378 
THE TliOPlCAL. AGEICULTDRIST. [Dec. 1, 1902« 
infection was more extensive, one of the plants being 
killed while the other was evidently dying. In each 
case (5 and 6) pycnidia were formed under the rind; 
(c) Four vigorous young trees about eighteen months 
old were now selected, Tlie first was used as a ointro', 
the second was infected with spores, the third with a 
portion of a diseased pod taken fiom near the still 
healthy tissue, and the fourth with pure culrure- 
rnycelinm. Eight days afterwards distinct infection 
was noted in No 2, while in Nos. 3 and 4 the trees 
were nearly ringed near the infection chamber, and 
the mycelium could be tracted in the bast and wood as 
far as six inches above and below this point. Pycnidia 
were noted under the baik near the chamber. The 
control tree showed no infection. 
{d) Attempts to induce infection by spores growing 
in water on the ba' k, in a manner similar to that used 
in experiment 1 (J) above, failed. The spores germi- 
nated, tiut I could not detect any penetration of the 
living (isfues by the hyphae. 
These infection-experiments show that the Fungus 
can behave as a parafite towftrda cacao pods, and is a 
dangerous wound-parasite of the cacao tree itself . The 
nature of one of the tree diseases in Grenada, and of 
an important I od'disease, is therefore placed beyond 
doubt. 
CULTURE OP THE PASSION VINE. 
Mr. G. Aldeeton, jua., writes: — "Would you kindly 
give me information re culture of passion vines and 
your opinion on prospects of growing same in a 
soil growing blackbutts, redgum, and stringybark. 
The foil in one part is composed of from one to 
two feet in depth of sandy loam, and in others,it 
is more of a sandy reddish clay. The latter is the 
heavier and moisture soil, but I fancy the other, 
because the situation is higher and the aspect is 
easterly. I propose to raise the passion vine from 
seeds sown in a seed-bed in spring', and transplanting 
to rows of, say 10 feet x 12 feet. Is this distance 
correct, and would it be best to trellis fence fashion, 
which would mean hand-hoeing all between the 
plants one way, or could I use trellises high enough 
for horse-work each way ? 
I also intend to grow tomatoes between rows while 
vines are small. I mention this, as a market gardener 
told me he would not grow tomatoes on his farm, 
as the land will grow nothing after them. 
Would you advise pruning passion vines each 
year, say, leaving a main leader to top rail of 
trellis, and pruning all laterals back to same each 
year (between growths) ? 
Would Jordan almonds bear in this district? The 
elevation is about 500 or 600 feet, and nearly free 
from frost ? " 
In reply, the Fruit Bxpeit, Mr. W. J. Allen, ex- 
presses the opinion that the sandy loam referred 
to should grow good passion fruit, provided the 
frosts are not too severe. The vines would not do so 
well on the more clayey red soil. If it were a red 
sandy loam they would probably co well, but generally 
speaking, thev do not do well when planted in 
heavy soil. Ten feet by 12 feet apart is as close 
as passion vines should be planted in rich ground, 
and they are better a little further apart. The 
best form of trellis is one of posts and wire, with 
a post between every second vine projecting 5 feet 
out of the ground: on the top of the posts are 
fastened two wires about 6 or 8 inches apart, the 
vine to be trained up a stick or small pole until 
it reaches the wires, then trained along the latter. 
Mr. Allen would not recommend a higher trellis 
than 5 feet. A good man with a horse and cultivator 
can work nearly all the ground without having to 
do much handwork, Mr. Allen would not advise 
growing anything between the vines unless manure 
is applied literally, as, if the plantation is expected 
to pay, the ground must not be robbed of its best 
properties by rapidly maturing crops before the 
vines themselves have come into bearing. It would 
be a great advantage to the vines if it were pos- 
sible to lime the ground before planting. The dressing 
in the case of soil indicated should be at the rate 
of not more than one ton per acre, — Agricultural 
Gazette ofN. S. Wales 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Insect Tohmentors op Horses. — The Chasseur 
illustre says that a decoction of 1 part of stramonium 
leaves to 3 parts of water, boiled for 20 minutes 
and applied, when cool, to the face, about the 
ears, inside the legs, about the belly and cronp, 
is sufficient to keep a horse free from its insect 
tormentors during a whole day. Stramonium is 
said to be much effict C'ous when thus used than 
tobacco. — Queensland Agricidtural Journal, 
The Cube or SsiKE-BiTE. — In an article recentK 
published oa the prevention of deaths from snake- 
bites, M Henri de Parville cites several well-authenti- 
cated cases in which the anti-venomous serum of 
Dr. Calmette, head of the Pasteur Institute at Lille, 
has been the means of saving life. Dr, Calmette, 
it may be remembered, was himself bitten on the 
hand by a cobra when experimenting in his labora- 
tory a short time ago, and only escaped death by 
the application of the serum discovered by himself. 
A mining engineer, in a letter to the writer from 
Australia, also relates how he was bitten in October 
by a deadly serpent, and an hour afterwards was 
fast losing conscioniness, when the timely interven- 
tioa of Dr. Oalmatte's aitidote brought him back 
to life. Bat the mast striking testimony to the 
value of the French professor's serum comes from 
India, where a was woman recently bitten by a venom- 
ous snake of unuEua,lly large dimensions, and cured 
when she was at the point of death. To prepare 
the serum, the venom has to be procured from 
living serpents, and it .was while engaged in this 
risky operation that Dr. Cilmatte came near losing 
his life. The Pasteur Institutes at Lille and Paris 
forward consignments of the saving serum to all coun- 
tries in which v jnomons serpents are found, — Australian 
Ineld. 
Precautions to be Taken by Consumers op Ve- 
getables. — We {La Revue Agricole de V lie Maurice) 
think it will be useful to reproduce a paragraph 
inserted in the Agricultttre Moderne relative to the 
tieatirent which raw vegetables should undergo 
before being eaten. The recommendations by Dr. 
Caserole have all the more importance in hygiene, 
as market garden produce in the colonies is often 
treated with liquid manure. It has for a long time 
been k'->own that intestinal worms are generally 
ti ansmittod to us through the medium of vegetables. 
Dr. Ceserole, of Padui,, has devoted careful study 
to the subject ; he has examined the sediment of 
sterilised water in which various market vegetables 
had been washed, such as lettuce, endive, radish, 
celery, &c. The microscope revealed in this water 
the presence of fifty-two common species of f ma. 
But, besides these parasites. Dr. Ceserole found a 
number of microbes — notably, a bacillus analogons to 
that of typhoid fever, the septic bacillus, and the 
bacillus of tetanus. This infection of the vegt^'ahles 
is especially to be imputed to watering them W'th 
liquid manure. Great care has consequently to be 
exercised. Lately, Bletchnikof, of the pasteur Insti- 
tute, has discovered that a certain number of pira3 
sites appeared to have their origin in in'estinal 
worms. Dr. Ceserole recommends that, to avoid 
danger, the vegetables previously well washed shoald 
be plunged for half-cin-hour into a 3 per cent, solution 
of tartaric acid, which has an agreeable flavour, is 
cheap, and of great antiseptic t^oin^ti:.~- Queensland 
Agricultural Journal, 
