 
go  rashly  to  work  extending  our  present  are  as  of 
cultivation.  The  ungenial  weather,  of  course, 
mainly  accounts  for  the  recent  diminition  in  the 
quantity  of  our  export.  With  tea,  however,  this  is 
not  so  significant  as  it  would  have  been  with 
coffee  or  other  products,  because  the  method  of 
plucking  and  the  quality  of  the  tea  produced 
largely  affeots  the  weight  of  the  general  out- 
turn. It  may  well  be  that  the  counsel  of  late 
so  freely  tendered  as  to  the  results  to  be 
dreaded  to  a oontinuanoe  of  the  practioe  of  over- 
pluoking  has  had  something  to  do  with  the 
diminished  weight  of  our  exports,  and  if  so  the 
latter  fact  is  perhaps  not  altogether  to  be  regretted. 
Compensation  for  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  higher 
price  obtainable  for  a lower  return  in  quantity. 
However  this  may  be,  we  now  see  that  a re- 
stricted export  is  an  important  element  in  main- 
taining better  prices.  To  unduly  swell  that  export 
by  hasty  extensions,  before  new  markets  are  opened, 
would,  we  feel  sure,  lose  us  much  of  that  advantage. 
■ — 
COCHIN  FOWLS. 
To  keep  Cochins  in  health  when  confined  they 
must — more  than  any  other  variety — be  plentifully 
supplied  with  green  food ; if  not,  their  digestive 
Bystem  soon  suffers,  and  the  plumage  becomes  ragged 
and  scurfy.  Particular  care  must  also  be  exercised 
to  prevent  overfeeding,  as  this  breed  has  a special 
tendency  to  accumulate  internal  fat,  causing  steri- 
lity, disease  and  even  death.  Indian  corn  is,  there- 
fore, not  good  for  them.  In  severe  cases  of  this 
prejudicial  fattening  the  hinder  part  of  the  body 
almost  touches  the  ground,  penguinfashion,  and 
rupture  is  a frequent  result.  The  most  beneficial 
course  in  such  an  event  is  to  allow  the  bird  to  sit 
for  as  long  as  five  or  six  weeks,  feeding  her  very 
sparingly  till  the  system  is  reduced,  by  which  means 
a cure  may  often  be  effected.  Cochins  have  great 
merits,  the  chief  of  which  are  their  hardiness,  their 
winter-laying  qualities,  their  large  size,  and  the 
extremely  small  space  in  which  they  may  be  kept. 
In  illustration  of  the  last  point  we  may  refer  to 
Mr  Tomlinson’s  account  of  his  own  yard.  If  they 
are  sparingly  fed  on  everything  except  green  food, 
this  being  given  liberally,  they  are  scarcely  ever  ill ; 
but  these  two  conditions  are  essential.  Perhaps  the 
greatest  drawback  to  these  good  qualties  is  the  un- 
earthly howl,  rather  than  crow,  of  the  cocks,  which 
makes  it  in  towns  impossible  to  keep  them,  where 
but  for  this  they  would  be  the  very  best  fowls  for 
the  circumstances.  Their  rather  coarse  quality  of 
meat  and  deficiency  of  breast  are  also  faults,  though 
for  home  use  they  are  profitable,  as  the  legs,  which 
are  very  large,  are,  in  our  opinion,  and  that  of  many 
others  (and  the  same  remark  may  be  made  of  the 
Brahma)  far  superior  to  those  of  other  breeds.  We 
speak,  of  course,  of  young  birds  ; the  leg  of  an  old 
Cochin  is  certainly  an  unmanageable  morsel — From 
“ IVriyht’s  Illustrated  Book  of  Poultry  ” for  October. 
SOME  VEGETABLE. 
Recent  Publications. 
Le  Potager  d'un  Curieux.  By  Messieurs  Paillieux 
and  D.  Bois  (second  edition,  Paris,  1892). 
Variety  is  the  great  characteristic  of  man’s  diet, 
as  it  is  of  man’s  raiment.  Still,  to  confine  our  re- 
marks to  such  articles  of  food  as  are  derived  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom  only,  it  is  curious  to  note 
that  the  number  of  fruits  and  vegetables  usually  found 
in  the  best-stocked  market  is  a mere  trifle  in  com- 
parison with  the  total  produce  which  might  be  used 
as  food.  Some  nations  have  a much  more  extensive 
diet  than  we  have,  and  a highly  competent  authority 
asserts  that  “one  would  sooner  make  a list  of  vege- 
table produce  left  uneaten  by  Chinamen  than  enu- 
merate all  the  articles  which  they  actually  eat.” 
Among  the  most  promising  of  the  plants  intro- 
duced in  the  Potager  d’un  Curtev.x  three  are  especially 
worthy  of  notice,  namely,  Arctium  Lappa,  var. 
Japonicum,  Soja  hispida  and  Stachys  affinis. 
Arctium  Lappa,  var.  Japonicum,  described  also  as 
Lappa  major,  is  simply  a variety  of  the  cosmopoli- 
tan ’■Burrs.”  The  fleshy  root  of  the  plant  grows  and 
swells  rapidly  in  deeply  trenched  soil  ; so  much  so 
that  it  can  be  obtained  one  inch  thick  in  the  space 
of  three  months,  and  yields  a vegetable  resembling 
salsify  or  scorzonera,  but  of  quicker  growth,  very 
white  and  tender,  and  easily  made  very  palatable  by 
proper  cooking. 
Soja  hispida  is  a Chinese  plant  of  the  order 
Leguminosas,  which  is  remarkable  for  the  large  pro- 
portion of  fat  and  of  nitrogenous  matter  contained 
in  its  seeds.  It  is  from  the  Soja  that  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese  manufacture  the  “ vegetable  cheese,” 
a highly  nutritious  paste  which  can  hardly  be  re- 
cognised from  cheese  made  of  milk  and  the  ‘ Sho- 
you,”  a condiment  of  everyday  use,  which  appears 
to  enter  largely  in  the  composition  of  many  of  the 
patent  ’*  sauces  ” made  in  England. 
Soja  is  not  very  delicate  as  a fresh  vegetable,  as 
the  seed,  which  is  the  eatable  part  of  the  plant, 
has  a very  thick  and  hard  skin.  But  it  might  be 
removed  before  dishing  up.  The  plant  is  so  prolific, 
so  perfectly  hardy  and  disease-resisting,  that  it  would 
be  worth  while  to  devote  some  time  and  care  to 
its  improvement.  Most  varieties  of  the  Soja  ripen 
their  seeds  too  late  to  be  of  much  use  in  northern 
Europe,  but  several  of  them  might  be  grown  easily 
in  North  America. 
Stachys  affinis,  otherwise  S.  tuberifera,  first  intro- 
duced to  notice  by  Monsieur  Paillieux,  can  be  said 
to  have  attained  in  Europe  the  position  of  a standing 
vegetable.  In  France  it  is  fast  becoming  popular 
as  Stachys,  or  “ Crosnes  du  Japon,”  and  it  is  re- 
cognized in  England  as  the  “ Chinese  Artichoke.” 
It  is  a perfectly  hardy  vegetable,  consisting  of  the 
fleshy,  pearl-white,  underground  stems  of  S.  affinis. 
The  tubers,  although  very  watery  to  all  appearance 
and  easily  crushed  between  the  thumb  and  fingers, 
contain  a rather  high  proportion  of  albuminous 
and  gummy  substances,  and  therefore  constitute  a 
not  altogether  despicable  food.  The  tubers  intended 
for  propagation  should  be  kept  in  sand  over  winter, 
planted  out  in  rows  or  on  mounds  early  in  spring 
and  left  to  themselves,  with  the  exception  of  occa- 
sional weeding  all  through  the  season.  The  tubers 
are  not  wholly  formed  till  the  vines  die  off.  They 
will  stand  any  amount  of  frost  if  left  in  the  ground, 
and  they  are  all  the  more  delicate  for  being  pulled 
up  just  before  cooking. 
A good  deal  of  attention  is  paid  by  the  authors 
to  such  plants,  or  parts  of  plan's,  as  are  well  adap- 
ted for  being  pickled  in  vinegar,  so  as  to  introduce 
some  variety  in  the  “ pickles,”  too  commonly  made 
exclusively  of  gherkins,  small  onions  and  bits  of 
cauliflower.  The  West  India  Gherkin  (Cucumis  Angu- 
ria),  the  tuberous  Nasturtium  (Tropoeolum  tuberosum), 
the  Martynia,  the  Chinese  Artichoke,  and  last,  not 
least,  the  Mioga,  the  unexpanded  flower  of  a sort 
of  Ginger  (Amomum  Mioga),  are  specially  recomen- 
ded  for  pickling. — Garden  and  Forest. 
The  Short  Tea  Crop  in  the  Assam  valley 
is  said  to  be  turning  out  the  most  disastrous  on 
record.  At  present  the  decrease  in  the  outturn 
as  oompared  with  that  of  last  year  is  upwards  of 
three  million  pounds.  Rain  is  very  much  wanted 
both  for  the  tea  and  rice  crops,  and,  unless  a 
heavy  shower  falls,  the  season  will  close  even  earlier 
than  last  year.  The  aotual  exports  from  May  to 
September,  inclusive,  were  50'75  million  lb.,  against 
53  47  million  lb.,  during  the  same  period  last  year, 
