Feb. 1, 1901. J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
515 
value nearly twice as great as the rice grain after 
polishing. The polishing process, however, greatly 
improves the appearance of the grain, and it is now 
almost universally practised in cases where the rice 
is intended for occidental markets. The material 
scoured off is preserved and sold under the name of 
rice flour. The polishing is effected by friction against 
the rice of pieces of moose hide or sheepskin, tanned 
and worked to a wonderful degree of softness, loosely 
tacked around a double revolving cylinder of wood 
and wire gauze. From the polishers the rice goes 
to the separating screens, ccnposed of different 
sizes of gauze, where it is divided into its appropriate 
grades. The rice is then packed in barrels or sacks 
and is i-eady for the market — Ibid- 
Destruction of Moths. -At Aigle (Switzerland) 
little boys armed with glued rackets go at dusk into 
the vineyards and catch the night moths, the eggs 
of which would produce the devouring worms which 
cause there snch havoc amongst the grape-vine 
leaves (Chochylis). This new way of hunting was quite 
successful. In a few days, and on a few acres only 
over 20,000 moths were caught, representing millions 
of eggs and worms. [We believe that the experi- 
ment of catching fruit-flies by means of butterfly, 
nets was tried with good results by Mi-. C. S. Voller. 
How would the sticky racket answer, fixed to handle? 
—^6.Q.A.J. 
THE EFFECT OF SUIENTIFIC INVES- 
TIGATION UPON AGRICULTURE. 
The art of agriculture is as old as man, but the 
science of agriculture lias not yet completed its 
lirst century. It seems at first thou£?ht im- 
possible to believe that, before the nineteeth 
century dawned, agricultural science was, to even 
the most advanced scientific workers and explorer, 
a — "dark continent." In 1804, De Saussuie pub- 
lished a work entitled, '• Reeherclies sur la Vege- 
tation," in which he gave the analysis of the 
ashes of many plants, and contended that they 
were absolutely essential to the growth of the 
plant, that they must be derived from the soil, 
and that probably these ash or mineral consti- 
tuente that the plant derived from the soil were 
the source of those found in the animals which 
fed upon the plants. From 1802 to 1812 Sir Hum- 
plirey Davy delivered several series of lectures, 
whicii he published in 1813, under the title "Ele- 
ments of agricultural Chemistry." To him is due 
the credit of making the first attempt to reduce 
agricultural knowledge and investigation to a scien- 
tific basis. Tte work of these two men, together 
with that of Thaer, Sprengel, and Boussingault, 
prepared the way for the magnificent work of 
Liebig, whose publications appeared in 1''40 and 
1842, since which time many of the brightest minds 
in Europe and America have been investigating 
tlie composition of the soil, plant, and animal, 
and their relation to one another. 
Davy said. " Discoveries made in the cultivation 
of the earth are not merely for the time and country 
in which they are developed, but they may be 
consiilered as extending to future ages, and 
as ultimately tending to benefit the whole race, as 
affording subsistence lor genei ations to come ; 
as multiplying life; and not only multiplying life, 
but likewise providing for its enjoyment." 
Liebig, in one of his productions, wrote :" I 
shall be happy if I succeed in attracting the 
attention of men of science to a subject which so 
well merits to engage their talents and energies. 
Perfect agriculture is the true foundation of 
trade and industry — it is the foundation of the 
riches of states." 
Chemistry was the first science that came 
to the assistance of agriculture, and ever since 
agricultural science has been largely built uodn 
agricultural cliemistry as a foundation. 
Its application in connection with soils and 
fertiii'ers, foods and feeding, and with dairyings 
IS readily conipreliended. A large portion of the 
work in other sciences could not be carried on 
without the assistance of the agricultural chemist. 
Perhaps one illustration of the value of eheniistry 
may be siitfii-ieiit for our present purpos-e. The 
beet sugar |)roduct in Germany has increased 
from 360,000 tons in 1876 to 1,620,000 Ions in 1896. 
The average product of beetroot is about 10 ton.s 
to the acre. In 1876 the 10 tons produced less 
than 2,000 lb. of .?ugar, whereas in 1896 the same 
weight produced .3,000 lb ; in other words, the 
beet-root of to-day contains over 50 per cent, 
more sugar than it did twenty yenrs ago. To 
the agricultural chemist belongs the largo propor- 
tion oftlie credit for thismaiked improvement. 
Botanists are at woik studying the plants of 
the w'orld, and helping in the production of new 
varieties and the improvement of old varieties. 
Let me give you but one example of the value 
of this. About 6,500.000 acres in Ontario are 
devoted to grain-growing. If by selection and 
cross fertilising we ceuld obtain seed grain that 
would add only one bushel per acre to the crops, 
the annual grain product would be increased by 
6,5000,000 bushels. The grain crop.s, of Ontario 
in 1897 were worth over $50,000,000. An improve- 
ment to the extent of 25 per cent, is quite 
within the range of possibility. The President 
of the Agricultural College, in his report for 
1897, referring to this work in improving varie- 
ties of grain, says :— " In this way some excellent 
foreign varieties have been introduced, tested, 
and distributed throughout the province— varieties 
which yield from 6 to 8 bushels per acre more 
than any varieties previously grown. In oats 
and barley alone, the varieties introduced and 
distributed by the experiment stations have, 
within the past four or five years, paid to the 
province a good deal more than the entire cost of 
the College for the last ten years." 
Entomologists are studying the thousand-and- 
one insects and diseases affecting our grains and 
fruits. One practical example will perhaps best 
illustrate the value of Entomology. About ten 
years ago the complete destruction of the orange 
groves of California was threatened by the spread 
of an insect known as the " cottony-cushion scale." 
The yitality was being sucked out of the trees 
by millions of tiny insects that literally covered 
them. The pests got completely beyond the 
control of the fruitgrov.-ers of that country, and 
in their desp.iir they appealed for help to some- 
body or anybody. Professor Riley, who was in 
charge of the Entomological Department at 
Washington and who unfortunately met liis 
death in 1895— one of the greatest benefactors the 
American people has ever known — at once began 
the investigation of that question. Being an 
expert entomologist, he knew practically every 
country in the world where that scale insect was 
common, and he knew that the place from which 
it had most likely come was Australia. It had 
probably been introduced, some twenty years 
before that, in bringing fruit trees or vines. He, 
however, knew it had never become a pest in 
Australia. Now if it is found in Australia and 
later found in California and had not become a 
