6'upplem«nt to tlie " Tropical AgricuUurisV [Apliir. 2, 1900. 
The bast libre?, derived fioiu Uie baik of exo- 
geiious pbuits, such as trres, shrubs, the climbing 
vines, herbaceous vegetation generally, are clearly 
defined, and the fibres ot all species of such plant*, 
when simply stripped, nre simibir in form as to 
outward appearance, differing chiefly iu colour, 
fineness and strength. An exiiraple of a fine b ist 
fibre is the ribbons or filaments of liemp, and of a 
coarser form, the bast from tlie linden or cedar. A 
variation in form should be noted in tiie lacebarks 
and the paper burks, wliere tlie bundles of fibres 
which interlace may be peeled off in the form of 
thin, flat strips. The woody fibres are only 
fibrous in a broad .^ense, as their cellulose is 
broken down and all extraneous matter removed 
by chemical meaiis, as for the manufacture of 
paper pulp or of artihcial silk. The greater 
number are merely wood in the form of flexible 
Blender twigs or osiers tliat are useful for making 
baskets; or the larger branches may be split or 
subdivided into strip?, withes, or flat ribbons of 
wood for making coarser baskets. The softer 
woods still further subdivided give the product 
known as excelsior, which can only claim a place 
in a list of fibre plants, because it is a substitute 
for upholstery or packing mdterial. Structural 
fibres are found in many forms, some of which 
may be enumerated as follows ; — The stiff, white 
or yellowiih fibres forming the structure of all 
fleshy-leaved or aloe-like plants, as the century 
plant, the Yuccas, Agave, and pineapple or the 
leaf trunk of the banana, as an example, rival 
hemp of commerce; the coarser bundles of stiff, 
fibrous substance which gives strength to the 
trunks, leaf, stem'* (mid-ribs and veins), and even 
the leaves of palms, a good example being 
Piftss-aba, derived from tht> dilated margins of 
the petioles of a palm, where they clasp the stem, 
these are made into thin strips which afterward,, 
split into smooth, cylindrical fibres. Another 
example is the stiff fibres extracted by maceration 
from tlie " boots " or basses of the leaf stems of 
the cabbage palmetto, or the shredded leaves of 
the American fan-palm, known as Crinv6g6tal, 
Other familiar examples may be noted in strips 
rattan, the fibrous material derived from bamboo, 
from the cornstalk, the flower stems of broom 
corn, and from reeds sedges, and the true grasses | 
Still another form is the fibrous mass surrounding 
the fruit of the coconut, known as coir, and as a 
curious example may be noted the fibre from pine 
needles, a notable exception of a structural fibre 
derived from an exogenous plant, the fibrous 
mass filling the sponge cucumber being another. 
■ ♦ 
MODERN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 
(Concluded.) 
But, every thing comes to hira who waits, and 
at last the time came when the doctrines of 
the New Soil Science could be tested under the 
most favourable conditions. The post of land 
agent on Lord Rosebery's Scottish estates became 
vacant, and Mr. Drysdale, the gentleman who 
was appointed to that highly-responsible post, 
was an old pupil of Mr. Hunter's, Mr. Drys- 
dale was wholly unfettered by any feeling of 
blind loyalty to orthodox doctrines in agricul- 
tural science, and, after carefally exaiaiaing for 
himself the later developments iu the New Soil 
Science, he came to the conclusion that it was 
desirable to have these new ideas put to the 
test in actual farm practice. He accordingly 
commenced experimenting on a small scale in 
various fields, and with such satisfactory results 
that, with the cordial approval of Lord Rose- 
bery, it was decided to extend the work. In 
the Spring of 1895, therefore, a thoroughly well- 
equipped experimental station was established 
on his Lordship's farm, at Dalmeny Park, with 
Mr. Hunter as scientific adviser, the practical 
work being under the personal supervision of 
Mr. Drysdale himself. Part of the station was 
devoted to testing the relative productiveness 
of different varieties of grain, potatoes, &c., 
another part was devoted to bacteriological re- 
search work, and the remainder of the station 
was worked as a miniature farm on the four- 
course rotation, each section being subdivided 
into sixteen plots, which were all differently 
manured on a regular system, A good-sized 
volume would be required to detail the results, 
which have been most consistent throughout, 
ob'ained at this station in the last four years, 
during which time the station has been annually 
visited by hundreds of deeply-interested agri- 
culturists. A few of the more notable results, 
may, however, be briefly summarised. In the 
first season the beneficial results of a small 
dressing of ground lime were so marked that 
the system of applying to every field on the 
farm an annual dressing of 4 cwts. of lime was 
commenced, and has been continued ever since. 
In order that the small dressing should be equally 
distributed over the soil, Mr. Hunter procured 
ground lime, i.e., ordinary burned lime shells 
mechanically ground to a fine state of division. 
At first this ground lime was applied iu the 
eompost form, but the second year's experience 
.showed that it was equally effective and less 
costly when applied direct in the hot state 
when the land was being worked, the small 
quantity of hot lime applied being insufficient 
to injure the nitrifying and other soil organisms, 
bdsides being rapidly converted into the car- 
bonate form when worked into the soil. It 
was also found that when the lime required 
by the nitrifying and other soil organisms was 
thus supplied, the plots which had received their 
nitrogen in the form of sulphate of ammonia 
showed much better crops, alike as to quantity 
and quality than were obtained from plots which 
got their nitrogen in the form of nitrate of 
soda. Mineral superphosphate, supplemented in 
the case of the potato and root crops with 
fermented bones, proved the most satisfactory 
form of phosphate. The Dalmeny experiment 
also emphasised the importance of potash for 
every crop, particularly the leguminous, potatos, 
and root crops. With a moderate dressing of 
farmj'ard manure, supplemented with 4 cwts, 
ground lime applied at the working of the land, 
and followed by 4 cwts, superphosphate, 1 cwt. 
fermented bones, 2 cwts, of kainits and 1 cwt. 
of sulphate of ammonia, the Dalmeny Home 
farm produces crops which are the admiration 
of all who see them. Another most important 
branch of investigation was in regard to the 
destructive pest of finger-and-toe in turnips, 
