Supplement to the ^'Tropical Agriculturist," [May i, 1903. 
many of our indigenous " land grasses " are 
siipeiior to it in every respect." Tills latter 
RtiUement ni'iy be correct, buc nil tlie siine 
Guinea grass has i)rovei.l to be an exoellent fodder 
grass for stall feeding, and it is liiglily valued 
both in India and Cdylon. If not cut at the 
proper time it will of coursi be found to be 
coarse. 
CMnr rat (mal di ff07iia), or gnaimiug i i lemon 
tree^, is a disease primarily due to defective 
drainnge and smothe-iiig of the root-;-;ystem with 
rich manures. Tl'e first symptoms are exudations 
of gum from the stem, then the foliage gradually 
becomes yelliw ; flnally the leaves drop, and 
there is a profusion of bloom, In the first stagey 
the disease can be successfully treated by cutting 
away with a sharp knife all the diseased bark 
and sap wood. As a rule, this will be found to 
extend an inch or two belo^v the surface of the 
soil. Wheo there is nothing but sound bark and 
wood left, smear the surface with a mixture of 
Stockholm tar two parts and carbolic acid one 
part. If it happens that the disease is so far 
advanced that the stem is entirely girdled with 
decayed bark and sap wood, it is better to 
remove the tree, and carefully dress the ground 
with a heavy sprinkling of lime. By removing 
the earth from about the base of the tree, and 
Applying 2 or 3 lb. of slaked lime, the disease 
can in some measure be arrested. The antiual 
•whitewashing of the trunks of lemon-trees is 
also a good check ; but nothing can effectually 
prevent the disease if tlie drainage is bad, or the 
trees are overdosed with manures rich in organic 
matter. 
Lysol is one of the mo«t useful disinfectanti 
we have, A solu'ion of half per cent when 
used for wounds induces rapid healing and 
prevents suppuration. Lysol has also been guc- 
cessfully used for dressing badly-affected hoofs 
in h irseji, for destroying animal parasites and 
gjubs attacking cultivated plants, for keeping 
off flies and insects such as ticks, fleaa, and in 
numerous other ways. 
What is nicotine P When pure it is a colour- 
less fluid of somewhat oily consistency and a 
strong, peculiar, penetrating odour; but it 
darkens on exposure to the air and light, becota- 
ing first yellow and then brown, so that it looks 
in this darkened condition something like the 
tarry matter that soils or smothei'a finger>", or the 
substance that is deposited in the stem of a 
pipe. But this tarry deposit has nothing essen- 
tial in common with nicotine, and contains but 
traces of this alkaloid when any at all, A part, 
but only a small part (about } in the experiments 
by Jtel^^ur) of the real nicotine of tobacco ii 
volatilized without decomposition, the remainder 
being burnt and destroyed in the process of 
smoking. The brown oily substance which is so 
troublesome to pipe smokers is really the tar 
produced by the action of heat on the woody fibre 
of the leaf. So says Prof. Mallett of Virginia 
University. 
Equal parts of white lead and castor oil mixed 
near the fire into an ointment are highly recom- 
mended by a correspondent to the Queensland 
Agricultural Journal as a cure for long standing 
and itciiing sores as well as for eczema. Spread 
the ointment on linen and renew morning and 
evening. Every day give a good washing with 
coal tar soap and rub well with a towel. 
To induce sweet potato vines to set, twist the 
vines in a heip on the top, when potatoes will 
begin to form. 
