484 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. 1, 1901. 
Gold in Trees.— The impecunious man may 
soon be seen grappling with the nionarclis of the 
forest for the wlierevvithal to pay his way. In tlie 
" Zeitsehrift fur practische Geologie " Herr Lung- 
wit z writes of tliegold in trees. It only amounts 
to trom about 5il to .'js per ton of ashes. The metal 
tends to collect in the trunk near tlie roots. Of 
course the quantity is greater .according to the 
auriferous character ot the soil, and probably, too, 
the intensity of growth, so t hat in tropical countries 
ffold may exist in many plants —Daily Express. 
A Botanical Acquisition.— Botanist? will be 
interested to learn that the important cryptofiramic 
herbarium of M. Besch.eretle, a well-known French 
botanist, has just been acquired by purchase for 
the Department of Botany in the British Museum 
This herbarium which is one of the most complete 
of its kind in the world, consists chieliy of moase^, 
lichens and liverworts, collected in great part in 
the French colonies, where M. Besciierelle has 
practically had a monopoly in this respect for the 
last 30 years. The Manchester Guardian (Nov. 
23rd) undeistands that there are 15,000 specimens 
of mosses and nearly 4;000 specimens of liverworts 
in this fine collection. 
Limited Companies. — From " Notes on the 
Companies Act, 1900," by L Worthington 
Ev.ans, we learn Directorships will certainly 
not be' 30 popular in the future as they have 
been in the past, especially (let us hope) 
among incompetent nobles sometimes called 
Decoy Ducks, The Act contains restrictions 
of the power and additions to the liability of 
a director as well as "a formidable list of 
fines and penalties." The responsibility and 
duties of the secretary are also increased ; 
and these additional requirements, as well as 
others in regard to registration, apply to all 
companies registered under the Companies 
Act. After the first day of January, 1901, 
no new company having share capital may 
proceed to allotment until the minimum 
subscription has been subscribed, and not less 
than 5 per cent, of the nominal amount of 
each share has been paid in and received by 
the company as application money. And 
both these conditions must be fulfilled withm 
forty days after the first issue of the pro- 
spectus ' In default of complia)ice vyith these 
and other conditions an applicant is entitled 
to receive back his application money in fiill ; 
and unless it is repaid within forty-eight 
days after the first issue of the prospectus 
the directors become jointly and severally 
liable for the amount. For all companies 
. registered after January 1, 1901, quite a 
number of new requirements are introduced, 
which, as Mr. Evans truly observes, will tend 
to make the statutory meetings of the com- 
pany (ordinary and extraordinary) exceed- 
ingly important instead of the often useless 
formalities to which we are accustomed. The 
power of control possessed by the share- 
holders is vastly increased. At an early stage 
in the company's existence a shareholder will 
be able to test many of the statements m the 
prospectus and ascertain officially the facts 
about the allotment, as well as the names 
of his fellow shareholders with whom he 
can coml)ine for protection. The book con- 
tain.s an interesting chapter upon the duties 
and responsibilities of the auditor, whose 
appointment has now at last been rendered 
compulsory, and is to be made not by the 
directors, but by the shareholders. 
A Nicw GoANESE Industry.— A contract has 
been entered into for the construction of an 
edifice for the Bombay and Goa Trading Com- 
pany in the New City of Vasco de Gama. The 
firm consists of Mr. S J De Souza and of the 
representatives of the late Mr. Goculdass Tejpal 
the Bomb ly millionaire. The principal object of 
the linn is the erectior. of a coir and rope fac- 
tory together with the utilisation of the other 
l)rodncts of tlie cocotiut palm. The firm who are 
building the coir factory are in a position to 
operate in this commodity on a lar^^e scale It 
is calcalated tliat the company will require from 
24 to 30 lakhs of coconut husks annually for 
librc anil coir yarn, and it could easily convert 
the coconut into copra and export the same or 
convert this last into oil and export it. It is in 
contem|)lation to orrier out the latest niachiuery 
for this purpose. — Pioneer, Dec. 3. 
Ostrich Farming in America.— We call 
attention to Mr. T. A. Cockburn's chatty notes 
in another coluum. From a circular he sends 
us, we quote as follows : — 
The Ostrich Farming Industry has been begun in 
San Autouio, Texas, by Mr. Thomas A. Cockburn, 
for Eome time the proprietor of the famous South 
Pasadena Ostrich Farm, of Southern California, in 
the hope of establishing this peculiar industry as 
suocessfuily in Texas as h;is been done in California. 
Fifty of these magnificent birds have been trans- 
ported across the continent to their new home near 
San Pedro Spricgs, where there is every prospect of 
their settling down to regular Ostrich ways. Com- 
pared with the imported South Africa article, the 
local product is considered by connoisseurs much 
superior, and aftrr a careful examination of the large 
and varied stock of boas, capes, collar.-^, tips, plumes, 
fans, etc., at the San Antonio farm, this opinion will 
be upheld by the general public. The birds vary 
in age from a few weeks to eight and ten years of 
age. A full grown ostrich weighs about 275 pounds, 
and stands nearly eight feet high, both sexes are a 
brownish color until eighteen mouths old, when the 
males turu black and the hens grey. At four years 
old the selected birds are paired off, and soon the 
male bird digs a hole with his feet, in which the hen 
will lay an egg every other day, until from twelve 
to rifteen are in the nest, when they begin setting, 
the hen iu the day and the cock in the night ; in 
from forty to forty-two days the chicks should hatch 
out. Iu this country they are immediately taken 
away from the nest and raised by being fed on cut 
up green alfalfa.- They will then grow at the rate 
of a foot a month until six month old. The 
average life oi an ostrich is about seventy years. 
The food consists mostly of alfalfa hay, cut up small, 
sugar beets, cabbage and corn. Bones and sheila 
are occasionally given to help digest their food and 
form the shell, coarse gravel is also kept in the 
corrals for the same purpose. The eggs weigh three 
pounds each, the unfertile ones are blown and obtain 
a ready sale as souvenirs of the ostrich farm. The 
feathers are plucked every nine months and are graded 
into their various lengths and colors. These sell in 
the markets at prices varying from |i5.00 to $100 per 
pound, the latter from the long white plumes taken 
from the wings, only those feathers from the wings 
and tails are plucked, the body feathers are shed 
once a year and are gathered up in the corrals. 
Every feather has a selling price. Many and varied 
are the products of Texas, bttt the industry of Ostrich 
Farming is possibly the most interesting and peculiar 
to the general public, and no tourist should consider 
his trip complete until he has paid at least one visit 
to the San Antonio Ostrich Farm. There is no more 
pleasing or suitable souvenir to take back or send 
to some eastern friend than a feather boa or a bunch 
of tips manufactured from a Texas ostrich. Prices 
of birds of all ages on application to the proprietor. 
Feather goods of all descriptions for sale on the Farm, 
at producer's prices, 
